RESEDA : Planners Approve 6-Month Moratorium

By a 4-1 vote, the city Planning Commission on Thursday approved a six-month moratorium on new auto shops, pawn shops and billiard halls in Reseda’s downtown business district.

Frank Fielding, senior city planner, said the measure will go to the City Council for final approval.

The moratorium is a stop-gap measure to provide some regulatory control over Reseda’s growth while city planners put the final touches on a long-awaited 20-year specific plan. That document, when completed, will provide long-term rules for growth in the aging business district. The moratorium is more restrictive than the plan is expected to be.

City officials have said the plan, which has been in the works since 1988, is expected to be approved by the end of this year.

The area to be affected by the moratorium and the 20-year plan stretches along Sherman Way between Lindley and Wilbur avenues and along Reseda Boulevard between Kittridge and Saticoy streets.