Plan Limiting Council Authority Criticized

Following angry testimony from about a dozen residents, the Los Angeles City Council balked Wednesday at a plan that would limit the council’s authority to hear public appeals of planning decisions but sent it to a committee for further study.

The proposal--one of 65 ideas proposed last year by a development reform panel created by Mayor Richard Riordan--would eliminate the council’s power to overturn decisions by the Board of Zoning Appeals, a mayoral-appointed committee.

Under the proposal, the Board of Zoning Appeals would have final say on approving liquor licenses, imposing restrictions on bars and restaurants and permitting cellular antennas, among other matters.

Council members and representatives from homeowner groups from throughout the city criticized the proposal, saying it would radically gut the public hearing process.

“It’s a blatant attempt to circumvent the public appeals process,” said Don Schultz, president of the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn.

Many speakers and council members suggested the proposal should be rejected outright. But the council ultimately decided to send it and several other streamlining measures to a council committee for revisions and further study.

“It isn’t enough to send it to committee,” said Barbara Fine, a member of the Westside Civic Assn. “We want it killed.”

The idea behind the proposal--and the 65 other measures offered by Riordan’s reform committee--is to reduce the amount of time and money developers spend in trying to get projects approved by City Hall.