820 N. Soldano Ave condo conversion

Six townhomes on Soldano Avenue in Azusa were built as one rental property. Now the owner is asking the city to split them into condos so each home can be sold on its own. Nothing new gets built. What changes is how the land and the units are recorded, and that change takes several steps of its own.

What's there now

The six units sit on two parcels the city merged into one development site in 2019, when the Planning Commission approved the design (DR-2019-13) and the lot merger (LM-2019-02). JWDA-MS Architects applied for that approval. The homes are built like townhouses: each unit stands on its own, with no neighbor above or below. They were finished around 2024 and have been rented out since.

Why build it as a rental first

Building for-sale homes as one rental property and converting them later is a common path for small projects. Owners usually have two reasons. The first is liability. In California, buyers of new homes can bring construction-defect claims against the builder for up to 10 years after completion, and with condos that can mean claims from every owner and the HOA. Renting the units first keeps one owner and one set of tenants while the building settles in. The second is flexibility. One rental parcel is simpler to finance and hold, and the owner can decide later whether selling makes more sense. The city's record doesn't say why this owner chose this path.

What has to change before a unit can sell

Today the property is one site with one owner. To sell the homes one at a time, it has to be relabeled as six separately owned units, with shared areas held by a homeowners association. In Azusa that takes:

• A use permit for the conversion itself, under the city's condominium-conversion standards (Development Code §88.42.080). Here that is UP-2025-06.
• A tentative tract map that draws the six units and the common area. Here that is TTM-084050.
• A final map, recorded with LA County once the tentative map's conditions are met.
• A public report from the California Department of Real Estate, which a subdivider needs before selling units to the public.
• CC&Rs and a homeowners association to run the shared areas.

How it got here

The Planning Commission first heard the tract map on June 26, 2024. The minutes record a 4-0 vote, but the motion text repeats the 2019 design-review language, so it isn't clear what was adopted that night. The city then paired the map with a use permit. It sent a hearing notice for both on Aug. 27, 2025, and put them on the Sept. 24, 2025 Planning Commission agenda. The city found the conversion exempt from CEQA review because it adds nothing physical.

What's holding it back

The outcome of the Sept. 24, 2025 hearing has not shown up in any published minutes, so this page lists the project as under review. If the commission approved it, the remaining steps are the final map, the state's public report, and the HOA documents. None of those has appeared in the public record yet. We'll update this page when the city posts the outcome or a final map is recorded.

What this means if you live nearby

Nothing changes on the block. The buildings are already there, and the conversion adds no units, traffic or construction. If it goes through, six townhomes that have only been rentals could come up for sale one at a time.