NEIGHBORS RAISE $725 FOR APPEAL : CONDO PROJECT SET FOR COUNCIL REVIEW.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

Lorraine Slattery moved to Newbury Park with her husband, Denis, about six years ago, tired of the traffic, noise and other problems of her central Los Angeles neighborhood.

She enjoyed the quiet neighborhood, wide open spaces and towering Santa Monica Mountains around her home until last month, when the Planning Commission approved a 208-unit single-family detached condominium project in the Dos Vientos Ranch development.

When she filed an appeal of the decision with the city she got a big surprise - the hefty fees.

``It's shocking how expensive it is for a private citizen to file an appeal,'' said Slattery, Newbury Park liaison for the environmental group Save Open Space.

But she and a small group of concerned people raised the $725 filing fee the old-fashioned way - by knocking on doors. By the end of their two-day effort, they had gotten commitments for more than twice that amount.

``We were out there knocking on every door we could find,'' she said.

The appeal has been tentatively scheduled for a City Council hearing Sept. 10, said City Clerk Nancy Dillon.

Slattery said the commission decision is based on a faulty interpretation of a new city ordinance allowing detached condominiums - a new type of housing for the city - and she and others are concerned that letting the project go through will set a nasty precedent.

On July 29, the commission voted 3-2, with commissioners Linda Parks and Marilyn Carpenter dissenting, to allow the 208-unit Courtly Homes project. The detached condominiums would be on substantially smaller lots than city standards previously allowed.

In March, the City Council had adopted an ordinance allowing this kind of housing as long as the Planning Commission determined it would be located in an ``in-fill'' area - that is, surrounded by existing or approved development.

Slattery and others, including Parks, argue that the project would in fact have open space on three sides and thus could not be said to be in an in-fill area.

``Because this is the first use of in-fill they're allowing the Planning Commission to set a precedent,'' Slattery said. ``I want the City Council to weigh in on this. We don't think it meets the definition and if (the project) is going ahead, it should at least go ahead after it's been looked at by the City Council.''

Slattery said she had never been involved in politics or civic affairs. But that has changed in the past few months because development seems to have picked up pace of late and the Dos Vientos project is simply too much for the area, in her opinion.

She learned it would cost $725 to appeal a residential planned development and $1,000 to appeal a tract map.

The commission decision came July 29. The following weekend a handful of people banged on doors for contributions and she wrote up the appeal. By the end of the weekend, the group had received pledges totaling about $1,500, she said.

The appeal was formally filed Aug. 8 on behalf of Slattery as a private citizen and on behalf of Save Open Space.

Linda Parks said she didn't expect anyone to file an appeal because of those costs. ``I never expect anyone to challenge anything - it costs so much money,'' she said. ``People call me and say `I'm going to challenge it,' then they find out that it's going to cost $1,000.''

Slattery said she felt compelled to file the appeal. ``I had to get involved, to speak up and do something,'' she said. ``I'd rather go back to being a happy private citizen, but I can't sit back and let this go by.''

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Photo: Lorraine Slattery would like to stop construction of the development on the site behind her.