City Looks at Options to Warner Plan Ruling

City officials are weighing their options in light of a recent state appellate court ruling that the city improperly approved an expansion plan for Warner Center without fully assessing how the project would impact two local schools.

The ruling overturned a 1995 decision by Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne that an increase in traffic or pollution resulting from the Warner Center Specific Plan would be insignificant. District officials appealed Wayne’s decision, arguing that there would be an effect on students at Canoga Park High School and Parkman Middle School that would require $5 million in air-conditioning and filtration systems to provide clear air for the students.

Ken Bernstein, a planning deputy for Councilwoman Laura Chick, said the city is exploring its options, which include appealing the decision to the California Supreme Court and possibly reaching a settlement with school district officials that would address their needs while keeping the Warner Center Specific Plan intact.

The city could also choose to revise the environmental impact report according to the appeal court’s instructions or ask the appeal court to reconsider.

The appeal court ruling indicated that it will ask a trial court to issue a writ that would essentially invalidate the environmental impact report and the Warner Center Specific Plan until the school issues are met, Bernstein said.

The plan, however, will remain intact until a hearing on that issue is held in about a month. If the specific plan is invalidated, Bernstein said the city would need to determine what to put in its place, noting that interim development regulations would be necessary.

Part of the funding that schools will receive as a result of Proposition BB, a ballot measure passed in April, will pay for air conditioning the schools, city officials argued. The two schools could put their Proposition BB money to other uses, school officials have said.

Bradley Hogin, an attorney for the district, said that additional measures, such as soundproofing, may also be required to protect students from noise. He added that air-conditioning and filtration systems are a short-term solution because they last for only 15 years.