50-foot tall “Builder’s Remedy” plan goes to Hermosa Beach Planning Commission, along with ‘unofficial’ 35-foot tall design
by Laura Garber
Plans for a five unit, 50-foot high residential development at 3415 Palm Drive in Hermosa Beach will be reviewed for possible approval by the Planning Commission at its Tuesday, September 16 meeting.
Neighbors have protested the project because it exceeds the city’s 30-foot height limit. Property owners Tony and Renarda Ferraro contend their project is exempt from the city height limit under the “Builder’s Remedy,” a State approved program that supersedes city zoning restrictions.
But last month, in apparent response to the protests, the Ferraro’s submitted new plans, showing the development’s height reduced from 50 feet to 34 feet, and the number of units reduced from five to four.
“The applicants worked with their architect to address concerns voiced at [the March 18,] Planning Commission hearing by some in the community,” Brandon Straus, a representative of the Ferraro’s wrote in a letter submitted with the plans to Hermosa Associate Planner Jake Whitney.
Though only the 50-foot proposal will be reviewed at the September 16 Planning Commission Meeting, Straus asked that the new design also be presented to the Commission.
Original rendering submitted for the Builder’s Remedy project sits at 50 feet. Photo courtesy of BF Design.
Letters opposing the 50-foot plan submitted by neighbors to the Planning Commission contend the city has the power to impose its 30-foot height limit.
“The City of Hermosa Beach nonetheless seems poised to approve the Project under the mistaken assumption that it has no choice,” wrote Peter Howell, an attorney representing HNP Investments LLC, which owns a property near the proposed project.
Howell also argued the development violates the California Coastal Act because it has insufficient parking and “limits available parking in the area for those seeking to access the City’s coastal resources.”
At the March Planning Commission meeting, Commissioners questioned the ability of Los Angeles County Firefighters at the Hermosa Fire Station to fight a fire in a 50-foot building.
Los Angeles County Fire Marshall Richard Stillwagon responded in a letter that the department, with the help of neighboring cities fire stations, was equipped to fight a fire in a 50-foot tall building, but requested the official address be changed from Palm Drive to Hermosa Avenue. ER