Windsor Hills Condo Project to Advance Despite Local Appeal

A long-running fight over hillside housing in Windsor Hills is heading back to court after Los Angeles County supervisors rejected residents’ appeal of a proposed condominium project.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to overrule an appeal filed by United Homeowners Association II, clearing the way for an 88-unit development from The Bedford Group known as The View at Overhill to proceed through the environmental review process again, LAist reported.

The five-story project, planned for a vacant hilltop parcel at 5101 South Overhill Drive, has been a flashpoint in the community for nearly a decade. The Bedford Group wants to build condos aimed at “upscale workforce housing,” including 10 units reserved for moderate-income buyers, according to promotional materials for the project cited by LAist.

Residents organized through the United Homeowners Association II say the project could strain infrastructure and pose safety risks. The group raised concerns about water pressure for nearby homes and fire hydrants, the site’s proximity to the Inglewood Oil Field and the Newport–Inglewood fault line, and traffic conditions near the busy intersection of Overhill, La Brea and Stocker Street.

“We’re not against development,” the group’s land use chair, Angela Sherick-Bright, said. “If you’re going to approve a project of this magnitude, why not make sure it’s going to work for us?”

County planners say those issues have been addressed through years of hearings and revisions. Susan Tae, a Department of City Planning assistant deputy director, said officials believe The Bedford Group’s latest plans respond to earlier concerns.

“We feel confident we’ve addressed any of the outstanding issues,” Tae said. Still, the project will require a new geotechnical review before moving forward because the last such study was completed in 2014.

United Homeowners Association II is considering its path forward as it is still worried about the project, Sherick-Bright said. Tae said a timeline for the environmental review to go before the court is not yet clear. In the meantime, Tae said the county is actively working to address some of the resident concerns which include issues beyond the scope of The View project. — Chris Malone Méndez