Possible change for building permit duration in Hermosa Beach

An in-progress construction site at 2700 Manhattan Avenue, often referred to as “Five Corners,” sits empty this week. City officials identified it and others as examples of projects that have languished beyond the city’s two-year limit for building permits. Photo

 

Extended time to finish construction on large projects may be granted before building commences, under new code amendments recommended by the Hermosa Beach Planning Commission.

At its Tuesday night meeting, the commission unanimously approved a resolution suggesting modifying the city’s building code to create two exceptions to the two-year period to finish construction when building permits are issued. Under one exception, the commission could establish a longer time frame when it is considering large or complex projects over which it would already have jurisdiction; in the other, the city’s Building Division could grant up to two six-month extensions if an applicant could prove that circumstance “beyond the control of the permittee” made on-time completion impossible.

The recommended changes are the latest solution to months of debate among city officials over how to address projects that linger in various stages of construction long beyond their expected completion date. The issue was left over from one of the periodic updates to the city’s building code, which last took place in at the end of 2016.

Community Development Director Ken Robertson said that the vast majority of developments in the city are completed within the two-year time frame. But for those that are not done on time, the department was that the city’s approach is “too punitive,” Robertson said when the issue was first brought to the council (Under the existing code, applicants are able to obtain one six-month extension to the two-year deadline.) But City Council members reacted negatively to the idea of loosening regulations because of the impacts on residents.

“We need to think about the neighbors of all these projects. Living next to a construction site for three to five plus years…and that’s coming from someone whose husband owns a home building company in the South Bay,” said Councilmember Stacey Armato, when the council addressed the issue at its Oct. 24 meeting.

Although homes do fall behind schedule, the most visible delinquent developments tend to be  large commercial projects. These represent a small portion of building permits at any given time; only about 4 percent of total permits are for projects larger than 5,000 square feet, Robertson told the council in October.

Among the current projects that commissioners singled out as delayed are a mixed-use project at 2700 Manhattan Avenue. Commonly known as the “Five Corners” project, the site formerly housed La Sosta, a high-end Italian restaurant, The developer has proposed erecting residences with a snack shop on the ground floor. Commissioner Mike Flaherty commented Tuesday that the building had long ago been torn down, and seemed to periodically sit idle. (The lot stood empty at mid-day on Tuesday, but a crane crew was present at the site the following morning.)

Similar issues have plagued the H20 project in downtown Hermosa. When developer Raju Chhabria was at risk of losing his entitlements in late 2015 because of delays following the approval of the project, he pleaded with the commission and council to grant him a building permit, saying he otherwise risked losing financing. But the pace of construction since then has troubled some in the community.

“The hotel on Hermosa Avenue, it’s proceeding, but not as fast as I would have hoped. And whenever I drive or walk by there, the amount of people in there, it doesn’t look like a full crew,” said Councilmember Hany Fangary.

Part of the difficulty associated with the construction duration is that there are separate permits issued for various phases of a project, including demolition and shoring permits, along with building permits. The two-year deadline only applies to building permits, so a site can legally be under construction for far longer.

“If you come to me now and say, I want to tear down my house, and I don’t have any plans, there’s nothing I can do to stop you,” said Bob Rollins, building manager for the city.

The proposed changes come as several large projects, including the Skechers office complex on Pacific Coast Highway and Strand & Pier Hotel, are under review. Both would likely exceed the two-year time-line, staff said. Under the recommended changes, the commission could establish a longer time frame when approving a discretionary permit, which is required for all projects larger than 10,000 square feet..

Commissioner Marie Rice said that, for large projects the recommendations would give residents a better sense of what they were in for.

“What I like about this is that it’s public. The neighbors will be noticed, and informed ahead of time” about how long the project is expected to take, Rice said.

The resolution now heads to the City Council for final changes to the code.

Comments:

comments so far. Comments posted to EasyReaderNews.com may be reprinted in the Easy Reader print edition, which is published each Thursday.