Torrance

Before a chamber full of residents who applauded the decision, the City Council has limited development of the Perry School site to single-family homes rather than the town houses the developer preferred.

The council voted 4 to 2 to uphold the Planning Commission’s decision to rezone the 9.5-acre site on Prairie Street to limit the number of homes per acre to six.

Homeowners in the area had complained that multifamily homes would be out of character in the predominantly single-family-home neighborhood, and that the area was already burdened with heavy traffic.

Frank Thompson, president of W & B Builders of Santa Monica, had made an 11th-hour effort to get approval for multifamily structures by lowering his original request of 151 town houses to 137.

After the public hearing, which lasted more tha two hours, Thompson said he was unsure what his firm will do now.

“That’s a very difficult decision,” he said, noting that the company has invested about $4.5 million in the project. “All we’ll do is lose more money.”