Azusa : New Apartment Standards

The City Council has moved to raise standards for new apartment buildings and instructed the city staff to poll property owners in the central city to find out whether they want to give up their right to build apartments.

Councilman Lucio Cruz said he doubted that the new standards would satisfy homeowners who have complained about the proliferation of apartments. He suggested that the city send notices to property owners to find out if they want their property rezoned from R-3 (apartments) to R-1 (single-family homes). The notices will be sent to the area bounded by Foothill Boulevard on the north, San Gabriel Avenue on the west, First Street on the south and Pasadena Avenue on the east.

The new apartment standards, which the city attorney will incorporate into an ordinance, would increase parking, establish new setbacks, reduce the number of apartment units allowed on each lot and set new requirements for landscaping, trash enclosures, walls and other features.