CITY REJECTS APARTMENTS COUNCIL UPHOLDS HOMEOWNERS' APPEAL.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - A split Palmdale City Council voted to block a controversial apartment project, with the council majority saying the project's potential safety problems outweighed the risk of a lawsuit.

With Mayor Jim Ledford and Councilman Jim Root dissenting, the City Council voted 3-2 Wednesday night to block the 90-unit project proposed for Rancho Vista Boulevard and Avenue O-8. The vote upheld an appeal from the Rancho Vista Homeowners Association, whose members said the apartments would create traffic hazards and increase crime and other problems.

Opponents say a major reason for blocking construction of the apartments is the geography of the project site: a boomerang-shape piece of land on a curving portion of Rancho Vista Boulevard.

``It's a lose-lose situation for the city,'' Councilman Rick Norris said Thursday. ``The consensus of the majority of the council is this was a site-specific problem. This was not anti-apartment. The major issue was putting apartments on that particular site.''

Ledford and Root fear a lawsuit that, if lost, could cost the city potentially millions of dollars in damages. In terms of a court case, the two council members believe the arguments against the project are weak.

``It's basically a property rights issue with a lot of legalese behind it,'' Ledford said.

The project developer, Andrew J. Eliopulos, said Thursday he was reviewing his options about what to do next.

``I don't understand why three council members would want to put the entire city of Palmdale at risk,'' Eliopulos said.

The City Council had been taking testimony and debating the issue since December. Council members wanted to vote on the issue last month, but after indicating that they would likely vote to uphold the homeowners' appeal, city staffers advised that the vote be delayed to allow a set of findings be prepared to accompany the appeal - findings the city will likely use as a defense in court in the event of a lawsuit.

Those findings include ``insufficiently mitigated project-generated noise and lighting impacts; lack of compliance with zoning standard for setbacks and open space; increased crime; traffic and circulation considerations; impacts to schools; and economic impacts to adjoining properties.''

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 Meadowcrest subdivision is trying to slow down.

The homeowners also cited potential problems with drivers' line of sight as they turn onto Rancho Vista from Avenue O-8.

In siding with the homeowners, the three council members are going against the recommendation of city staffers to deny the homeowners' appeal. City planners said the proposal conforms to Palmdale's general plan and with the Rancho Vista specific plan, a document spelling out guidelines 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.