Lomita condo owners file first lawsuit in Green Hills mausoleum dispute

Two-and-a-half years after Green Hills Memorial Park built a mausoleum eight feet away from an abutting condominium complex — sparking controversy over funerals taking place on its grassy rooftop burial ground — the first lawsuit has been filed in the dispute that has long had litigation written all over it.

Sharon Loveys and 29 other owners of the Vista Verde condominiums in Lomita are suing the city of Rancho Palos Verdes and the City Council over its decision last year to do an about-face on its legal strategy to resolve the simmering dispute over the Pacific Terrace Mausoleum, which was built a stone’s throw from the condos in violation of a required 40-foot setback — replacing the condo owners’ views with the up-close funerals.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks to overtu the council’s Nov. 17 decision to pursue three-party mediation instead of putting a moratorium on the funerals and requiring the cemetery to apply for an after-the-fact variance allowing the building to remain so close to homes.

The suit, which names Green Hills as a “real party,” argues the city is subjecting the neighbors to an ongoing public nuisance.

Vista Verde attoey Noel Weiss said he hopes a judge will order Rancho Palos Verdes to subject the mausoleum to a public hearing that should have occurred when plans were submitted in 2007, but did not due to a series of errors and oversights outlined in a scathing investigative report.

“My position is they have no right to bury on the roof under the zoning code unless they get a variance or prove a specific finding showing it’s not going to be a hindrance on the adjacent property owners, and that never happened,” Weiss said.

But Rancho Palos Verdes City Attoey David Aleshire believes requiring a variance could expose the city to “millions upon millions of dollars” in potential lawsuits because the building could be ordered to be relocated, which would involve disinterring human remains.

“We believe that the city’s action was valid and appropriate,” Aleshire said in response to the lawsuit.

He said City Council members decided in closed session Tuesday they will not pursue one-on-one mediation with Vista Verde, as requested by Weiss.

Sixty-one people have been buried on the roof of the Pacific Terrace Mausoleum, according to Green Hills attoey Ellen Berkowitz.

“The Vista Verde homeowners did not respond to Green Hills’ offer to mediate as had been recommended by the city, and have instead elected to litigate,” Berkowitz said. “While Green Hills would have preferred to proceed with the mediation, Green Hills is certainly prepared to vigorously defend this frivolous action.”

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The lawsuit is separate from claims filed against the city by the Vista Verde owners in January seeking $16.6 million for property losses as well as financial and emotional damages.

Loveys and other condo owners spoke before the council on Tuesday, as did several residents who live on Peninsula Verde Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes, which runs parallel to the cemetery’s northe property line.

Those homeowners have raised conces about another mausoleum under construction about 130 feet away from them, which is nearing completion.

According to Senior Plaer So Kim, Green Hills submitted an application in January to fill the Inspiration Slope Mausoleum’s rooftop with earth for a 595-plot burial ground, but coincidentally withdrew its application the same day last week that she met with residents conceed about the building.

City staff had determined that the proposed burial ground would have needed to go before the Plaing Commission for a public hearing.

Berkowitz did not comment on why the cemetery withdrew those plans.

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