Studio City Residents Keep Options Open on Height Moratorium

Members of the Studio City Residents Assn., citing strict development controls that already exist in their community, voted Tuesday night not to join three other Valley communities in seeking a building-height moratorium on Ventura Boulevard.

Fearful of missing out on a good thing, however, association members instructed their president, Dan Shapiro, to work with city officials and homeowners’ groups from Sherman Oaks, Encino and Tarzana on drafting the moratorium proposal. If the document turns out to be a better method of controlling development than already exists in Studio City, association members said, they will ask to be included in the moratorium.

Responding to community complaints about congestion, the Los Angeles City Council in May directed the city Planning Department and city attorney to prepare an ordinance that would establish a one-year moratorium on buildings taller than three stories on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, Encino and Tarzana. The moratorium, which would requires another vote of approval by the City Council, also would restrict density and place greater demands on developers for parking while the city develops a traffic management plan for Ventura Boulevard.

Unlike the other three communities, where zoning now allows many six-story buildings--and, in Sherman Oaks, a few 20-story buildings--most of Studio City already is restricted to three-story structures. The exception is along the north side of Ventura Boulevard, between Laurel Grove and Radford avenues, where six-story buildings are allowed.

In urging her group to support the moratorium, association member Polly Ward warned that, if the strip in Studio City became the only section of Ventura Boulevard where six-story buildings were allowed, traffic in the community would become “a monstrosity.”