Los Angeles : Fighting Building-Ban Veto

Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden will try to override Mayor Tom Bradley’s veto of a temporary moratorium on building in two pockets of the 10th District, Holden’s chief deputy said.

The City Council will address the mayor’s veto Oct. 4, having postponed the matter Wednesday because Holden was out of town, said Herb Wesson, the councilman’s chief deputy.

Under pressure from constituents in the Pico-Fairfax area, Holden pushed the emergency measure through the Planning Commission and City Council. Bradley vetoed it Friday as illegal and a poor planning technique.

The moratorium is meant to be a stopgap measure until a growth-control ordinance can be enacted for Holden’s entire council district. Homeowners became alarmed when developers rushed to get their projects started while the interim control ordinance was being fashioned.

The homeowners have said they want to preserve their racially integrated area of old Spanish homes from apartment development.

Ten council votes are needed to override the mayor’s veto. Although 12 council members voted for the moratorium, Wesson said Holden has not yet determined if his colleagues will still support the ban in the wake of the mayor’s veto.