Planners at Odds With Mall Foes Over Expansion

Remedies exist for the potential problems of noise, traffic and pollution raised by homeowners opposed to the expansion of the Laurel Plaza Mall in North Hollywood, Los Angeles city planners have concluded, but the opponents are unconvinced.

Proposed in 1988 by Forest City Commercial Development, the $150-million project would replace the small shopping center on Oxnard Street with a mall housing four department stores and a 10-story office tower. The project also calls for the relocation of Laurel Hall School to make room for the expanded mall.

In exchange, the developers would build a new $8-million school next to Emmanuel Lutheran Church, which owns the school, now located across the street from the church.

City planners issued a draft environmental impact report on the project this week, saying the problems it would cause can be mitigated.

A spokesman for the project declined comment on the report, but the head of STOP--Slow The Overdevelopment Process--a group leading opposition to the plan, said its members are still against the project.

“We were opposed to it before, but now we’re even more opposed,” said Bob Carcia, president of STOP.

In addition to the problems of noise, traffic and pollution, the project requires that at least nine low- to moderately priced homes be demolished at a time when such housing is desperately needed, Carcia said, adding that the problem of homelessness has grown worse since the project was first proposed.

Carcia expressed confidence that the plan, which he says is opposed “by every homeowners group” in the vicinity, will not be approved by city officials.

“The state law requires adherence to the General Plan,” Carcia said. “In order for the developer to build this project the way he wants to build it, the city would have to make a change to the North Hollywood General Plan and I don’t think my councilman, Joel Wachs, would let that happen.

“The General Plan is in place so the city Planning Department and the council can’t give a greedy developer the red carpet,” Carcia said.

The developers are seeking a General Plan amendment, a zoning change and a height district change.

The environmental report said the project’s traffic problems could be dealt with by widening the entrance and exit ramps of the northbound Hollywood Freeway at Oxnard Street, re-striping nearby streets and installing signals to keep traffic flow at its present level.

Parking problems could be alleviated by creating a preferential parking district in a residential area with annual permit fees paid for by the owners of the mall, the impact report said. Curbs near the school and church could be designated no parking zones during certain periods.

According to the report, noise caused by increased traffic could be controlled by constructing a six-foot masonry wall and landscaping around the school.

The demolition of the homes necessary to relocate Laurel Hall School “will not represent a significant impact on the community housing stock,” the report said, noting that the developer plans to provide monetary assistance to residents who must relocate.

STOP and other groups have suggested that additional measures would be needed to eliminate their opposition, including underground parking covered by landscaping and 24-hour security patrols of the surrounding neighborhood, mandatory ride-sharing and employer-supported day care for mall employees.