L.A. Residents Speaking Out Against The Recent Uptick In "Mansionization"

Many Los Angeles homeowners and  residents were overjoyed when the City implemented a 3-Part plan starting in 2008 to regulate the rampant over-development of McMansions and massive home remodels on small parcels of land in neighborhoods throughout the area. The Baseline Mansionization Ordinance was designed with specific limitations regarding size and height but, unfortunately, it seems many builders are ignoring these limits or taking advantage of the ordinance's many loopholes. As happened during the housing boom in the middle of the last decade, Angelenos are once again protesting these unsightly and misplaced buildings.

The anti-mansionization frenzy sweeping the area from Burbank to Mar Vista reached a crescendo in early February when West Hollywood residents called for an immediate moratorium on all two-story single-family house construction until the city sets clearer design guidelines. There are weekly incidents where people complain to City Hall that their plants and gardens are dying because their neighborhood of bungalows now has huge homes springing up that block all of the sunlight. And Monday, the L.A. Times published an article that voiced the frustrations of residents all across the City, spotlighting how, even though Studio City and Beverly Grove were successfully able to get their neighborhood councils to enact stricter building codes, the City of Los Angeles needs to tighten up all of the exceptions and bonuses that allow the BMO guidelines to be skirted.

On the flip side, some owners say that if you limit what people can do with their properties, you limit their home value. Others point out that one loophole, the bonus that allows builders who use eco-friendly technology to design homes that are 20% to 30% larger than normally allowed, is justified because implementing green improvements also helps the environment and increases a home's resale value. An architect quoted in the L.A.Times article said that since the tighter Beverly Grove building limits were approved last year, his firm hasn't had any projects in the area. The families that hire him typically want at least five bedrooms to accommodate two children, a master bedroom, a guest room and an office. "It's become a real bear to deal with, from the design point of view," he said. "People hire you to build what they want. But then you have to tell them — they can't have what they want." 

I feel that we are all part of a community and should work to the achieve what is best for our community. Builders could still craft larger homes without blocking light and boxing in neighbors, and I am hopeful builders and remodel specialists can find the right balance when building or adding onto larger homes in neighborhoods primarily populated with more modest structures. As the members of the Neighbors United group in Faircrest Heights state, growth can be a part of preserving and strengthening the quality of their neighborhood but it must include neighbors who strongly practice communication, participation, and involvement .