Laguna settles Mar Vista suit

Owner drops lawsuit after city reissues building permits for 17,000-square-foot house project.The city dodged a legal bullet this week when a building permit was reissued Monday for a 17,000-square-foot single-family residence on Mar Vista.

City Manager Ken Frank entered into an agreement -- which included granting the building permit -- with the Mar Vista property owner, who was also the plaintiff in a lawsuit against the city.

The suit claimed that the City Council acted illegally in hearing on Nov. 1 an appeal filed by neighbors opposed to the project who were disputing an administrative approval of building permits granted in October.

“The agreement makes the lawsuit moot,” City Atty. Philip Kohn said.

Shortly after the agreement was signed and the permit issued, the city learned that Superior Court Judge Sheila Fell had issued a tentative ruling that would have compelled the city to reissue the building permit authorized by Community Development Director John Montgomery.

The council held two hearings on the administrative decision by Montgomery and had voted at the second of the two meeting not to uphold Montgomery’s approval and to modify conditions that he had approved.

Since the last council meeting, the property owner has satisfied all of the provisions imposed by the council, city officials said.

“Fell’s tentative ruling was adverse to the city,” Frank said.

According to Frank, Fell was prepared to find that the appeal of the issuance of the building permit was not permitted under the city’s municipal code because the decision was administrative and the property owner had performed substantial work and spent substantial amounts of money in good-faith reliance on the permit.

By reaching the agreement and reissuing the permit, the city avoided any adverse consequences had the judge entered a final decision in accord with her tentative ruling, Frank said.