For those neighbors who are still mourning the loss of the Norton Avenue Bungalow Court demolished last July, take heart. A recent article on LA.Curbed.com makes a case for saving these quaint historic homes as a solution to LA’s housing shortage and efforts that could help.
Changes to the City’s Small Lot Subdivision ordinance proposed by City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell could help, according to the article:
O’Farrell is trying to revise that ordinance to remove much of the red tape preventing more developers from taking on projects like the one Civic Enterprise undertook when converting the Maltman bungalows. His changes were approved by the Planning and Land Use Management Committee earlier this month, and now await final approval from the City Council.
Will it be enough to preserve the courts we have left?
It’s possible. The revisions would allow bungalows in bungalow courts to be sold individually without making developers bring them up to current parking codes. It would also allow them to keep their unique yards and passageways. If approved, the changes could offer new opportunities to preserve existing courts and encourage developers to take on more projects like the Maltman Bungalows.
It would also make building new small lot homes more difficult, preventing their construction in certain low-slung areas and giving developers a stricter set of design principles to adhere to.
Hopefully! We’ll keep you posted on developments.
