Green Light for Ventura Blvd. Revitalization

Ending a five-year struggle to overhaul Ventura Boulevard, the Los Angeles City Council took action Tuesday that will launch a long-awaited revitalization of what is considered the San Fernando Valley’s “Main Street.”

The council’s vote approves new developer fees to pay for the revitalization plan and puts an end to years of protest and debate among residents and developers along the 17-mile thoroughfare.

The plan--formally known as the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan--is designed to set growth limits while imposing business fees to pay for traffic improvements, parking, shuttle vans and themed landscaping along the street.

To jump-start the improvements, the council set aside $250,000 to pay for amenities to attract pedestrian shoppers. Some improvements already suggested include tree-lined jogging trails, bougainvillea-covered canopies, Art Deco street lights and neon palm tree sculptures.

The plan originally was adopted in 1991 after the heady growth years of the 1980s and relied mostly on development fees for its $222-million budget.

But after five years of protests by developers and the discovery of an error in calculating the fees, the city and business owners agreed to revise the plan by simplifying and reducing fees for developers by more than 75%.

Developers and business leaders had complained that the previous fees had stifled growth along the boulevard. The new fees will drop from an average of $11.43 per square foot to $2.75 per square foot.

The new plan has a budget of $63 million for the first phase, with most of the funding coming from local and regional transit funds. That phase will include transportation and landscaping improvements. A second phase would cost $112 million but fees for that have yet to be considered.

Homeowner groups support the overhaul because it retains previously approved development restrictions, such as density and height limits.

“We are hoping that this new system will lead to a revitalization,” said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. “This is our main street and we want it improved.”

Under the plan, new development cannot exceed 4.1 million square feet of growth until $17 million in street widening and other traffic improvements are installed on the boulevard to accommodate the resulting traffic increases.

In addition, the new plan tries to spread the cost of street improvements by forming five business improvement districts along the boulevard to collect fees from existing businesses.

The overhaul also strikes out the controversial trip fees on developers that were based on the number of vehicle trips generated by new projects. Instead, fees will be based on the floor area of new projects.

“It will be a great benefit to all those along Ventura Boulevard that this be adopted,” Fred Gaines, an attorney for six property owners along the boulevard, told the council.

“Everyone is in support of this plan,” said Jeff Brain, chairman of a citizens panel that helped draft the plan.

The revised plan reduces the total contribution of developers from $101 million to $11.3 million. To make up the difference, the city will use funding from local, regional and state transit money.

The adoption of the overhaul also allows the city to begin issuing refunds to developers who paid the previous fees.

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Upgrading the Boulevard

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a plan to overhaul the San Fernando Valley’s 17-mile thoroughfare. The 20-year plan’s budget was cut to $75 million from $220 million after protests from developers and discovery of an error in calculating fees. The key elements:

* Revised fee plan: Fees for new development will help pay to widen 19 intersections, add hundreds of parking spaces and add shuttle buses and ride-sharing programs. Fees were to have been based on the number of vehicle trips generated by each new project; instead, they will be based on the floor area of projects.

* Fee range: From 57 cents to $5.18 per square foot of floor area. An additional fee will be added for projects with drive-through windows, such as restaurants and banks.

* Fee collection: Business improvement districts are being formed along the boulevard to collect fees from existing business. The fees will pay for landscaping and other improvements to promote pedestrian traffic.

* Development guidelines: Height limits for new development will range from 30 feet to 45 feet. The plan will also set guidelines for size of side, front and back yards.