OLD HOUSE MAKEOVER CAUSES FUROR NEIGHBORS' ZONING RIGHTS AFFECTED.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

SHADOW HILLS - Mary and Albert Cardea bought their historic stone home to raise horses, goats and geese in one of the city's last equestrian neighborhoods.

Flora Montes de Oca bought the rotting stone bungalow next door to tear it down and erect a two-story home big enough to raise her three boys.

The Cardeas and their neighbors in the rocky community are up in arms over Montes de Oca's behemoth of a home. They say the structure threatens not only the authenticity of the historic Stonehurst neighborhood in Shadow Hills but also the neighbors' horse-keeping rights.

Mary Cardea, 44, accuses her neighbor of building a ``big Malibu mansion'' whose newly classified outbuildings stand to strip her of her horse-keeping rights.

``That's why everyone's upset ...,'' Cardea said. ``I lose my zoning rights because someone pulls those permits and builds a house.''

The bitter dispute between neighbors has compelled state Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, to call for a speedy resolution and City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel to demand a change in city laws to safeguard equestrian rights.

Greuel has set up a town hall meeting in Shadow Hills today to discuss ways out of the controversy. She also has called for a Special Land Use Management Committee meeting on Oct. 15 to bolster protection for Los Angeles horse owners.

``It's a big mess,'' said Dale Thrush, Greuel's deputy planner who has worked to resolve the dispute. ``Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we weren't able to stop that project. It turns out to be legal.

``So we're working legislatively to protect people from losing their horse-keeping rights and protect historic properties to make sure this thing will never happen again.''

A drive through Stonehurst is a journey out of time.

Wedged between Hansen Dam and the Shadow Hills bluffs are three blocks of bungalows distinctive for their field stones, pine floors and French-style windows.

Built in the 1920s to house families in the movie industry, the 65 remaining Stonehurst craftsman homes serve family households with big dogs, big horses and deep lots zoned for farm animals.

A feed store supplies riders at the end of a sidewalk dusty with horse dung.

``At nighttime, it's very much like the Midwest - you can hear a pin drop,'' said Cardea, whose husband is compiling a history of the community they've lived in since 1989. ``Everybody gets up early. You can see 10-year-olds walking their 4-H sheep up the street. I once saw a man riding a buffalo.''

The bucolic setting was what motivated Montes de Oca two years ago to buy her 900-square-foot home in the 11200 block of Sheldon Street. Behind the little house were two other homes built before zoning restrictions barred such construction.

But the house was a dump, she said. Its timbers were rotten. Its plumbing sent waste into the yard. Its yard contained enough trash to fill nine Dumpsters.

Montes de Oca applied for a remodeling permit and razed the tiny home. But to obtain a permit for its 3,900-square-foot replacement, she was forced to alter her two rear houses so they could not be lived in - a city requirement.

A glitch in new construction codes also jeopardized the horse rights of neighbors whose backyard corrals lay within 35 feet of Montes de Oca's buildings.

``I don't think I'm doing anything wrong,'' said Montes de Oca, 37, standing in front of her half-finished home. ``I put a lot of love into this house, a lot of care, a lot of hard work.

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Disputed home permit