SHERMAN OAKS—David Ryu, the city councilman representing Los Angeles’s 4th District, took office on July 1 and is trying to stop “mansionization,” the building of mansion-like houses in small neighborhoods.
Ryu will introduce a motion that checks mansionizing to follow up on a promise he made in his campaign for council. The motion will include an interim control ordinance that will limit the characteristics and sizes of houses that can be built. Also included is a revision of the baseline mansionization ordinance which will limit mansions on small plots for Sherman Oaks.
Councilman Paul Kortez initially introduced the motion of revising the baseline mansionization ordinance but was told that the revision could take from 18 months to two years to complete. Ryu is attempting to accelerate that process because residents fear that if they wait too long, most of the houses will be replaced by larger “McMansions.”
Along with the council, many other Sherman Oaks entities have been rallying against mansionization. The Sherman Oaks neighborhood council adopted a resolution on Monday, July 13 that pushed city leaders to set up an interim control ordinance. Some of the city’s residents have also started a petition regarding the issue that has gained 500 signatures.
Fourteen other neighborhoods have already received approval for an interim control ordinance, like Sherman Oaks’ neighbor Studio City, but Sherman Oaks was not one of them. Ryu commented about this issue to the City News Service and said that “It’s really unfortunate [Sherman Oaks] couldn’t get included the first time around.”
If the restrictions are imposed on the Sherman Oaks area, then it will be the largest interim control district in Los Angeles.
