Compromise Reached on Encino Apartments

Just minutes before a City Council committee was to debate the issue, Encino homeowners and a developer reached a compromise Tuesday that clears the way for construction of a luxury apartment complex on the former site of Rancho Los Encinos Hospital.

“All in all, it’s a reasonable compromise,” said Rob Glushon, president of the Encino Property Owners Assn.

Representatives of developer Don Levin said the compromise put an end to what could have been another lengthy battle between a builder and Encino residents.

“We wanted to avoid having a long fight,” said Benjamin M. Reznik, attorney for the developer. “We wanted to avoid litigation. It’s a fair compromise to my client and it’s a fair compromise to the community.”

Last September, the Los Angeles Planning Commission voted unanimously to allow Levin to construct a 188-unit complex at 5333 Balboa Blvd. after he promised that 37 apartments would be designated for low- and moderate-income families.

Members of the Encino Property Owners Assn. appealed the decision to the City Council, hoping to reduced the number of units from 188 units to 122, Glushon said. They argued that the complex would increase traffic in their neighborhood of million-dollar homes and that apartments would change its upscale character.

Under the compromise, 152 units will be built and the developer will not be required to offer housing to low- or moderate-income tenants. But, Reznik said, “Many lower-income residents will still be able to afford these units.”

In addition, the location of a swimming pool and a driveway will be changed to lessen the effect on nearby residents.

Landscaping will be added to the site before the start of framing. “That will serve as a buffer to the construction activity,” Glushon said.

Councilman Hal Bernson, chairman of the Planning and Land-Use Management Committee, said he was “prepared very honestly to support the 188 units” but called the compromise fair.