STANDOFF ON APARTMENTS HOMEOWNERS, DEVELOPER ORDERED TO SEEK COMPROMISE.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - Homeowners and a developer proposing to build the first set of apartments proposed in Palmdale since a moratorium A suspension of activity or an authorized period of delay or waiting. A moratorium is sometimes agreed upon by the interested parties, or it may be authorized or imposed by operation of law. ended three years ago were directed to meet this summer in hopes of reaching an agreement on the project. At a meeting Thursday night, the city's 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 continued discussion on a site review for a proposed 90-unit apartment complex in 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 development to allow homeowners and the developer, Andy Eliopulos, time to discuss the project. Homeowners also had sought time to conduct their own studies on such issues as traffic and noise. ``Hopefully they will come up with a product everybody will be satisfied with,'' said commissioner Dean Henderson. Eliopulos plans to build 90 apartments on six acres at the northwest corner of Rancho Vista Boulevard and Avenue O-8. The land is zoned to have as many as 26 units per acre. The proposed development has a density of 15 apartment units per acre. City officials say the land has long been zoned for apartments and the proposed complex meets the city's standard and design policies. Area homeowners fear the project will mean more crime, traffic and school overcrowding overcrowding overcrowding of animal accommodation. Many countries now publish codes of practice which define what the appropriate volumetric allowances should be for each species of animal when they are housed indoors. Breaches of these codes is overcrowding. . Homeowner Ray Chavira estimated that 300 opponents attended the meeting, many of them having to stand outside - or sit on chairs they brought - because the Council Chambers isn't big enough to hold them. None of the officials heeded his suggestion to move to a bigger hall, he added. ``That's an insult in·sult n. A bodily injury, irritation, or trauma. insult Medtalk noun Any stressful stimulus which, under normal circumstances, does not affect the host organism, but which may result in morbidity, when it to the taxpaying, voting public,'' Chavira said. Chavira said Friday he expects homeowners will sit down with Eliopulos to talk, but they don't want the apartments built near their homes. ``It's hard to see any mutual agreement to compromise will be reached,'' Chavira said. The project is the first apartment complex to come before the Planning Commission in three years. A two-year moratorium on such projects ended last spring. Palmdale officials began a review of the amount and location of land zoned for apartments after a 200-unit complex at Avenue R and 42nd Street East drew opposition from nearby homeowners. The Avenue R apartment complex was eventually approved, but the city enacted the moratorium blocking other apartment construction to allow time to study zoning issues. At the same time, the city was participating in a regional housing needs assessment. The city also rezoned more than 200 acres, primarily on the city's east side. The rezoning cut the number of housing units possible to be built on the acreage from 3,030 to 1,380 units. The project is located within the Rancho Vista development, a master- planned community Noun 1. planned community - a residential district that is planned for a certain class of residents residential area, residential district, community - a district where people live; occupied primarily by private residences of more than 5,000 homes. The project site is covered by the Rancho Vista specific plan, a guideline guideline Medtalk A series of recommendations by a body of experts in a particular discipline. See Cancer screening guidelines, Cardiac profile guidelines, Gatekeeper guidelines, Harvard guidelines, Transfusion guidelines. for development, originally approved in 1986 and reaffirmed by the City Council in 1999. Approximately 21 percent of Palmdale's housing is in the form of apartment units and mobile homes, the lowest percentage in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County among similar sized cities, city officials say. 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. Lancaster, which enacted apartment construction moratoriums about the same time as Palmdale, has 34 percent of its housing in apartments. The cities with the highest percentage of apartment housing were Glendale with 60 percent and Inglewood with 58 percent, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. statistics from the state Department of Finance. CAPTION(S): map Map: Proposed apartment complex |
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