Planners Reject Housing Plan Near Encino Post Office : Growth: Commissioners side with residents, who complained that the proposed 112-unit apartment complex would ruin property values.

The Los Angeles Planning Commission on Thursday turned down a controversial proposal to construct apartments near the White Oak Avenue Post Office in Encino, saying that the site would be more suitable for community retail businesses.

The board stipulated in its 3-0 vote that multifamily housing would not be permitted on the site, and that future development of the site must be approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council.

The commissioners also ordered a charter amendment to the Community Plan that would change the zoning of the site to allow small retail businesses. The property is now zoned for “limited commercial” use, which prohibits the establishment of community service businesses.

The vote, taken during a hearing at the Van Nuys Woman’s Club, was hailed as a victory by Councilwoman Joy Picus and residents of the Encino Park area who had complained that the proposed 112-apartment project would ruin their housing values. They had complained to the commission that traffic and congestion generated by such a project would harm the neighborhood’s single-family ambience.

“We need a produce store with meats, we need a small general store,” said Estheranne Billings, president of the Encino Park Improvement Committee. “This project is not what we need. This tract also needs a mini-playground for children, and benches in a park-like setting for the elderly and handicapped.”

Officials of the U.S. Postal Service, which owns the property, had said earlier that the agency needed to lease the site for private development to protect its investment. They said they believed the housing would blend better with the surrounding neighborhood than a commercial project.

U.S. Postal officials did not attend the hearing and were unavailable for comment on whether they would appeal the board’s decision to the City Council when the issue comes before the council in a few weeks.

The site, a full city block, is on the west side of White Oak Avenue between Rhoda Avenue and Hatteras Street. Once dominated by small neighborhood shops, it is now the site of the vacant Encino Municipal Courthouse.

The Postal Service had proposed leasing the site to the development firm of Tutor-Saliba Properties for the construction of the apartment complex. The project was supported by Dick Takase, Planning Department hearing examiner.

Picus had opposed the project, favoring more neighborhood shops at the site. Jim Dawson, a Picus deputy, said the multifamily project would have had three times the population density of the adjacent residential area.

“There is a real renaissance going on in Encino Park right now,” Dawson said. “It used to be a neighborhood that was down on its luck, but it has been revitalized with new families who are fixing up the homes. They need more neighborhood services.”