Planners OK Zoning for 2 Woodland Hills Towers

Long-range zoning that could lead to development of two controversial Woodland Hills high-rise projects was approved Thursday by Los Angeles city planners.

Planning commissioners endorsed twin 13-story towers for the community’s busiest intersection and agreed to interim zoning that could result in a seven-story office project on a ridge next to a residential neighborhood.

The two proposed high-rise sites were the last major hurdles delaying approval of far-reaching zoning guidelines that are to direct the growth of the West San Fernando Valley into the 21st Century.

City officials are being required by state legislation and a court order to redraw zoning maps to make all zoning conform to Los Angeles’ master plan by next March.

The West Valley’s parcel-by-parcel development guide generally calls for a continued low-rise, residential look for Canoga Park, Woodland Hills and West Hills. It allocates 77% of the area for housing, 12% for schools and parks and 11% for shops and factories.

Except for portions of Ventura Boulevard and the Warner Center area, where six-story buildings are envisioned in the future, the new plan generally limits new building heights to three stories or less.

But Woodland Hills residents had demanded even tougher height restrictions in hopes of blocking the two controversial high-rise proposals--dual towers planned for the northeast corner of Ventura and Topanga Canyon boulevards, and a nine-structure complex on Warner Ridge, next to a hilly 26-year-old neighborhood of 1,300 single-family homes.

Six-Floor Limit

Homeowners had complained during months of debate over the new zoning guide that both developments would cause increased traffic congestion and would erode Woodland Hills’ residential atmosphere. Officials had been urged to limit the boulevard project to six stories and require that Warner Ridge be developed as a luxury single-family housing subdivision.

Planning staff members had also called for a six-floor limit for the boulevard site, currently used for a one-story shopping center. They cited nearby traffic congestion and the 7 1/2-acre site’s three-quarter-mile distance from the Warner Center high-rise core.

But commission members said Thursday that the twin-tower plan--proposed by the Warner family in 1956 and approved in concept by the commission in 1983--will add to Woodland Hills’ aesthetics. They added that the community will have a chance at future hearings to argue for a lower height as specifics of the Warner Ridge project are reviewed by the city.

For Warner Ridge, planners approved a three-story height limit for now, noting that such zoning could be subject to change if the proposed $150-million office complex passes muster with the city. The ridge’s owner, Warner Ridge Associates, has prepared an environmental impact report being reviewed by city officials and homeowners.

Short term or not, the three-story zoning was accepted by Donald Gralnek, Warner Ridge Associates’ attorney, and Rosemary Woodlock, a lawyer representing the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization.

“We view this as a win,” said Robert Gross, a homeowners’ group vice president who lives near the ridge. “We’re in a stronger position to present our case when this comes up again. Our concerns have been exposed to the city.”