Commercial Zoning

I am afraid it is Professor Kanner who is "bananas" ("When NIMBY Craziness Goes Bananas," Valley Commentary, Dec. 5). His diatribe against homeowners' hypocrisy is a blatant--and hypocritical--call to class warfare. Must the word suburbanite always be associated with the pejorative wealthy ? In my admittedly upscale neighborhood, few homeowners are "sitting on $500,000 paper equities." Most are working hard to afford family life in a safe, quiet neighborhood. Isn't that every parent's goal?

Its carwash sweepers are thick with dust and its front doorway is a threshold of shattered glass. Save for the cars that pass by and the sparsely filled businesses across the street, the only signs of life at the Redondo Car Wash are the stubborn weeds sprouting through the cracked sidewalk out front. The empty carwash is on a strip of Torrance Boulevard in Redondo Beach that the city hopes to revitalize with a mix of residential and commercial development.

A zoning change that would clear the way for construction of a 525-unit apartment complex near Crown Valley Parkway and Los Altos will be considered by the City Council and Planning Commission on Monday. The proposal would convert the zoning for a 19.5-acre parcel owned by Mission Viejo Co. from commercial to residential. If it is approved, the company would then submit plans for the apartment complex.

Saying the land is a crucial wildlife corridor, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy for more than a decade has tried to acquire five acres north of the Ventura Freeway's Liberty Canyon Road exit. On Wednesday morning, conservancy officials, a handful of area politicians and park rangers celebrated the purchase of the commercially zoned property that connects more than 10,000 acres of protected public land in the Simi Hills.

The Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a debate Oct. 27 on ballot measures X, Y and Z, which address the sale of the .84-acre Biltmore site. The debate, at 7:30 p.m. in the Civic Theater at Pier Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, will be moderated by the League of Women Voters. The zoning of the city-owned Biltmore property at 15th Street and The Strand will be decided by the ballot measures. Measure X proposes single-family residential zoning. Measure Y proposes commercial zoning.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday granted a zone change to allow development of a shopping center across the street from historic Cook's Corner tavern. The action means that both corners of the junction of Live Oak Canyon and Santiago Canyon roads have commercial zoning, contrary to a 1980 supervisors' resolution that was strongly reaffirmed as recently as January.

The Santa Monica City Council voted Tuesday to slash the amount of allowable development on commercial properties by nearly one-third throughout the city and by as much as 50% on large parcels of land. In addition to curbing commercial development, the new guidelines adopted by the council encourage housing construction within commercial areas. Business leaders predicted that the plan would do little to produce housing because banks are unwilling to lend money for such mixed-use projects.

Although new homes may mean plenty of new customers for new shopping centers, the Orange County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday upheld a 6-year-old decision that only one commercial development will be allowed at the entrance to Trabuco Canyon. "It is my contention that the integrity of the Board of Supervisors and the planning process is on the line," said Board of Supervisors Chairman Bruce Nestande, whose district includes the area east of El Toro.

Voters this fall will decide whether to ratify new commercial zoning regulations that have been approved by a divided City Council as an outgrowth of a yearlong planning and design project in the city.

The aging office buildings along Katella Avenue could soon be home to retail shops and takeout restaurants under a zoning ordinance amendment aimed at bringing new businesses to the city. The City Council on Monday unanimously voted to allow commercial uses for the two- and three-story buildings strung along Katella east of Los Alamitos Boulevard.

The tiny office suite, located in a strip mall across the street from Kmart, doesn't look like much. But for the 30 congregants of Shalom Alliance Fellowship, a young church of Chinese and Filipino immigrants struggling to get off the ground, it was holy ground--a place for them to worship God and fellowship together. That is until last December, when Fountain Valley closed the gathering down because it was in a commercial zone where churches are prohibited.

The City Council denied a zoning change sought by Boyle Heights' bustling El Mercado on Wednesday and, like nearly everything else surrounding the controversial market-cum-swap meet, the reasons for the rebuff are in dispute. Some say the busy center of neighborhood commerce became a political football, a chance for Latino politicians to prove they can be tough on other Latinos.

A zoning change that would clear the way for construction of a 525-unit apartment complex near Crown Valley Parkway and Los Altos will be considered by the City Council and Planning Commission on Monday. The proposal would convert the zoning for a 19.5-acre parcel owned by Mission Viejo Co. from commercial to residential. If it is approved, the company would then submit plans for the apartment complex.

The aging office buildings along Katella Avenue could soon be home to retail shops and takeout restaurants under a zoning ordinance amendment aimed at bringing new businesses to the city. The City Council on Monday unanimously voted to allow commercial uses for the two- and three-story buildings strung along Katella east of Los Alamitos Boulevard.

City rules that have prevented some residents from repairing or adding on to their homes for years could be lifted under a proposal the Planning Commission is set to discuss tonight. Current regulations prohibit homeowners whose property has been rezoned--for example, switched from residential to commercial use--from building additions to their homes. Nor can they repair those homes if a fire or other calamity destroys more than 50% of the structure.

I am afraid it is Professor Kanner who is "bananas" ("When NIMBY Craziness Goes Bananas," Valley Commentary, Dec. 5). His diatribe against homeowners' hypocrisy is a blatant--and hypocritical--call to class warfare. Must the word suburbanite always be associated with the pejorative wealthy ? In my admittedly upscale neighborhood, few homeowners are "sitting on $500,000 paper equities." Most are working hard to afford family life in a safe, quiet neighborhood. Isn't that every parent's goal?

The City Council denied a zoning change sought by Boyle Heights' bustling El Mercado on Wednesday and, like nearly everything else surrounding the controversial market-cum-swap meet, the reasons for the rebuff are in dispute. Some say the busy center of neighborhood commerce became a political football, a chance for Latino politicians to prove they can be tough on other Latinos.

The Lomita City Council passed a sweeping ordinance Monday designed to attract larger commercial development to a mile-long stretch of Pacific Coast Highway that has traditionally been home to many of the city's small, family owned businesses. But a Lomita business owner who has led community opposition to the ordinance told the council that he plans to mount an initiative campaign against the measure.

The Santa Monica City Council voted Tuesday to slash the amount of allowable development on commercial properties by nearly one-third throughout the city and by as much as 50% on large parcels of land. In addition to curbing commercial development, the new guidelines adopted by the council encourage housing construction within commercial areas. Business leaders predicted that the plan would do little to produce housing because banks are unwilling to lend money for such mixed-use projects.

Deciding local ballot measures on Tuesday, voters approved term limits in Torrance and gambling in Inglewood and rejected commercial development of a beachfront parcel in Hermosa Beach. In all, there were eight ballot questions in five South Bay cities. The closest contest occurred in Inglewood, where a proposed card club at Hollywood Park Race Track narrowly won approval with 51.7% of the vote.