Zoning

When property owners complained that an ambitious plan to revamp a 123-block stretch of downtown Santa Ana could jeopardize their livelihoods, the plan's map was quietly redrawn. And when the new map emerged last year, the redevelopment zone no longer included businesses owned by the families of Mayor Miguel Pulido and Councilman Vincent Sarmiento.

In this upscale city just north of Chicago, a plan to build a skyscraper -- one nearly as tall as the Washington Monument -- has fueled more than a simple debate over urban planning. To many residents, the idea is outright heresy.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's top appointee on the city Planning Commission sent an e-mail to neighborhood activists asserting that a new city ordinance that allows housing developers to roll back zoning rules may violate state law.

The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a new trial be held to determine if the city of San Bernardino intentionally misled a judge during its battle to close down a notorious strip club that officials said was actually a brothel. The Flesh Club closed in 1995 for nearly five years, after a judge issued an injunction banning nude dancing in the establishment. The judge used information from the city that later turned out to be wrong. The ruling put on hold the nude cabaret's demand for $1.

When this city declared the aging Bohemian Hill neighborhood blighted and opened the door to the possibility of using eminent domain to redevelop it, social activist Jim Roos decided to protest in a big way. He hired an artist to paint a two-story-high mural on the outside of a duplex, turning a late-1800s brick facade into a massive declaration of outrage easily spotted from the city's major arteries.

Concerned by a 2,350% increase in the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles in a one-year period, Police Chief William J. Bratton is calling for a moratorium on new facilities until strict rules can be adopted governing them. In a report to the Police Commission, Bratton said he wants to ban existing dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, parks and places designated exclusively for the care of children. He also advocates limiting their hours to 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The City Council on Monday backed away from setting a date for a citywide referendum on an ordinance limiting home heights and instead moved toward repealing the law altogether. The ordinance prohibits residents of Old Town, the area west of Pacific Coast Highway, from topping their homes with a third story. Its passage prompted opponents to gather nearly 3,600 signatures to allow voters the final say. The election was expected to cost the city from $50,000 to $70,000.

After three hours of rancorous debate Tuesday, the Anaheim City Council split on a vote to approve a controversial housing proposal near Disneyland. As a result, City Atty. Jack White said, a previous Planning Commission ruling against the plan will stand. The unusual 2-2 tie vote resulted from Councilwoman Lucille Kring leaving the meeting before the proposal was discussed. Kring said she had a conflict of interest because she holds a lease in the GardenWalk retail project near the site.

In Anaheim, even the tie goes to Disney. A pitched battle between housing advocates and Disney officials turned into a political convention of sorts Tuesday. Low-wage employees -- a few near tears -- and well-connected business types -- many wearing red "Save the Anaheim Resort District" stickers -- vented over the future of the city's tourist neighborhood.

Fearful that the Chamber of Commerce is becoming a political arm of Disney, Anaheim Councilwoman Lorri Galloway is calling for the city to pull the business group's funding in response to its lead role in helping Disney fight City Hall on a hot-button zoning issue. The chamber is organizing two Disney-backed ballot measures, an initiative and a referendum, aimed at preserving nonresidential zoning in the area surrounding the company's theme parks.