building industry

Across Los Angeles, homes are being torn down and replaced with bigger houses, called "McMansions" by some. Now the city is considering a plan designed to keep the number of supersized homes in certain areas in check.

To prevent some new homes from blocking views and changing the look of neighborhoods too dramatically, the L.A. Department of City Planning has proposed changes to a 2008 citywide "mansionization" law. 

The amended law would scale back or eliminate certain building bonuses and exemptions that could lead to overly large homes. For example,  homeowners could no longer get a bigger space allowance for including energy-efficient features. And certain patios and porches larger than 150 square feet would count toward the size of the house, the current limit is 250 square feet.

"Changing the law would jeopardize jobs," said Tim Piasky, CEO of the Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California was quoted in radio broadcast transcript from LA 89.3 KPCC station.

"There’s a cottage industry out there that is buying older homes and remodeling them and bringing them to current standards. The city is also eroding homeowners' rights by preventing them from adding size — and value — to their property,” said Piasky.

He acknowledged that some houses may offend sensibilities, but said they’re in the minority. "You’re impacting all of them just to address a few outliers," Piasky said. "I think that it’s kind of throwing the baby out with the bathwater."

Complaints about outsized homes have been growing in recent years. The city, needing time to amend its mansionization law, offered a temporary fix last year to about 20 neighborhoods in L.A. predominantly on the Westside and in the southern San Fernando Valley. Two-year building limits went into effect in 15 neighborhoods identified by their councilmembers as having a high rate of mansionization. Five other neighborhoods were being designated as historic zones and got two-year moratoriums on building and demolition permits.

The planned changes to the citywide ordinance will cover the rest of the city's neighborhoods, ranging from Brentwood to South L.A., but the proposal is creating concern within the building industry.

After four public hearings, the city planning commission and the city council's Planning and Land Use Committee will review the proposal before it goes to the full council for a vote. Rothmann said if all goes as planned, the changes could be adopted by the fall.

The planning department will take public comment at the first hearing on Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles.

The other hearing dates are:

• Monday, May 9, 7-9 p.m. - Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center
• Tuesday, May 10, 7-9 p.m. - Felicia Mahood Multipurpose Center
• Monday, May 16, 7-9 p.m. - Marvin Braude Constituent Service

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The Building Industry Association of Southern California’s Political Action Committee (PAC) supports candidates knowledgeable and friendly to the building industry. The PAC’s mission is to identify, educate and support candidates for elected office who maintain integrity, have some understanding of and are supportive of the building industry and are committed to the American Dream of homeownership and free enterprise. Your support of the PAC directly influences the future of the home building industry and the future housing market.

How successful has the PAC been in its mission?

Over the last two election cycles the BIASC PAC has participated in 255 total races, prevailing in 210 regions wide, and maintained an impressive 82% win rate with candidates the PAC has supported in regional, state and local elections. The PAC has also supported CBIA’s legislative agenda by re-enforcing support for key legislators in its region as appropriate and funds are available.

Current Building Industry-Related Issues

School facilities construction is an important issue that CBIA and the BIASC PAC have been focused on. New home development and school facility construction are mutually beneficial: families buy or rent homes in neighborhoods to take advantage of good schools and development spurs new school construction. The new homebuilding industry has long recognized this relationship and has served as an investment partner alongside state and local communities to build or modernize schools through the successful SB 50 program since 1998.

 This partnership has helped keep homes affordable for hardworking families, given districts the resources needed to build good schools, and created good paying construction jobs in communities. Unfortunately, this partnership is in jeopardy. The state’s fund to supply matching grants to school districts is nearly depleted, leaving a large funding gap between what districts can raise locally and what is needed to meet their school construction needs.

How Can You Help the BIASC PAC?

BIASC PAC will be hosting a Gala event, “Bringing Home the Dream in 2016: Debating the Presidential Election Landscape Perspectives from the Right and Left,” on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.

Check-in for the event is from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and the general reception for the event takes place from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Encouraging trade partners to support the BIASC PAC with a nominal $250 ticket to the April 20, 2016 PAC event, it goes a long way to bolstering the PAC’s strength. Please contact Maria Bolanos for additional information at (949) 777-3850 or email mbolanos@biasc.org.