250 Rally Against Porter Ranch Development

About 250 people rallied Sunday against a $2-billion development plan for the Porter Ranch area of Chatsworth.

The demonstration at Northridge Park was organized by the neighborhood group PRIDE.

Rally organizers said the group’s opposition is centered on the nearly 6 million square feet of commercial space that is included in the controversial proposal. The Porter Ranch Development Co., headed by Beverly Hills builder Nathan Shapell, also wants to build about 3,000 residences at the project site in the hills north of the Simi Valley Freeway.

“Nathan Shapell’s dream, if you allow it to happen, will become your urban nightmare,” Paul Chipello, PRIDE’s executive director, warned the crowd. “The time for action is now.”

Chipello said the area will not be able to handle the traffic and pollution that the project will create. He said his group wants the developer to adhere to the area’s 1974 community plan, which allows for 650,000 square feet of commercial space at the project site.

Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the area and supports the project, has said the community plan is outdated and needs to be revised.

Bernson was asked to speak at the rally but declined, organizers said.

Neither Bernson nor Porter Ranch Development Co. officials could be reached for comment Sunday.

Other speakers at the rally included former Los Angeles County Supervisor Baxter Ward and former Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce President John Kelly.

Kelly said that he has long opposed the project because its size “outstrips the need for the area” and because “no elected official is willing to carry your message, willing to stand up for you.

‘Never Let Him Forget’

“In the end, it only comes down to one thing, Hal Bernson,” Kelly said. “He is the one who can control the size of this development. We all know that, and never let him forget it.”

Area residents attending the rally said they, too, oppose the project. “I’m always against unbridled growth,” said Al Hecht, 55, of Granada Hills. “You’ve already got too many projects in the north Valley area.”

Hecht said he is confident that the community’s strong show of opposition will influence Bernson’s vote on the project.

PRIDE spokesman Robert Birch said that he was pleased at the size of Sunday’s crowd and that the group plans more rallies in the near future.

Although the Los Angeles Board of Referred Powers granted preliminary approval for the project last month, votes by the Planning and Environment Committee, headed by Bernson, and the full City Council remain.