Bernson Reverses Citizen Panel, Tries to Halt Theater Plan

Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson urged city officials Friday to undertake a rigorous environmental review of a proposed Northridge retail complex unless the developer drops his plan to build a seven-screen theater center at the site.

The move goes against a decision by a citizens panel, handpicked by Bernson, whose members voted in September to support the developer’s project, including the theaters.

Developer Kerry T. Seidenglanz said he was surprised by Bernson’s opposition. “Never until today was I told that I wouldn’t get the councilman’s support for my project,” Seidenglanz said.

The Northridge Citizens Advisory Committee--all of whose members are Bernson appointees and whose chairman, Phyllis Winger, is a Bernson aide--approved the project in September, Seidenglanz said.

Jeffrey Kapor, a Northridge resident who joined Bernson in opposing the theater proposal and is a member of the Northridge CAC, confirmed that the committee backed Seidenglanz’s project then.

The developer said he interpreted the CAC endorsement as a sign of Bernson’s own approval of his project.

Seidenglanz has proposed to construct a 300,000-square-foot retail complex at Shirley Avenue and Plummer Street, west of the Northridge Fashion Center. The 10-acre parcel, owned outright by Seidenglanz and his family for the past three years, has a vacant structure on it.

Seidenglanz said his plans call for Mann Theatres to operate the cinema complex and for a Gelson’s Market to anchor the project, which would include other retail outlets.

At a news conference Friday with homeowners opposed to Seidenglanz’s project, including Kapor, Bernson said construction of theaters on the site is unacceptable. The theaters would be open too late in the evenings and cause traffic problems for the surrounding neighborhood, he said.

The developer seeks “high intensity use of the site against the wishes of the homeowners and the council office,” Bernson said. “Our position has been very, very clear.”

The councilman said he will ask the city’s environmental review committee, a panel of city planning officials, to review again whether the Seidenglanz project needs to undergo additional environmental scrutiny.

Rob Glushon, an attorney for homeowners seeking to block the project, said his clients also can sue the developer to require him to undergo a full-scale environmental review if he seeks to obtain a building permit.

Kapor said Friday’s events “escalated the fight to a new plane--we’ve now got Bernson actively involved.” This should signal the developer that he faces the prospect that Bernson will use all his influence and the machinery of government to stall or quash his project, Kapor said.

Meanwhile, Seidenglanz insists he has complied with all the city’s laws and has a right to a building permit for his project. He said he hopes to get the permit within 60 days.