`MANSIONIZATION' LAWS PROPOSED.

Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW and RICK ORLOV Staff Writers

Behemoth homes stuffed onto undersized lots could ruin Los Angeles, which is why the city needs an ordinance to stop the practice, a city official said Monday.

To stem the ``mansionization'' of hillsides and historic neighborhoods, Councilman Tom LaBonge called for citywide regulations to limit home sizes based on lot dimensions and existing homes in the neighborhood.

LaBonge, who represents an eastern portion of the San Fernando Valley, will introduce a motion today to direct city planners to establish appropriate size-to-lot ratios for single-family homes.

A citywide ordinance -- led by a patchwork of interim home-size measures in Sunland-Tujunga and other communities -- could be enacted within a year.

``Real estate is at a premium, vacant lots are disappearing faster and faster, mansions are ruining neighborhoods,'' LaBonge said at a news conference at Mulholland Overlook above Hollywood.

``No one saw this coming. Now it's a fever -- and it has the potential to ruin L.A.''

In recent years, builders have expanded or replaced ranch homes and bungalows with larger homes that cover much of the property.

Critics complain the giant houses destroy the character of existing neighborhoods.

The Building Industry Association-Greater Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter did not respond to numerous calls.

``See those, how they don't fit into the scope of the neighborhood? They're too huge on lots too small,'' said Orrin Feldman, vice president of the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council, pointing to homes covering entire lots south of Mulholland Drive.

``I am angry: Something has to be done. Overbuilding is being done in the name of profits, and neighborhoods are getting hurt.''

``All the neighborhoods are being wiped out by these mansions,'' added Robert Nudelman, director of preservation for Hollywood Heritage. ``They're like cancer -- once they get going, they keep growing ... and there goes the historic neighborhood.''

The Los Angeles municipal code currently allows for a 7,020-square-foot house to be shoehorned onto a 5,000-square-foot lot.

Councilwoman Wendy Greuel last year pushed through a measure limiting the size of homes that can be built in the Sunland-Tujunga area after residents complained about the problem of homes dwarfing lots.

Under the limits there, homes cannot cover the entire lot. As an example, an 8,000-square-foot lot would accommodate a home of up to 2,400 square feet.

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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