Council approves planning committee report after Westmont Drive zoning debate

An attorney representing the owner of 417 Westmont Drive urged Los Angeles City Council to honor a 1996 settlement that, he said, requires the city to zone the parcel C2-1BL and to annex the single lot into the city rather than restrict it to parking. "The settlement provided that the city of Los Angeles would initiate the zone change application, the general plan amendment and would annex this lot into the city," attorney John D told the council during a public hearing.

Council members heard the attorney outline a 16-year dispute over a barricaded street and the parcel’s changed municipal alignment. John D said the property had a long history of commercial use and that zon- ing it only for parking would create a legal "spot zoning" island and deprive the owner of bargained-for density.

After the public presentation, a council member moved and the body accepted the Planning and Land Use Management Committee report that handled the matter, and the clerk recorded the vote as 11 "ayes." The hearing was closed with the council’s endorsement of the committee recommendation.

The council’s approval advances the underlying annexation, general plan amendment and street vacation processes that were discussed during the hearing. City staff confirmed that the record will include the owner’s letter submitted for the meeting.

The council did not adopt an ordinance on second reading during this session; committee and council actions move the matter forward in the land-use review process and return it to the council as required by noticing and second-reading rules.