Picus Seeks Strict Limit on Building at Warner Center : Growth: The interim guidelines, which would block four proposed projects, may signal the direction of a new city plan for the area to be unveiled this summer.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus is seeking strict temporary building limits for Warner Center to block four developers from going ahead with projects before the city completes long-awaited revisions to the growth management plan for the area.

The proposed limits introduced Wednesday also would “send a message that the final density permitted” by the revised Warner Center Specific Plan, which is set to be unveiled this summer, “may be substantially below what has been looked at so far,” the west San Fernando Valley lawmaker said.

A Picus-appointed citizens group, composed of large landowners and local residents, quietly recommended in April that up to 26.6 million square feet of non-residential development be permitted under the Warner Center Specific Plan. Already, 14.6 million square feet has been built in the area.

But if the limits of Picus’ interim plan were incorporated in the final Specific Plan, a total of only 15.8 million square feet would be allowed in the commercial complex.

The proposal should not be interpreted as a signal that “this kind of cap is going to remain, but I am saying that all bets are off for the time being” on what the limits will be, Picus said. A Specific Plan would need to be approved by the full council, although Picus’ views are likely to prevail.

The immediate threat to land-use stability in the Warner Center area comes from four major proposed projects, said Robert Sutton, a top planning official involved in developing the Specific Plan.

Among these projects are proposals by May Centers, owner of the Topanga Plaza shopping center, and by Blue Cross, another major property owner in Warner Center. “We’ve been in a building recession, but I think people are getting ready for the next round of growth,” Sutton said.

John Lyda, development director for May Centers, said Picus’ motion came as a surprise. “Right now, we have no comment on her plan,” he said. “We’re still studying it.” May Centers wants to build a 750,000-square-foot addition at its existing shopping center to house two new department stores, Lyda said.

The Picus motion was introduced Wednesday and sent to the council’s planning committee. It would amend an interim control ordinance that has weakly governed development in Warner Center since 1988. The earlier ordinance requires that developers who build agree to pay whatever traffic mitigation fees are later imposed under a revised plan.

The big growth management issue at Warner Center is traffic, city planners say. The thrust of the revised Specific Plan would be to impose fees on developers to fund up to $250 million in new traffic improvements.

Warner Center is bounded by Topanga Canyon Boulevard on the west, Vanowen Street on the north, De Soto Avenue on the east and the Ventura Freeway on the south.