Sherman Oaks vs. Studio City : Vote Sought on Border Battle

A homeowner group said Wednesday it will ask residents of a disputed area whether they want to be part of Sherman Oaks or Studio City.

The announcement by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. was the latest twist in a boundary dispute that began in January. At issue is a 3-square-mile area around the former Tail O’ the Cock restaurant on Ventura Boulevard near Coldwater Canyon Avenue, where developer Herbert Piken plans a controversial $14-million shopping mall.

The Sherman Oaks group believes that the Studio City Residents Assn. should have urged Los Angeles city officials to impose more extensive traffic improvements on the developer.

Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks association, said if the disputed area is designated Sherman Oaks, his group could insist on the more extensive improvements.

In the past month, the border dispute heated up when City Councilman Mike Woo, who represents the area, approved the posting of a sign defining the border between the two neighborhoods at Ventura and Fulton Avenue. Ironically, Woo’s action came at the request of the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce.

The city has no legal mechanism for determining community borders, but council members have the authority to say where street signs should be placed declaring such boundaries.

Close said some residents of the disputed area objected to the sign because they believe they live in Sherman Oaks. Close said residents living in the area--roughly bounded by Fulton Avenue on the west Coldwater Canyon Avenue on the east, Riverside Drive on the north and Mulholland Drive on the south--will be polled by his group on May 18 at the Dixie Canyon Elementary School in Sherman Oaks.

“This would be a method to indicate to Woo what the public sentiment is,” Close said.

Woo’s chief deputy, Larry Kaplan, said the councilman will “pay attention” to the vote but will not necessarily abide by it.

Although Woo authorized the Fulton Avenue sign, he is “dispassionate” about the issue and would like to see the two homeowner groups resolve it themselves, Kaplan said.

Piken, after homeowner protests, scaled back his project from three stories and 86,000 square feet to two stories and 46,000 square feet. But in an agreement with the city, he will be required to undertake street widening and traffic signal work at three intersections to minimize congestion around the shopping center.

Piken also could be required to do more work at other intersections if the shopping center generates especially severe congestion, according to a plan agreed to by Piken and the city.

Sherman Oaks leaders contend that Piken should have to improve the other intersections immediately, before traffic can worsen. But Studio City leaders are backing the city’s approach, saying it is better to wait for the mall’s opening before taking more drastic traffic measures.

Polly Ward, president of the Studio City association, told the more than 100 Sherman Oaks homeowners in attendance Monday night that city planners had put the community border at Fulton Avenue as early as 1943.

In an interview, Ward said her organization has not taken a formal position on the upcoming vote. But she said she personally views it as “a waste of time.”