Streetscape Proposal Clears Two Hurdles

The proposal for the Woodland Hills Ventura Boulevard Streetscape Plan easily cleared two of three hurdles toward becoming the guide for future development of the area, making it likely to be the first of five such proposals to become official.

The proposal was approved Monday by the Los Angeles Public Works Board, a month after the Office of Cultural Affairs gave it the green light.

Planners now expect to take the proposal to the Planning Commission for its final hurdle before it can be entered into the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan. It will probably have a few, but not many, changes by that time.

“In a sense, this is quite mature for the conceptual plan, a set of guidelines,” said Tom Rath, a city planning associate. “We have had a consistent amount of input from city and professional architects on this.”

The proposed streetscape plan will be used to create a uniform, plaza-type atmosphere in the area designed to get people out of their cars and walking to do their shopping.

Carried along by a planning process that has had a lot of community input, the Woodland Hills section of the overall Streetscape Plan probably will be the first to become a reality, city officials said.

The other proposals, in Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino and Tarzana, are in various stages of readiness and should soon follow the Woodland Hills proposal, which encompasses the Ventura Boulevard corridor between Corbin Avenue and Valley Circle Boulevard.

The proposal outlines the color scheme and amenities that would bring a unified look to the corridor. It calls for sidewalk benches, fountains, plants along walkways and brickwork installed in crosswalks.