Protection Sought for Sherman Oaks Homes : Council Backs Apartment Limits
A proposal to restrict the construction of high-rise apartments next to single-family homes in a large part of Sherman Oaks got a good reception Wednesday from the Los Angeles City Council.
On a 10-0 vote, the council ordered the drafting of ordinances to severely restrict the building of large apartment projects in two areas.
Council action was requested by Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who gained Sherman Oaks in his district under the council’s recent redistricting. In his motion to the council, Yaroslavsky said, “The community is experiencing continuing high- and medium-density multifamily residential development along its major highways and secondary streets that backs up to single-family homes.
“Such residential development is occurring because neither the present zoning nor the community plans for the area sufficiently limit residential densities and are not adequately protecting single-family neighborhoods.”
Covered Areas Described
One area that would be covered by the restrictions is south of Ventura Boulevard and generally bounded by the San Diego Freeway on the west, Valley Vista Boulevard on the south and Hazeltine Avenue on the east. The other is north of Ventura Boulevard, east of the San Diego Freeway, south of Magnolia Boulevard and west of Whitsett Avenue.
Yaroslavsky’s proposal for the area north of Ventura Boulevard calls for limiting the height of apartments and condominiums based on their distance from single-family homes.
Apartment buildings closer than 50 feet to homes would be restricted to no more than two stories.
In some areas of Sherman Oaks, there is now no height limit, and developers have built five-story apartment buildings within 10 feet of single-family homes, prompting homeowners to complain of blocked views and loss of sunlight.
The proposal for south of Ventura Boulevard would severely limit the size of apartment and condominium complexes for one year--the limits based on a zoning formula--to give city planners time to prepare permanent restrictions. A similar proposal was recently adopted by the council for the Valley Village area of North Hollywood.
