Council OKs Temporary Development Curbs for Reseda

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that temporarily bans new thrift stores and pawnshops from the Reseda business district and also restricts the size of commercial buildings near residences in that community.

The ordinance, introduced by Councilwoman Joy Picus, who represents Reseda, seeks to transform the business area into a fashionable shopping district.

The 13-0 vote sent the measure to Mayor Tom Bradley. There was no opposition from the public to the development controls.

Also unanimously approved by the council and sent to the mayor was a 1-year extension of a temporary ordinance that sharply restricts development in the Valley Village area of North Hollywood.

That area is bounded by the Ventura and Hollywood freeways, Burbank Boulevard and the Tujunga Wash.

In Reseda and Valley Village, the temporary restrictions are aimed at buying time until permanent development controls can be adopted.

The Reseda ordinance will limit the maximum height of new buildings to 2 stories if they are less than 300 feet from homes and to a maximum of 3 stories if they are more than 300 feet from residences.

It also restricts the square footage of commercial buildings to 1 1/2 times the lot size and increases parking requirements for new projects.

Picus requested preparation of the ordinance in April at the behest of a 15-member Citizens Steering Committee she appointed.

The committee blamed thrift stores, pawnshops and automobile-related businesses for contributing to Reseda’s decline.

Picus said her goal in introducing the ordinance was to bring a “fresh, new look to Reseda, and it has improved considerably in the past few years.”

The affected area is bounded by Saticoy and Kittridge streets and Lindley and Wilbur avenues.

The council’s Planning and Environment Committee on Tuesday also approved and sent to the full council an ordinance sharply restricting for a year the size of high-rise apartments and condominiums that can be built next to single-family homes in Studio City and the eastern half of Sherman Oaks.

For buildings less than 50 feet from a lot zoned for single-family housing, the height limit is 30 feet. For those within 50 to 100 feet of such a lot, the limit is 45 feet.

The ordinance applies to the area bounded by the San Diego and Ventura freeways, Mulholland Drive and Barham Boulevard. Similar temporary controls were enacted west of the San Diego Freeway in 1987.