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The Hawthorne City Council has given preliminary approval to a law that will allow owners of houses in commercially zoned areas to rebuild if the houses are damaged by a natural disaster.
The ordinance still requires a final vote next month. It was drafted in response to residents’ complaints after the city rezoned 80 acres of mostly residential and industrial property at
Rosecrans Avenue and the San Diego Freeway. The land was redesignated for freeway-related commercial development in the city’s updated General Plan, which the council approved in April.
Several major redevelopment projects are pending on the 80 acres, including the 38-acre Mattel project. At the Nov. 27 council meeting, several residents said the new zoning made it illegal
to rebuild a house if more than 50% of it is destroyed by a natural disaster such as a fire or an earthquake. Under the ordinance tentatively approved Tuesday, residents can rebuild and even
expand their houses by up to 30% of the floor area. MORE TO READ
