Open House Set on Specific Plan Changes

An open house to inform residents and local business owners about the proposed language changes to the Granada Hills Specific Plan will be held this evening at Granada Hills High School.

Officials from the Los Angeles City Planning Department said the proposed changes are relatively minor wording changes to make the development and zoning guidelines more comprehensible to the public.

“We’ve tweaked the terminology a little to make it better for the users of the plan,” said Theodore L. Irving, a city planning assistant.

For example, the definition of the term “project” would “exclude interior modeling of a building which does not increase the floor area or is not a change of use. The term [would] include work which requires the issuance of a building permit, extensive remodeling and additions to an existing building or structure.”

Although still not page-turning prose, commercial interests, homeowner groups and individual residents rely on a common understanding of the Specific Plan language when they build or renovate. Many a development battle has waged over conflicting interpretations of the text of a Specific Plan.

The complete text is available for public inspection in the city Planning Department office, 6255 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys.

A public hearing will be held Aug. 26 at Granada Hills High School to provide an official opportunity for residents to address the Planning Commission, Irving said.

Tonight’s open house and next week’s public hearing will take place in the Community Room at Granada Hills High, 10535 Zelzah Ave., from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. For more information, call the Community Planning Bureau of the Valley Division at (818) 756-8044.