WOODLAND HILLS : Appeal Filed Over Warner Ridge Ruling

In the latest maneuver of a nearly three-year legal dance, a group of Woodland Hills homeowners Wednesday appealed a Los Angeles Superior Court decision in favor of plans for the controversial Warner Ridge project.

The single-page appeal by the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization challenges a judge’s decision upholding a finding by the city of Los Angeles that the planned development has few environmental drawbacks. The group, which contends that the project would snarl traffic and be an eyesore, has 70 days to file the rest of the appeal.

Rejecting an earlier homeowner challenge, Superior Court Judge Robert O’Brien ruled in February that city officials had taken into account the environmental impact of the 690,000-square-foot commercial project. But he acknowledged that the city appeared to have been eager not to disturb the settlement of a separate, $100-million lawsuit against it by the developer.

The city agreed to allow construction of the mid-rise office complex and 125 condominiums on the 21 1/2-acre site west of Pierce College after a heated battle with Warner Ridge Associates, who contended that the city had illegally blocked the project in 1990.