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The partial destruction last weekend of a 19th-Century Victorian cottage in a historic district near USC outraged neighbors and has prompted chagrined city officials to tighten demolition rules streamlined after the spring riots.
The owner of the cottage in St. James Park-which was listed last year in the National Register of Historic Places-had obtained a demolition permit, claiming the building was damaged during the unrest.
But residents insist that no homes in the neighborhood were damaged in the riots, and they were horrified to find a demolition crew at the structure early Saturday. More than a dozen workers were dismantling the house with pickaxes, chain saws, crowbars and sledgehammers, cutting its distinctive green gable, smashing the diamond-shaped windows and splintering the 100-year old redwood walls.
Under standard city procedure, ownerChris Carbonel, who operates a property management firm in Torrance, would not have been able to obtain a demolition permit so quickly and without notifying neighbors.
But the city had streamlined the demolition permit procedure after the riots, eliminating a number of steps so property owners could quickly rebuild.
The demolition was halted after angry residents contacted the Building and Safety Department, and officials now are re-evaluating their approval of Carbonel's permit.