SHERMAN OAKS : Proposal for Seniors Housing Advances

Despite mounting opposition from residents, a proposal for the city to subsidize a senior housing complex at Woodman Avenue and Ventura Boulevard is moving smoothly through the approvals process.

The city Housing Department late last month sent Mayor Richard Riordan a report recommending approval of a $2.4-million loan for site acquisition and preparation to developer Jacky Gamliel.

A Los Angeles City Council committee is scheduled to review the department’s recommendation Sept. 19, and the full council will consider the matter Sept. 23.

Residents have fired another volley in a long-running battle with the developer of a proposed project at Woodman Avenue and Ventura Boulevard.

The Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. sent a letter to Barbara Zeidman, assistant general manager of the city Housing Department, earlier this week detailing the department’s objections to the mixed-use project. It includes 84 senior housing units and 3,000 square feet of retail space.

“To any impartial observer, the project is unsound as a commercial endeavor, unsafe for elderly people and an intrusion into the privacy of the adjacent single-family neighborhood,” the group said in its letter.

The homeowner association complains that the project does not provide adequate parking and exceeds the city’s height requirements.

The group also says heavy traffic in the area poses a safety hazard for senior citizens.

Zeidman said the homeowner group raised some valid points regarding landscaping, safety and design that the department will look into. However, she said, the city continues to believe that the location is a good one for senior housing.

“I have a lot of sympathy for the homeowners,” Zeidman said. “They have been fighting this project for 10 years. On the other hand, look at the blight on Ventura and Woodman. I think it’s time to move on and redevelop the area. And seniors have a right to live there.”