Loyola Wins OK by Planning Panel to Build on Bluffs : Development: Los Angeles commission sets a building height limit and an enrollment cap, among other conditions. But some neighbors say the restrictions are not enough.

Loyola Marymount University’s plans to expand its Westchester campus onto the bluffs overlooking the marina cleared a major hurdle Thursday by winning approval from the Los Angeles Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission granted Loyola a conditional-use permit allowing the university to build school facilities on land zoned for single-family residences.

But the commission placed several conditions on the permit, including building height limits of 75 feet. Another requirement stipulates that a road leading from the building site to Lincoln Boulevard be completed before construction can begin so crews will not have to use residential streets. The commission also placed a limit on enrollment at the private Catholic university.

The decision is final unless there is an appeal, in which case the City Council will make the final decision.

Loyola is surrounded by residential neighborhoods. The school purchased the vacant 27-acre lot on the west side of the 96-acre campus in 1983 from Summa Corp. for about $10 million. The lot is currently used by residents for walks, for letting dogs run off their leashes and for flying radio-controlled gliders.

Loyola’s 18-year construction plan calls for housing for 1,250 students in apartments and dormitories, and a student center that will include a cafeteria and a 1,000-seat theater. An athletic field atop a subterranean, 900-space parking garage is designed to provide a buffer between student housing and nearby residents.

Plans also call for a three-story building for the business school and possibly two additional academic buildings. A walkway along the edge of the bluff would be open to residents.

The university’s main goal is to bring to campus students who are now living elsewhere to allow them a better educational experience, not to increase enrollment, university officials said. About 4,000 students attend Loyola.

Of the 250 people who attended the meeting at City Hall on Thursday, about one-third expressed opposition and two-thirds spoke in support of the project.

Supporters said the expansion would help keep the university competitive by attracting top students and faculty.

Jim Bickhart, a representative for Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who represents the area, spoke in favor of the plans and conditions recommended by the staff. Galanter has been criticized for not living up to campaign promises to limit development on the bluffs, which overlook the Playa Vista development site near Lincoln and Jefferson boulevards.

Opponents voiced concerns that greater numbers of students in the neighborhoods would cause traffic congestion and increase noise levels. One man complained that students had fired a gun at his house.

Loyola had tried to win the approval of area residents by forming a mediation group to address their concerns. But resident Ron Marks said he was excluded from the group of about 20 homeowners and community members. He presented a petition signed by 600 residents stating they were opposed to the project, unless the density is decreased, and asked that the decision be delayed for further study.

“The feeling is that the school mediated behind closed doors in secrecy without enough input from the community,” he said.

Resident Larry Blackaller was part of the mediation group that worked with Loyola to scale down the project. But he withdrew after density apparently became a non-negotiable point.

“(The meetings) were basically to guarantee property values,” he said. “We pulled out because we felt that wasn’t right, that the project was incompatible with the neighborhood.”

Marks said he plans to appeal the commission’s approval. He has 15 days after the hearing examiner finalizes the determination to do so. The City Council must hear the case within 90 days.

Apart from the appeal, the university must win from the City Council an exemption from a law that limits development on the bluffs. The Westchester bluffs interim control ordinance, strongly supported by Galanter, was designed to control development until a specific plan for the area goes into effect.

The university plans to file for a hardship exemption from the ordinance, said Dave Trump, university vice president of facilities management.

Other restrictions in the conditional-use permit are:

* A total enrollment cap of 5,168 students.

* Traffic impacts must be monitored and mitigated.

* Vendors could only enter the university through residential streets during daytime hours.