Since its inception on May 9, 2011, the City’s Baseline Hillside Ordinance (BHO) (No.181624,) has been the guiding land-use regulation for single family residential zoned properties (R1, RS, RE ( 9, 11, 15, 20, and 40), and RA properties located within the hillside designated areas.
Over the past four years, we have seen where the BHO has accomplished the intended goals of maintaining and promoting communities that preserve their integrity and livability. However, the past four years, and in more recent times, it has also shown us where the BHO has fallen far short of its mandate to create regulations that allow for sustainable neighborhoods that protect the interest of all homeowners.
Communities throughout Council District 5, including Bel Air-Beverly Crest, are deeply concerned about existing and future development of residential property in hillside communities, which has led to massive construction burdening entire neighborhoods.
to ensure the safety of city residents, the large scale development projects must be held to higher standard, by examining the cumulative impacts on our aging infrastructure and communities, and by amending the grading requirements set forth by the Baseline Hillside Ordinance.
As such, the Department of Building and Safety, with the assistance of other city departments, must take pro- active actions and recommend regulatory modifications to the existing permitting process, and discuss the feasibility of a hillside safety fee, in an effort to immediately begin protecting the safety of hillside neighborhoods to address the uncontrolled and uncoordinated large scale development that has been occurring in hillside communities.
I THEREFORE MOVE That the Council instruct the Department of Building and Safety, with the assistance of the Planning Department, and in consultation with the City Attorney, to prepare a report in 90 days that provides recommendations relative to best practices as it relates to with holding Certificate of Occupancy permits for outstanding violations, and the feasibility of revising the permitted hours of construction, and the potential impacts of limiting the hauling of dirt and cement pours to Monday through Friday, with no Saturday or Sunday hauling.
I FURTHER MOVE that the Council instruct the Department of Building and Safety, in consultation with the City Attorney, to also report on the feasibility of requiring hillside project applicants to pay a hillside safety fee for increased inspection and infrastructure to protect neighborhood residents from the adverse impacts of large out of scale development projects.
