$2-Billion Porter Ranch Plan Backed by Bernson

Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson announced his support Thursday for a large residential and commercial development proposed for the Porter Ranch area of Chatsworth but recommended a 20% cut in the project’s commercial area.

Bernson endorsed the $2-billion project, proposed by Porter Ranch Development Co., at a city Planning Commission hearing. The development plan calls for about 3,000 residences and 7.5 million square feet of commercial space to be built in the hills north of the Simi Valley Freeway.

The commission delayed a decision on the project until May 10. Commission President William G. Luddy said the case is too complex to be decided in one day. The City Council, which ordinarily abides by the wishes of colleagues about development issues in their districts, is expected to make a final decision on the proposal later this year.

Bernson appointed a citizens committee in 1987 to draw up a plan for how the 1,300-acre area should be developed. The committee, city planners and the developer then put together the proposal before the commission. Bernson noted that the proposal calls for less than the 8.6 million square feet originally sought by Porter Ranch Development, which is run by Beverly Hills builder Nathan Shapell.

But Bernson recommended shrinking the commercial area even further to about 6 million square feet. In the area of the project proposed for the most office space, Bernson recommended cutting maximum building heights from 15 to 10 stories. He did not recommend reducing height limits in other areas designated for office buildings of 12, 10, 8 and 6 stories.

Agrees With Planners

Bernson concurred with a city Planning Department suggestion that an area proposed for five-story office buildings be changed to allow 400 units of multifamily housing instead. He also agrees with planners who say the project’s commercial portion should not exceed 1.5 million square feet until the state finances a one-lane expansion of the Simi Valley Freeway, Bernson’s chief deputy, Greig Smith, said after the hearing.

“Although many see this as a project to be built tomorrow, it is in fact only a plan,” Bernson said. The plan “requires continuing citizen review as each phase is implemented” and “guarantees the ability to handle both traffic generated by the development and outside growth over which we have little control.”

The proposal “guarantees adequate streets, a fire station, library, parks, a day-care center and a future school site,” Bernson said. “It also provides for the continued preservation of the rural flavor of the Chatsworth community by including a sizable horse-keeping area, horse trails, hiking trails and large areas of open space.”

However, Bernson disagreed with a Planning Department recommendation that the number of single-family homes be reduced from 2,195 to 2,020 to allow for more horse trails and horse-keeping properties. “We are in a severe housing crisis,” he said.

Bernson read from a prepared statement in his address to the commission. The public hearing that followed his remarks drew about 200 people for and against the project.

Robert Birch, a spokesman for PRIDE, a neighborhood group opposed to the development, said his organization was not satisfied by Bernson’s recommended cuts in the size of the commercial area. He said the group wants the area to be developed according to the existing community plan, enacted in 1974, which calls for only 1.3 million square feet of commercial space.

Richard C. Mahan, a Shapell spokesman, said of Bernson’s position: “We feel there is no need for any cuts. This has been cut and cut again.”