MCMANSION INVASION NEIGHBORS TRYING TO FIGHT OFF SUPERSIZE HOMES ON TEENSY LOTS.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

VALLEY VILLAGE - When Sivert Glarum bought his ranch-style home two years ago, he relished its secluded back yard and sunny rooms.

Since then, his neighbor to the south added a second story to his own bungalow.

His neighbor to the west, a developer, razed the home on the site and is now building three two-story homes - one just 6 feet from Glarum's house.

``Our back yard is like a prison exercise yard now,'' Glarum said. ``We have all these people in towers looking down on us.

``Whereas we had privacy before, now we have none. We're all worried it's going to ruin the fabric of the area.''

Glarum is one of a growing number of San Fernando Valley residents trying to rein in so-called mansionization, in which traditional ranch- style homes and 1950s-era bungalows are expanded or replaced by larger homes that cover much of the property.

With real estate prices at an all-time high and little vacant property left to develop, builders are increasingly buying up older houses simply for the land. They demolish the old structure and build larger homes with the square footage and amenities that command top dollar.

Buyers say the new homes give them the luxury and space they crave, but critics complain the giant houses are ruining the character of the existing community.

Burbank and Glendale have already adopted rules to limit large new homes that loom over their bungalow- and ranch-style neighbors.

The Los Angeles City Council will consider an emergency anti-mansionization ordinance Wednesday for Sunland-Tujunga, which would ban homes larger than 2,400 square feet, as well as those with square footage that is more than 40 percent of the lot size.

Neighborhood groups in Valley Village and Valley Glen are developing similar regulations.

In response, Councilwoman Wendy Greuel wants to craft a slate of regulations that could be adopted by neighborhood councils concerned with the development of large houses on small lots.

The new rules would not regulate aesthetics or taste, Greuel said, but would allow communities to limit the size and scale of development.

``In the city of Los Angeles, particularly in the San Fernando Valley, most of the houses we've seen and lots have always had a large front yard and a large welcome area. It was never contemplated that people would build to their property limits,' Greuel said.

But developers, Realtors and even some home buyers said the anti-mansionization movement would stamp out affordable dream homes and rob the Valley of luxury properties that inject new wealth into 1950s-era tracts.

``We're building lovely, lovely homes,'' said Dorian Alan, who is developing a number of million-dollar houses with her husband, Christopher Alan, in their Valley Glen neighborhood.

``People stop us and tell us they love what we're doing. They love that we are improving the neighborhood.''

The 5,400-square-foot, five-bedroom, seven-bathroom house the Alans are building at Sunnyslope Avenue and Oxnard Street spurred the anti-mansionization ordinance effort in Valley Glen.

The two-story house is rich with imported stone, handcrafted tile and luxury details that stand in stark contrast to the neighboring blocks of single-story, 1,500-square-foot ranch houses. The Alans' house will be on the market for around $1.5 million.

``It looks like he's building an apartment building or cathedral right up on the street,'' said Peer Ghent, president of the Valley Glen Neighborhood Association.

His group is pushing for regulations that would limit the size of new houses to 40 percent of the lot size. Under that guideline, a developer would be limited to building a 2,000-square-foot house on the typical- 5,000-square-foot lot.

Up in the northeast corner of the Valley, Sunland-Tujunga could become the first area of Los Angeles to adopt an anti-mansionization ordinance. The neighborhood at the base of the Angeles National Forest was developed in the 1900s with cabins and bungalows on small lots.

But in recent years a number of developers have razed the old houses and built 3,000- and 4,000-square-foot homes on 4,000-square-foot lots. Some 49 large homes have been built in the area, six more are under construction and planners estimate dozens of additional tear-downs are likely.

Roberta Actor-Thomas lives across the street from a row of new houses and watched as the developer toppled an old stone house to build identical boxy homes. She helped draft the community's interim control ordinance to block similar projects.

``Sunland-Tujunga is a little more rural. People don't want to be like Valencia. They don't want to have houses packed together with only 10 feet between them on postage-stamp lots.''

But Realtor and area resident Laura Riddle said the proposed ordinance would force homeowners like herself out of the area. Riddle's elderly mother is moving in with her and she couldn't find a house in the neighborhood big enough to accommodate her growing family.

``There's a whole NIMBY trend. If you don't like that house and think it's ugly, don't buy that house. It comes down to homeowners' rights.''

Kerry Cavanaugh, [phone]

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) New home under construction in Valley Glen.

(2 -- color) Single-family home built in the late '40s.

Box:

(1) NEW HOME'S DETAILS

(2) PRIOR HOME'S LOT & DETAILS

SOURCE: Daily News research by Kerry Cavanaugh; Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Warren Huskey/Staff Artist