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Monrovia Begins Effort to Curtail Mansionization
Monrovia Weekly Aug 03, 2016
Hoge with High Point student Eliana-Courtesy Photo
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Council Member Gloria Crudgington. – Photo courtesy City of Monrovia
First Step Revises City’s Building Code
By Susan Motander
After almost two years of work, Monrovia’s Planning Department presented its recommendations to the city council regarding the issue of mansionization. The new regulations will limit size of single-family residences and increase the rear setback. Council unanimously adopted these suggestions at their most recent meeting.
In the fall of 2014 the city imposed two moratoria, one on demolition permits and the other on building permits for certain parts of the community. At the meeting on Tuesday evening, Craig Jimenez, the city’s community development director, presented proposed changes to the city’s building code and fee schedule for single-family residences in the Residential Foothill (RF), Residential Estate (RE) and Residential Low Density (RL) zones.
As Jimenez explained, this was just the first step in the process of amending the city’s building codes. The next step will be to amend the code for multi-family residences. He also laid out the ultimate plan to include neighborhood compatibility and historic preservation.
Jimenez explained that the proposed changes were unanimously endorsed by the members of the planning commission.
Council Member Gloria Crudgington said that as council liaison to the planning commission, she was present for their discussion. She told the other members of the council that the commission represented a wide spectrum of members of the community, ranging from a developer, to strict preservationists. She said that no one was completely happy with the proposed changes, but that all endorsed it as the best possible compromise.
Crudgington called the proposed changes “that sweet spot in the middle” and praised the members of the city staff for working out the compromise.
The council then went on after a brief discussion to unanimously approve the changes. It must be noted that Council Member Alex Blackburn was on an excused absence and was not present at the meeting.
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