Development Plan Met With Skepticism
A widely touted development plan for the vacant General Motors plant site in Panorama City was met with skepticism Tuesday by some city officials who worry about financing for the project and community leaders who fear traffic and crime problems.
The $100-million project would include stores, theaters, a light industrial park and a satellite police station.
But some council members express doubts the financially beleaguered city can fund the police facility.
“All of us would like to see a new Valley station but I don’t want to see us go broke this year,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick.
However, Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents Panorama City and the surrounding area, said he is studying options to pay for the station without tapping the city’s budget.
Don Schultz, president of the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn., said his group is scheduled to meet with Alarcon next week to learn more about the project. But he said he is already worried about the traffic snarls the development may create along busy Van Nuys Boulevard.
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