Braude Urges Moratorium on Hillside Homes

Concerned about problems caused by construction of large houses on substandard lots, Los Angeles City Councilman Marvin Braude on Wednesday asked the City Council to approve a building moratorium for a 1 1/2-square-mile hillside area of Woodland Hills.

The moratorium would give city planners time to review ways of preventing excessive development on an estimated 2,000 small lots around the Woodland Hills Country Club, Braude said. The area, originally called the Girard Tract, is south of Ventura Boulevard and east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

Braude’s proposal was referred to the City Council’s Planning and Environment Committee, which will conduct a public hearing before making a recommendation to the full council. But the area is in Braude’s district, and council members generally defer to colleagues on projects in their districts.

Besides overbuilding, Braude said, the area suffers from traffic congestion, parking shortages and “other ills usually associated with hillside overdevelopment.” Slopes in the area also may be undermined by septic tanks, Braude said.

The Girard Tract was developed by Woodland Hills founder Victor Girard in 1922 as a weekend retreat for Los Angeles residents. Lots were subdivided at the then legally permitted 3,500-square-foot size.

Although the first houses in the area were tiny three-room cabins, large homes have been built in recent years on the lots, “which are considered substandard by today’s regulations,” Braude said in his motion. The city’s zoning now requires a minimum of 5,000 square feet per residential lot.

“In addition to the planning and life-style problems associated with the overly intense development of the Girard tract, consideration must now be given to the substandard infrastructure and the effects of such overdevelopment on it,” Braude said in his motion.

Lack of Roads, Sewers

“Specifically in question are the substandard roads and lack of sewers in the area. Often the roads are developed to half their approved dedications or less, creating inconvenience to neighbors and, more important, the hazard of potentially inadequate access for emergency vehicles.

“As growth occurs, so does demand for these services and the ever-increasing likelihood of serious problems. Along with access problems come those of road capacity and parking,” Braude said.

Braude said the moratorium would permit city departments to study ways of improving access, particularly for emergency vehicles, and of installing sewers.

The building ban has been sought by the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization, which proposed it last summer.

Brad Rosenheim, Braude’s Valley deputy, said one result of the moratorium could be to make future development contingent on road and sewer improvements. He said city planners also will consider combining small lots next to each other and under the same ownership to make larger lots.