Plan to Redevelop Downtown Van Nuys Is Unveiled

A redevelopment plan for a 50-square-block area of downtown Van Nuys that would replace “old, decaying buildings with a new modern shopping, office and restaurant complex” was proposed Thursday by state Sen. Alan Robbins.

Robbins (D-Van Nuys) unveiled his proposal in letters to Los Angeles City Councilmen Marvin Braude and Joel Wachs. Braude and Wachs inherited the downtown Van Nuys area from Councilman Ernani Bernardi, who has been a critic of redevelopment zones, in the recent redrawing of council districts.

The plan to create a redevelopment zone in Van Nuys drew positive responses from Braude, Wachs and the Van Nuys Chamber of Commerce.

They cautioned, however, that their support would depend in large part on the treatment of residents and businesses that might be forced to relocate because of redevelopment.

“It is crucial that existing residents and business people are fairly and equitably treated,” Braude said.

Robbins said some residents and businesses would be displaced, but that there are no estimates of how many. With the proposal is in its infancy, the cost also has not been estimated, he said.

It would be the second redevelopment district in the San Fernando Valley--the other is in North Hollywood--and the 18th in Los Angeles.

The district would be financed, he said, by combining small properties into a large city-owned parcel. The city then would sell the parcel at a profit and use that money for improvements, he said.

State grants could help finance housing for displaced residents and pay for parkland in the zone, he said.

“We can take all these old buildings and replace them with some new shops, restaurants, trees, grass,” he said. The development would blend offices, theaters and stores with a tree-lined walk “and perhaps a fountain or two,” he said.

An alternative financing plan would use property taxes in the zone, Robbins said. The city’s redevelopment agency can collect and distribute tax money generated by any increase in the total value of property in such a zone.

Robbins suggested that the district be bounded on the north by Kittridge Street, on the south by Oxnard Street, on the west by Kester Avenue and on the east by Tyrone Avenue.

The area is a mixture of older apartment buildings, residences, closed buildings and businesses that include an adult book store, bail bond offices, service stations, and bars.

A cluster of government buildings, including a Los Angeles County courthouse, are also in the area, but are excluded from the proposed zone.

Robbins said he hoped the council would approve an ordinance creating the zone this year, have a redevelopment plan ready in 1987 and break ground in 1988.

But Wachs and Braude said City Council approval for the zone could take at least a year. Both said they favor extensive public hearings, and the proposal also must be studied by the city’s redevelopment agency.

Bernardi on Thursday said he had not seen Robbins’ proposal and would not comment on it. But he noted that he has opposed other redevelopment zones when “hard-earned tax dollars” are used to support private developers.

Wachs, in contrast, helped create the North Hollywood redevelopment zone in the 1970s, and Braude said he has favored most redevelopment zones.

Linda O’Connor, president of the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn., said her group wants to see details of the proposal before taking a position.

“We know Van Nuys really needs a face lift,” she said. “But we do need to see how many homeowners are displaced by this.”

“The project itself seems very worthwhile,” she said.