Update #6: City Hall Visit

I stopped in at the planning department for the city of Rancho Palos Verdes the week before last to see what kind of information I could get. I talked to Stephen; he was very cordial and helpful, and answered all my questions in a patient manner. (it’s so nice to have such great city employees.) Stephen said they are keeping an eye on the property because it is one of the last big vacant parcels in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Building permits:

As of my visit to city hall, no permit applications had been submitted for the property. If any are in the future, nearby neighbors will be notified during the approval process,

Work on the property:

Some of our neighbors noticed that the new owners of the vacant lot have been doing some demolition and removing small structures. Any kind of work on the property, including demolition or significant vegetation removal, requires a permit (the only apparent exception is grading).

If you see any of this kind of activity on the property, please notify the city planning department or text me 310.977.7027, and we can figure out if the appropriate permits were pulled. I think this will be a great way for us to send a message to the new owners that we are following any activity on the property very closely.

Builder's Remedy applications:

No builder’s remedy application has been filed on the property as of yet, and Stephen told me that in order to submit a Builders Remedy application, the new owner has to have complete plans, including release from any easements if that is part of their plan. Apparently getting a release from an easement that belongs to the County of Los Angeles can routinely take up to six months, and there are several such easements on the property.

Easements:

Stephen reviewed the easement map with me for the vacant lot, and it turns out that pretty much all the easements, including the very large ones that are on the eastern slope backing up to the homes on Silver Spur, are all owned by the County of Los Angeles for sewer and drainage purposes. Unlike in Elkmont Canyon, none of the easements are apparently owned by the adjacent homeowners. (Bummer). If for any reason we ever decide to retain counsel however, I’d probably have them confirm this fact, because I believe easements can be more complicated than just having a single owner (?). It was only through counsel that the Elkmont homeowners found out they owned some of the Elkmont Canyon easements.

Housing element:

If you recall, until the city gets its housing element approved by the state, builders can use the Builders Remedy to get around any local zoning laws and build high density developments anywhere they want to.

The good news is that our city housing element is now at the state undergoing additional review, and is getting closer to approval. The bad news is before our housing element can be completely approved, several parcels of land in Rancho Palos Verdes offered up by the city for building higher density developments as part of its housing element, have to be rezoned. The rezoning process requires multiple meetings and a period for public comment. This is going to take several months.

Organizing:

We will likely set up a time for interested neighbors to meet and talk about planning. If interested, respond back to me vis this email.