Law Aims to Keep Construction ‘Compatible’

While the long-term consequences of infill development continue to be debated, the Los Angeles City Council recently enacted its toughest restrictions to date on new construction in older, established communities.

At the request of Councilman Richard Alatorre, the council approved an ordinance that requires new development to be compatible with existing neighborhoods in the Northeast communities of Atwater, Cypress Park, Eagle Rock, El Sereno, Glassell Park, Highland Park and Mt. Washington. The communities are all in Alatorre’s 14th District.

The so-called interim plan review ordinance, which took effect in May, prevents new development that is of higher density or different character than the existing community unless a project can demonstrate some overriding public benefit.

And without that proof, developers must conform to existing neighborhood standards while a new community plan for the Northeast area winds its way through City Hall in the next three years.

“It’s a first for the city,” said Alatorre. “It’s the first time we have made compatibility the issue in new development.”

The ordinance is loosely patterned after interim laws already adopted in other Los Angeles communities like San Pedro, where temporary restrictions have been placed on the construction of new apartments and condominiums until community plans are updated.

But the Northeast ordinance goes much further by requiring that a project conform to the existing neighborhood. And while developers must be allowed by law to seek exemptions, the ordinance generally gives little leeway to build any project that is incompatible with its surroundings.

In the case of residential development, for example, the ordinance would allow a developer to build multi-unit housing out of character with the neighborhood only if the block is blighted or the new building serves a public benefit such as housing for seniors or low-to-moderate income families.

And if developers cannot meet those conditions for exemptions, they must either scale back their project to make it compatible with the community or wait until the next community plan is completed and hope the new zoning permits their development.

“This doesn’t stop development, but it does give us some controls,” said David Lessley, division manager for the plan implementation division of the city Planning Department.

The ordinance, according to Alatorre, follows growing complaints among residents in the Northeast section of Los Angeles that their communities have been overrun in recent years by higher-density developments that will forever change the character of neighborhoods.

“There’s been a renewed interest in building in the Northeast part of Los Angeles, and we’ve seen good development and bad development go in there,” Alatorre said.

“But with the rash of permits for multifamily dwellings, we saw inconsistent development taking place. We don’t want cracker-jack boxes in the district. We want units that are livable, that have amenities.”

The rush toward development in Northeast Los Angeles, Alatorre said, sparked growing community interest in planning for the future.

“The fact is that the people and communities were asking for greater say-so in development of their communities. And I concur with that,” Alatorre said. “I think it’s important for anyone trying to develop in an area to work with that area.”

Though Alatorre acknowledged that he is not generally an advocate of such controls on development, he said he was persuaded to push ahead with the ordinance because the growth of Northeast Los Angeles needs better safeguards while a new community plan is fashioned. The community is the largest of 34 planning areas in the city and the first where a new community plan, guiding development into the next century, will be adopted.

“Obviously, I don’t think anybody likes to be told how to develop their property,” Alatorre said. “On the other hand, people who are responsible and concerned about their community really do not mind.

“This ordinance is forcing people interested in constructing and developing in my district to take stock of what is already there,” he said. “And I think that’s healthy.”