San Fernando Valley : Planners OK Sherman Oaks Mall Renovation

A $30-million renovation of the Sherman Oaks Galleria cleared a major hurdle Thursday when a city panel approved the proposal.

The Los Angeles Planning Commission approved the project, which would add 13 movie screens to the mall’s theater complex for a total of 18, and add 2,900 theater seats for a total of 4,000.

The panel also approved an exception to the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan that allows the mall to provide only 3,600 parking spaces rather than the 4,800 spaces required by the specific plan, the area’s blueprint for growth.

“We’re very pleased with the commissioners’ consensus in approving our project,” mall manager Joy DeBacker said. Final approval for the project rests with the City Council.

The planners’ decision disappointed some homeowners but pleased others.

“This is an excessive project for a gridlocked intersection,” said Gerald A. Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino. Silver said his group will appeal recent decisions by planning officials to allow reduced parking and eight restaurant liquor permits at the mall.

On Monday, a city zoning official granted the mall eight liquor permits and one dance permit to distribute among the 10 new restaurants planned for the center.

Several homeowners spoke against the project, while several people--local residents, mall merchants and Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce officials--said they welcome the movie screens and restaurants the project would bring.