CITY BLOCKS APARTMENTS PALMDALE EXPECTS LAWSUIT TO FOLLOW.Byline: Jim Skeen Do you mean:
PALMDALE Palmdale, city (1990 pop. 68,842), Los Angeles co., S Calif., in the irrigated Antelope Valley; a growing residential suburb of Los Angeles near Little Rock Creek where it forms Lake Palmdale Reservoir, inc. 1962. - A City Council majority said they will side with homeowners and block a controversial apartment complex. At a meeting Wednesday Wednesday: see week. night, the City Council indicated it would vote 3-2, with Mayor Jim Ledford and Councilman Jim Root dissenting dis·sent intr.v. dis·sent·ed, dis·sent·ing, dis·sents 1. To differ in opinion or feeling; disagree. 2. To withhold assent or approval. n. 1. , in favor of upon the side of; favorable to; for the advantage of. See also: favor the Rancho ran·cho n. pl. ran·chos Southwestern U.S. 1. A hut or group of huts for housing ranch workers. 2. A ranch. Vista Homeowners Association's appeal against the 90-unit apartment complex proposed at Rancho Vista Boulevard and Avenue O-8. A vote was set for May 14 to allow the city's legal staff to prepare a resolution stating the grounds for upholding the appeal - grounds that the city will likely have to use to defend the decision in court. ``This is a square peg trying to go into a round hole,'' homeowners association President Will Aitchison said of the apartment site. ``It's the wrong place for an apartment complex. I look forward to the court hearing.'' Developer Andrew J. Eliopulos said after the meeting that because the dispute could end up in court he could not comment. ``I'm very disappointed with what I heard,'' Eliopulos said of the council members' comments. Ledford and Root voiced fears the city would lose in court, costing the city potentially millions of dollars in damages and resulting in the apartment project moving forward without any of the restrictions the city had sought. Ledford and Root said they preferred to try to impose additional conditions on the development to try to make it a better project. ``I think the case is weak and I think we'll lose it rather rapidly,'' Root said. During Monday night's meeting, Root said he would turn in his resignation from the council if the city actually won the case and he asked the council members siding with the homeowners to do the same if the case is lost. The three dismissed the invitation. Mayor Pro Tem [Latin, For the time being.] An abbreviation used for pro tempore, Latin for "temporary or provisional." A person who acts as a temporary substitute serves pro tem. Mike Dispenza, Councilman Rick Norris and Councilman Richard Loa said they agreed with the homeowners' position that apartments would cause a traffic hazard. The property is a boomerang-shape piece of land on a curving portion of Rancho Vista Boulevard. Potential traffic hazards include having cars turning right and accelerating onto Rancho Vista Boulevard as they come out of the complex, while traffic going into the neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. Meadowcrest subdivision is trying to slow down. The homeowners also cited potential problems with drivers' line of sight as they turn onto Rancho Vista Boulevard from O-8. The three council members agreed with homeowners that the project would generate other harmful impacts to the surrounding sur·round tr.v. sur·round·ed, sur·round·ing, sur·rounds 1. To extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle. 2. To enclose or confine on all sides so as to bar escape or outside communication. n. area, including noise and crime. Dispenza, Norris and Loa also noted the historical zoning of the parcel and surrounding acreage. The parcel had the same zoning as the surrounding area until a development acquired it for a senior citizens home. When the surrounding area was rezoned for single-family homes, the parcel kept its zoning for multifamily dwellings. The proposed senior project would not have generated the traffic, noise or crime concerns, the three council members said. However that project stalled stall 1 n. 1. A compartment for one domestic animal in a barn or shed. 2. a. A booth, cubicle, or stand used by a vendor, as at a market. b. and the land, with its multifamily zoning, was later acquired by Eliopulos. In siding with the homeowners, the three council members are going against the recommendation of city staffers to deny the appeal. City planners said the proposal conforms to Palmdale's general plan, and with the Rancho Vista specific plan, a document spelling out guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. for the area's development. The project is within the Rancho Vista master-planned community of more than 5,000 homes. The specific plan for the community was adopted in 1987 and modified and reaffirmed by the City Council in 1999. The land is zoned to allow as many as 26 units per acre. The proposed development has a density of 15 apartment units per acre. The apartment project site plan was approved by the Planning Commission Noun 1. planning commission - a commission delegated to propose plans for future activities and developments commission, committee - a special group delegated to consider some matter; "a committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours" - Milton Berle on Aug. 1 by a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Bo Bynum dissenting. While none of the commissioners, including three who live in the Rancho Vista area, was in favor of the project, the majority of commissioners said they could not legally deny the developer his right to develop land that has long been zoned for multifamily dwellings. CAPTION(S): map Map: Proposed apartment complex |
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