Silver Lake homeowner Richard Kaye is understandably a little peeved that developer Chong Lee is building a house so close to his own home that he can touch it from his balcony. Kaye wants the city to void Lee's building permits, saying officials were wrong to ignore the proximity between the two houses when they issued the permits several weeks ago. Lee is building on an empty lot next to Kaye's 1920s house, built at a time when houses were allowed to run right up to the property line, according to the LA Times. Lee alleges that Kaye's balcony and garage are unpermitted and extend onto his property, but even if that is the case (which Kaye denies, and there seems to be some dispute over where the property line is), both balcony and garage are shown on the plans Lee submitted to the city. So why'd the permits get issued?
Because Lee covered them both up with Wite-Out, apparently. "[Lee] showed me his plans. They showed the projections shown initially on the approved plans had been whited out. You could see it. He said it was suggested that they do it and the city supervisor knew there was white-out on the plans," Kaye's lawyer says; "Lee did not dispute that account but noted that the city is well aware that his new house is within arm's reach of a corner of Kaye's balcony." A rep for Councilmember Garcetti says they've asked the Department of Building & Safety to investigate. For their part, the folks at Building & Safety claim to know nothing about the Wite-Out on the plans, but are investigating. If they can't find proof that Kaye's balcony and garage are kosher, he may have to tear them down. [Image via LA Weekly]
·Who will back down in Silver Lake building dispute? [LAT]
·Worst Neighbor of 2012: Ultra-modernist Los Angeles Home Built Two Feet from 1923 Silver Lake Cottage [LAW]
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