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Planning Commission recommends housing overlay for former Hawthorne Nursery site at 4457 West 120th
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Summary
The Hawthorne City Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council adopt zone change CZ20250003 to add two parcels at 4457 West 120th (the former Hawthorne Nursery) to the city's housing overlay, citing prolonged vacancy, blight and a statutory CEQA exemption for rezonings that implement an adopted housing element.
The Hawthorne City Planning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council adopt a zone change (CZ20250003) that would add the former Hawthorne Nursery site at 4457 West 120th to the city's housing overlay, a move staff said would facilitate residential redevelopment.
Planning associate Nathan Levy, who presented the staff report, said the site currently consists of two parcels and had contained roughly five or six residential units before falling vacant for several years. "Because of that vacancy, it has become blighted," Levy said, citing "constant vandalism," break-ins and trash at the property as evidence the overlay would help bring the site back into productive use. Staff recommended the Planning Commission adopt Planning Commission Resolution 2026-03 to forward a recommendation of approval to the City Council.
Why it matters: Levy told commissioners the rezoning is one tool the city is using to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). The city's 2023 housing element requires the planning department to maintain an inventory of residential sites; staff said the housing overlay helps the city add sites that meet objective criteria when other locations fall short of the RHNA threshold. Staff also noted the rezoning would be statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when it implements an adopted housing element.
Details of the proposal and regulatory context: The property is in receivership (a court-appointed receiver is overseeing it) but is not currently for sale and the city is not planning to acquire it, according to staff. The site was described as nonconforming in its current commercial zone because it contains residential units; demolishing those units would remove the nonconforming status and, under a no-net-loss accounting process tied to RHNA, the city would have to add the lost units elsewhere if they are removed. Levy told the commission the overlay would allow future redevelopment to meet objective zoning design standards in chapter 17.100, which include parking minimums that vary by unit size (staff discussed one parking standard as roughly one space for small units and two for larger units but said exact requirements depend on unit configuration).
Commissioners pressed staff on whether the Downtown Hawthorne specific plan controls parking and other development standards; staff clarified the specific plan provides broad land-use guidance in that area and defers to the underlying zoning for detailed standards, so the project would be subject to objective standards in the municipal code.
Action taken: Commissioner Tuletta moved to approve the application and recommend City Council adoption of CZ20250003; the motion was seconded and the commissioners present voted in favor. The commission adopted Planning Commission Resolution 2026-03 and will forward that recommendation to the City Council for final action.
What happens next: The matter will proceed to the City Council with the Planning Commission's recommendation. No City Council date was specified during the meeting.
Sources and limits: Reporting in this article is based solely on statements made during the Planning Commission meeting and the staff report presented by Planning Associate Nathan Levy. Where the meeting did not provide full details (for example, precise unit bedroom mixes or a City Council hearing date), the article reports that information as not specified in the record.
