Monterey Park : Home Exemptions Granted

Exemptions will be granted to as many as 50 people who applied for building or home expansion permits before an “anti-mansionization” ordinance took effect Wednesday.

The City Council on Monday decided it would be unfair to force applicants who applied before Wednesday to comply with the ordinance, which is designed to reduce the bulk and size of single-family homes. It limits the amount of ground a house can cover, requires three-car garages for all new houses larger than 3,000 square feet and bans external staircases to cut down on illegal rental units in single-family homes.

Assistant City Manager Susan Chow, Monterey Park’s acting community development director, said some of 50 people with pending permit applications may be planning projects that already comply with the new restrictions.