Azusa : Suit Over Zoning Freeze

Five property owners, including the owner of the Azusa Greens Country Club, are suing the city over an initiative passed by voters in April which regulates zoning in the area around the golf course.

The lawsuit, filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court, charges that the zoning freeze enacted by the initiative incorrectly includes the properties owned by Glenn R. Watson, Dorothy Currier, John J. Kelley and Bill M. Ikenberry, along with the golf course owned by Jonny E. Johnson.

The initiative, passed overwhelmingly by voters, seeks to keep the golf course and a nearby gravel pit zoned for recreational uses and water conservation. The plaintiffs contend it incorrectly includes their adjoining properties, which are zoned as commercial and residential.

“They’re basically asking for an opinion on whether or not their properties are included,” said Roy E. Bruckner, the city’s director of community development. “It relates back to the vagueness of the legal description of the initiative. Our city attorney is currently evaluating that.”

Johnson has tried repeatedly to develop his property. The voters have rejected initiatives that would have rezoned the 111-acre course for development and allowed the city to buy the course for $26 million.