A TRIAL DATE of Sept. 3 has been set to hear a lawsuit against a proposed apartment complex in Westminster (Shutterstock).
A trial date of Tuesday, Sept. 3 has been set to hear the case of the Residents of Westminster organization against plans to build a new three-story apartment complex.
The trial is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. in Dept. CX 104 at the Civic Center Complex in Santa Ana.
Originally rejected by the Westminster City Council on Sept. 5, 2018, the project was approved on Sept. 19 when Councilwoman Kimberly Ho switched positions and joined Mayor Tri Ta and Councilman Chi Charlie Nguyen in voting in favor.
The project is a 24-apartment development on a 1.01-acre site at 13800-13832 Milton Ave. Initially, it was defeated because the zoning code allows only 18 units on a site that size.
However, Ho concluded that a state law allowed developers to get a “high-density bonus” of more apartments if some are rented to tenants at low or very low-rent tenants.
Nearby residents have complained that the development as approved would cause potential problems with parking, traffic and environmental issues.
According to ROW’s lawsuit, the council’s approval violated state law and city land use ordinances and that the project was not eligible for exemption from environmental review.
The group wants the developers – Chris Albers Sr. and Jr. – to:
- reduce the number of units in the project
- add more off-street parking
- reduce the height of the buildings
- release the results of an environmental study.
Efforts to reach the Albers by The Tribune were not successful.