LOCAL : Porter Ranch Hearing Draws 500

More than 500 people packed a public hearing Thursday night to comment on a $2-billion residential and commercial development proposal for the Porter Ranch area of Chatsworth, most of them apparently worried by the prospect of more traffic and plans to build a bridge over Aliso Canyon.

The hearing heard comments on a plan that city officials prepared to allow Porter Ranch Development Co., operated by Beverly Hills builder Nathan Shapell, to build 2,195 single-family homes, 800 condominiums and 7.5 million square feet of office and retail space on 1,300 vacant acres in the rolling hills north of the Simi Valley Freeway.

The crowd roared to support residents who complained that the Aliso Canyon bridge, which would link Granada Hills to Northridge via Sesnon Boulevard, would funnel freeway traffic into the upscale residential neighborhood. Others said the size of the commercial area, which would include a regional shopping mall, would create intolerable traffic congestion in the northwestern San Fernando Valley.

But some residents said they welcome more shopping and believe that Shapell will build a quality project in an area that is likely to be developed anyway.