14 FEATURES Wednesday, May 9, 2007 KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES WILLY KORCHEK ‘09 often using the same siding materials. simple renovation would not make sense. Online Editor But the list of McMansions only Teardowns have been present as long as continues—and the Stansbury area is not homes have been present, but in recent years, A McDonald’s Mansion the only neighborhood riddled with huge they have been targeted as perfect locations houses on comparatively small lots. for McMansions that hinder neighborhood The McMansion. One part massive unity. single-family home worth an outlandish The McMansion Multiplies Xchange Properties, headquartered in sum of money, another part McDonald’s, the Clarendon Hills, Illinois, makes a business omnipresent fast food chain seen repeatedly According to the United States Census, of marketing over 100 teardown properties across America. Together, a McDonald’s 1,654,500 single-family houses were built each year countrywide, including Southern mansion, or McMansion, is an idiom applied in 2006, the most since 1973. These houses, California, and facilitating the selling of the to those houses that are similar in appearance, however, had an average of 2,434 square land for redevelopment, in essence brokering garish in effect, and seen negatively by city feet, a nearly 47 percent increase in square teardowns to consumers. planners, environmentalists, and the average footage when compared to 1973’s average “[Teardown activity] is perceived as neighborhood dweller whose sunlight—and of 1,660 square feet. smart growth,” said Andrei Vorobiev, a pride of ownership—have been taken away In 1973, 64 percent of all single-family founder of the company. “Instead of going by the new three-story manor next door. homes had three bedrooms. Only 23 percent out and converting corn fields for housing, First appearing in the 1980’s, had four or more bedrooms. But in 2005, in essence we use the land.” McMansions are ever-present today, even 39 percent of all single-family homes had Vorobiev said that it is a city’s in Sherman Oaks and especially around four bedrooms or more, while 49 percent responsibility to set building limits, but what Stansbury Avenue. had three bedrooms. In fact, the percentage happens to the properties Xchange sells is Take a 9,830 square foot house on of houses with three bedrooms continued up to the buyer. Stansbury. The two story house is placed to decrease from 1981, but the number of “It’s the base of the American very close to the sidewalk and was built on houses with four or more bedrooms started constitution: preservation of private spec in 2006 after a smaller, 3,190 square to rise in 1986, around the time of the birth property,” he said. foot Cape Cod style home built in 1946 of the McMansion. On the west coast, The National Trust for Historic was demolished. The original house was almost half of all single-family houses had Preservation works to preserve historic one story, set back from the street, and sold four or more bedrooms in 2005. neighborhoods by promoting legislation to for $1,582,500 compared to the new house, Since the conception of the McMansion, curb teardowns and the development of new which entered the market at $4,250,000 and worried neighbors have fought to curb the McMansions. th was later reduced to $3,995,000. The new construction of extremely large homes from “From 19 century Victorian to 1920’s house towers over neighbors on either side. being built. bungalows, the architecture of America’s And then there is the case of three One problem occurs even before a historic neighborhoods reflects the character houses in the Sherman Oaks area built McMansion is built: most new homes are of our communities,” said Richard Moe, together in 2006 on spec on one subdivided built on lots of existing homes that must be president, on the National Trust’s website lot. The three McMansions are very similar torn down. Because these homes can be of (www.nationaltrust.org). “Teardowns in appearance and are built right on top of a historic style, carry historic significance, radically change the fabric of a community. one another. The lots, 10,973, 8,833, and or embody neighborhood charm, officials Without proper safeguards, historic 8,002 square feet respectively, are rather have begun to enact measures slowing the neighborhoods will lose the identities that small for the size of the three houses, building process and are issuing moratoriums drew residents to put down roots in the first especially in width. on demolition. place.” Many groups of houses in the Sherman In real estate and developer jargon, In a list of 300 communities endangered Oaks area are built by developers on spec a “teardown” is a home that is older and and are very similar looking McMansions, lacks necessary modernizations that a [See Mansion, Page 19] 18 WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2007 THE STUDENT VOICE FEATURES [From Mansion, Page 14] is the design that is the issue in almost every by teardowns compiled by the National Trust, case.” Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Perhaps that is why since the 1980’s, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Beverly Hills’ the Design Review Van Nuys, and other Greater Los Angeles Commission evaluates new homes for areas were noted individually. size, design, and congruity with the rest The National Trust views these of the neighborhood. For new homes, the neighborhoods as “endangered,” and commission created the Residential Design therefore encourages further legislation, but Catalogue to help with choosing a style. Both most examples of counteracting laws have the review process and the catalogue are proved ineffective. the city’s efforts to maintain neighborhood In Austin, Texas, for example, an unity and prevent overbuilding. The city ordinance limiting the building of large has even gone so far as to ban the “Persian homes was passed in September 2006 that Palace” style. “prohibits houses more than 2,300 square Beverly Hills also limits house size to feet or over 40 percent of their lot size 1,500 square feet plus 40 percent of the lot in most central Austin neighborhoods,” size square footage, according to the Los according to the Austin Business Journal. Angeles Times. Pasadena only allows 500 Since then, however, officials have said that square feet plus 30 percent of the lot size. this law will hurt Austin’s economy and Rand said that in Sherman Oaks, only land value. the hillside regions have controlled design In “A Report of the Economic Impact of limitations, but he does not think that moving the City of Austin’s McMansion Ordinance” to control the “articulation of buildings” is filed March 12, 2007, DataSource, an the right direction. Instead, he believes that economic consulting firm, found that the SONC should stay focused on limiting size. measure directly reduces taxes, lessens Capps was elected to the board after a speech for San Pedro and won’t work for Venice,” “I think the hillside is different and home values, and harms the building and highlighting his views against development said Rand. “Each city must tailor its own unique, but I don’t think a design review remodeling industries. and mansionization, explaining that he is a response to the issue.” component is necessary,” he said. “You Atlanta has also considered similar “victim.” [introduce] too much intrusive government legislation, but a four-month moratorium on David Rand, a lawyer who serves as The Beauty Bias action and you’ll get real problems. I think teardowns was cancelled by the city council the chair of SONC’s Land Use Committee we open up a quagmire if we start dictating in February 2006 after it was found to create (LUC), said that because mansionization More than just alluding to large design and style.” a disadvantage to some neighborhoods and is “the most talked about issue” in the structures, “McMansion” has come to be a In Glendale, two design review boards, was too “exclusive.” Sherman Oaks area, a new subcommittee derogatory term when describing homes. which include architects, meet every Locally, Manhattan Beach imposed has been created aimed to recommend ways Critics of mansionization point out that Thursday to review proposed buildings for a moratorium on any lot mergers in April to control the size of newly built homes. deeper connections between a McMansion “design issues.” to curb the development of huge homes “I think it’s a really topical and pretty and McDonald’s exist: both are intrusive on The Northwest Glendale Homeowners spanning two or three lots. Los Angeles divisive issue like it is in a lot of communities quaint neighborhood settings and display Association, which created the two boards, councilmember Tom LaBonge has across the city. I’ve been surprised in the architecture that doesn’t always fit in with also helped pass a zoning ordinance limiting pushed for a city-wide ordinance to curb motion I’ve seen out of this issue,” he the rest of the neighborhood. Adjectives the lot size to home size ratio. The group mansionization, especially related to square said. “People are really upset about large, like “garish” and “ubiquitous” are often also works to limit hillside development. footage to lot size ratios. oversized box homes being built. It has paired with McMansion. Traditionally, According to Rand, because “I would hope we could rethink it to created a real backlash.” McMansions have also been thought of mansionization is a more prevalent issue in allow a person to build their American The LUC’s mansionization as involving little construction expense Sherman Oaks than crime, there is something dream, their castle, and still have them in subcommittee recommends ways to because they cut corners, often producing here to be thankful for: “Mansionization in scale with the neighborhood,” LaBonge told “tighten” zoning rules to the city council, aesthetically unpleasing structures.