Unable to Find a Legal Reason to Say No, Commissioners Approve Camilla Street Townhomes
State law limits when a city can turn down housing that meets its rules. It took four calls for a motion before the Whittier Planning Commission voted to approve the three-story project.
The Whittier Planning Commission voted 3-1 on Nov. 2 to approve nine three-story townhomes and one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at 13444-13448 Camilla Street, near Hoover Elementary School. The project, proposed by developer Paul Purunjian, would replace an existing house and duplex.
The vote did not come easily. Commissioner Luis Rodriguez moved to deny the project over its lot size. No one seconded. Chair Todd Borzi then asked for a motion four times, while staff and commissioners discussed changes to the conditions. Nobody made one.
“Again, getting crickets here,” Borzi said after the first call.
Later, with still no motion on the table, he asked, “Are we at an impasse?” Assistant City Attorney Scott Porter reminded him the chair could make a motion too. “Yeah, I know that,” Borzi said.
Porter had told commissioners they could not deny the project without a specific finding under state law. That law requires them to identify a specific, significant, measurable and unavoidable threat to public health or safety. The threat would have to rest on written standards in place when the application was considered complete. They would also have to show there was no feasible way to address it short of rejecting the project or reducing its size. “If you can’t make that finding, you have to approve the project,” he said.
Borzi then moved to approve, saying commissioners had not identified a safety concern that would justify denying it. Commissioner Yvonne Connolly seconded. Vice Chair Laura Cornejo said she was voting yes because no such finding had been made, and because of what else could be built there. Rodriguez was the only no.
