Warner Ridge Environmental Review Upheld : Woodland Hills: A judge rejects homeowners’ arguments that the city did not weigh the effects of the development fairly.

Rejecting a homeowner group’s challenge, a judge Friday upheld the adequacy of an environmental review by the city of Los Angeles of the controversial Warner Ridge project in Woodland Hills.

In his ruling, Superior Court Judge Robert O’Brien rejected the arguments of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization that the city did not fairly and independently weigh the environmental impact of the 690,000-square-foot Warner Ridge project before granting various land-use approvals for it.

The decision was a blow to the homeowners and to City Councilwoman Joy Picus, who represents the area and has backed the homeowners throughout the long dispute over the project, which ended in a court victory for the developers. “It’s very disappointing,” Picus said late Friday. “I thought the homeowners had a good case.”

Homeowner activist Robert Gross declined to comment. Gross, who is now running against Picus for the District 3 council seat, said he wanted to wait for the group’s attorney to see the decision before commenting.

Developer Jack Spound hailed the ruling as a victory and predicted that work on the Warner Ridge project on De Soto Avenue would begin in June.

“Maybe the long saga of Warner Ridge is finally over,” added Robert McMurry, attorney for the developer.

The homeowners had alleged in their legal action that the city produced a favorable environmental review of the 21 1/2-acre project in order to fulfill the terms of a settlement that ended a lawsuit against the city by the developer.

O’Brien ruled that the city’s environmental review appeared adequate, although he acknowledged that the “driving force” behind the city’s decision to approve the project was “to avoid running afoul” of the settlement.

The city, O’Brien found upon reviewing the environmental documents and findings, “could have properly adopted the project without once referring to the settlement.”

In that settlement, reached a year ago, the city agreed to permit a mid-rise office complex and 125 condominiums to be built on Warner Ridge in return for the owner-developer dropping his $100 million lawsuit against the city.

The developer’s lawsuit argued that the city had illegally blocked his project when it zoned his property for single-family homes in 1990--even though the area’s community plan designated the site as suitable for a commercial project.

Although the homeowners lost a battle Friday, their legal war is still not over. The group has also asked the state Court of Appeal to invalidate the settlement on other grounds.