Developer Loses Ruling to Build on Bookstore Site

A developer has lost the first round of his legal battle to build an office complex on the site that once housed the Scene of the Crime bookstore in Sherman Oaks, attorneys for the developer and the city said Wednesday.

But developer Jacky Gamliel will pursue other legal options in his quest to build a 90,000-square-foot, three-story office and retail complex on Ventura Boulevard between Woodman and Ventura Canyon avenues, attorney Benjamin M. Reznik said.

Gamliel filed a $10-million lawsuit against the city in March, claiming that city officials and Councilman Michael Woo had illegally blocked the office complex.

Among other things, Gamliel contended that the city violated a state law that requires municipalities to approve or deny building-permit applications within six months.

But Superior Court Judge John Zebrowski ruled Oct. 11 that no such violation had occurred.

If Zebrowski had sided with the developer, Gamliel’s project could have been eligible for a building permit, said Deputy City Atty. Susan Pfann.

Pfann and Reznik disagreed on whether Zebrowski’s ruling applied to another key element of the suit.

In his lawsuit, Gamliel claims that city agencies delayed action on his application for building permits until after the Jan. 14, 1991, start date of the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan, which bans large developments such as his.

He initially filed for the building permits in August, 1989.

Reznik said he was unsure whether the judge’s ruling addressed his assertion that the city intentionally delayed Gamliel’s project until the Specific Plan was approved.

But Pfann said Zebrowski’s ruling rejected that assertion.

“It shows that the city took the right action in withholding support for the Gamliel project,” said Woo, a longtime opponent of the proposal.

Reznik said he would ask Zebrowski to clarify the ruling. Reznik said he also will argue in court that the Specific Plan is illegal and unfairly bars Gamliel’s office complex.