Residents in Uproar Over New Business Park Project : Sylmar: Supervisors will vote Tuesday on a proposal to lease surplus land near Olive View Medical Center for offices, stores and restaurant.

After years of pondering what to do with surplus county land near the Olive View Medical Center, Los Angeles County is preparing to seek bids for construction of a business park, raising the hackles of Sylmar community activists.

Though those who have worked most closely with the project acknowledge the timing is not ideal because of the slumping economy, they are confident that interest remains high among some developers who have inquired about the Sylmar property through the years.

“The proof will be in the pudding,” said Warren Bennett, manager of the project for the county’s Asset Development Division.

By leasing the 37 acres of land above the Foothill Freeway, the county hopes to gain $260 million over the next 66 years--or about $4 million a year--through rents and profit-sharing. In a proposal scheduled to be voted on Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors, the suggested development would include a 540,000-square-foot business park, retail stores and a swanky restaurant on top of a hill.

Sylmar residents said their vision for the area was for nothing more than a restaurant and a horse trail through the property. They said that during meetings the county held last year, they voiced concerns about traffic, loss of open space and a possible glut of business park space.

“What they’re trying to do is dangle this upscale restaurant to get what they want down below and I don’t see that happening,” said Hannah Dyke, a founder of the Olive View Neighborhood Watch.

Sylmar already is home to several large business parks. Several more are approved for construction, including Sunset Farms, a development similar to Warner Center in style but not as large.

“Ninety percent of Sylmar’s population doesn’t want anything built there,” said Margaret Whittington, chairman of a local citizen’s planning group established by the city. “But everyone knows the county is going to do something. . . . What we would like to see is low-density residential.”

Some residents joined San Fernando Valley real estate experts in expressing skepticism that the development would succeed in the current economic climate, particularly when coupled with rigid restrictions set down by the county.

The proposal calls for the property to be leased, not purchased, and for profits to be shared with the county. Potential developers also must agree to replace run-down buildings now standing on the land with a new medical office building, a hospital warehouse and a child-care center to serve the county hospital and business park employees.

Although he said he was not familiar with the county property, Howe Foster, Valley district manager for Grubb & Ellis real estate, said lenders typically do not favor lease arrangements and their reluctance has been heightened by the economic downturn.

“Even under the best of circumstances, a lot of these kinds of projects didn’t go through,” Foster said. “They can want a lot of things, but it has to be economically feasible.”

Although Sylmar is the county’s fastest growing area, commercial growth generally has not kept pace with population growth. Bennett said the community would benefit from the added retail space.

However, Whittington said storefronts and mini-malls stand vacant all over. “We have a lot of commercial space available in existing developments,” she said. “We don’t see a need for that.”

She and other residents also question whether any upscale restaurateurs would be drawn to the site. Community and business groups have tried unsuccessfully to attract a Sizzler to the area, which is dominated by fast-food outlets.

But Bennett said the county land is unique. “It’s right off the freeway, up on a hill with a great view,” he said. “The view from up there, especially at night, would be awesome.”

Speculation about the fate of the foothill land began long before Olive View Medical Center opened in 1987. In 1984, Supervisor Mike Antonovich proposed leasing some of the adjacent 535 acres to a water-slide amusement park.

Community activists were outraged and the idea died. Later, residents pushed for alternatives, including senior citizen housing, county fairgrounds and additional hospital parking.

Antonovich supports the business park proposal, said Victoria Fouce, his assistant chief deputy, although under court-ordered redistricting he no longer represents the unincorporated areas of Sylmar. Fouce said other supervisors also support it.

Supervisor Ed Edelman’s district spreads throughout the Valley under the redistricting plan that becomes final later this month. However, Edelman is in Europe and could not be reached for comment, said his press deputy, Joel Bellman.