Apartment Plan Protested : Van Nuys Building Ban Sought

Calling for a building moratorium, about 20 homeowners picketed Friday outside the office of a Sherman Oaks developer planning a large apartment project in Van Nuys.

The Van Nuys Homeowners Assn. sponsored the protest at the Sherman Oaks Galleria, where the Lycon Group has its main office.

Carrying a sign that read “No more apartments,” association president David Read said the picketing was organized to send developers a message that Van Nuys residents believe the community already has too many apartments and too much traffic.

“The problem has reached such epidemic proportions that nothing less than a complete moratorium period of time is what we need,” Read said.

2 Moratoriums in Effect

Two moratoriums now in effect in the San Fernando Valley restrict the density of new apartment projects in south Sherman Oaks and the height and density of new developments in the Valley Village area of North Hollywood. The limits are temporary until the city decides whether to impose permanent controls.

Read said his group is seeking a halt to all apartment building in Van Nuys to give the City of Los Angeles time to develop “meaningful” limits. The picketers included Gerald Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino.

The proposed development at issue Friday would be built on 10 acres occupied by First Baptist Church of Van Nuys. The church announced in September that it had agreed to sell its site at 14800 Sherman Way to Lycon for $11 million.

A Lycon spokesman did not return a telephone call to his office.

In September, Lycon partner Rob Francescon would not disclose how many units the developer hopes to build on the site.

Up to 500 Units Planned

According to Dodge Reports, an information service for building contractors, Lycon plans 400 to 500 units on the site.

Multifamily development of that size on the site, however, would require approval by the city Planning Commission after public hearings, said Paul Tholl, a city planning assistant in Van Nuys.

Much of the parcel’s existing zoning allows only “quasi-public” development, such as private schools, hospitals or recreational sites, he said.

The Rev. Jim Rives, the church’s executive associate pastor, said apartment buildings on the land, which the church plans to vacate in two years, would probably generate less traffic than the church.

First Baptist sold the property as part of its plan to move to a relatively undeveloped 25 acres in Chatsworth. Escrow on the Van Nuys property is scheduled to close next week, Rives said.