Bel-Air residents are expected to show-up en masse this afternoon when the City Council's land-use committee votes on whether the city should establish a special district in their neighborhood that would limit the size of new or remodeled homes and limit the amount of related construction activity.
The Hillside Construction Regulation Area, if passed, would establish hauling operation standards, construction activity standards, grading limits and require additional discretionary review for homes with an area of 20,000 square feet or greater.
The proposed ordinance - which must still be feted by the City Attorney's Office and approved by the City Council and Mayor before it can become city law - was proposed in response to a significant uptick in large-scale development in Bel-Air in the last few years. For example, from 2011 to 2015, approximately 18 building permits were issued for new SFDs with 20,000 square feet or greater of residential floor area, according to the City Planning Department. During that same time, more than 800 hauling permits were issued for projects in Bel-Air that cumulatively hauled more than 800,000 cubic yards of dirt.
The Bel-Air Alliance formed in May 2014 to protest the number, size and scope of projects in the community. They have been calling on City Hall - and Councilman Paul Koretz, specifically, who's council district includes Bel-Air - to enact rules that would limit the size and impact of projects. The HCRA is the first major legislative response.
The City Council's PLUM committee meeting today starts at 3:30 p.m. Here is the agenda; here is the draft HCRA.
The Hillside Construction Regulation Area, if passed, would establish hauling operation standards, construction activity standards, grading limits and require additional discretionary review for homes with an area of 20,000 square feet or greater.
The proposed ordinance - which must still be feted by the City Attorney's Office and approved by the City Council and Mayor before it can become city law - was proposed in response to a significant uptick in large-scale development in Bel-Air in the last few years. For example, from 2011 to 2015, approximately 18 building permits were issued for new SFDs with 20,000 square feet or greater of residential floor area, according to the City Planning Department. During that same time, more than 800 hauling permits were issued for projects in Bel-Air that cumulatively hauled more than 800,000 cubic yards of dirt.
The Bel-Air Alliance formed in May 2014 to protest the number, size and scope of projects in the community. They have been calling on City Hall - and Councilman Paul Koretz, specifically, who's council district includes Bel-Air - to enact rules that would limit the size and impact of projects. The HCRA is the first major legislative response.
The City Council's PLUM committee meeting today starts at 3:30 p.m. Here is the agenda; here is the draft HCRA.
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