Builder Has New Vision for Warner Ridge Project

Thousands of glossy brochures landed in local mailboxes this week, courtesy of an image-conscious developer hoping to drum up community support for his proposal to build townhomes instead of a large office complex at Warner Ridge.

Jerry Katell, president of Katell Properties, announced in April that he is considering scrapping plans for a commercial office development in favor of an all-residential one at Warner Ridge, the object of one of the San Fernando Valley’s longest-running land-use battles.

More specifically, Katell is exploring the possibility of building roughly 470 rental townhomes in place of the 690,000-square-foot office complex approved for the site, located on the east side of De Soto Avenue at Oxnard Street.

Consequently, Katell sent 5,000 mailers this week to residents who live north of the Ventura Freeway. Decorated with artists’ renderings of one of the townhome complexes, the mailers showcase what Katell describes as the benefits of the residential development compared with a commercial one, including a 50% reduction in traffic and a 25% reduction in building heights.

“We need your help in showing local elected officials that homeowners surrounding Warner Ridge favor a residential over a commercial development,” Katell states in a letter included in the mailer.

The packet also carried a postage-paid reply card urging the Los Angeles City Council to approve the residential development proposal for Warner Ridge and provides residents opportunity to demonstrate their support, such as writing a letter to a council member or speaking at public hearings on behalf of the project.

“We’re talking high-end rental units,” Katell said in an interview Wednesday. “We’re planning to make this the best project in Warner Center.”

The average rental rate for one of the townhouse-style units would be $1,350 per month, Katell said. Target residents would have an average annual household income of $70,000.

Nonetheless, the residential proposal has yet to receive approval from Gordon Murley, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Assn. Murley said he would like Katell to lower the project’s density to “about two-thirds of what he’s currently proposing,” and for the units to be owned, not rented.

Murley, who described Katell’s mailers as “a smart ploy,” is also anxious to take a look at a supplemental environmental impact report, and is concerned that Katell will avoid being required to make costly improvements to local roads by building townhomes.

For his part, Katell said selling the units as condominiums is not in his plans. In regard to the project’s density, Katell said the number of units he has proposed is necessary for him to make a profit.

“We need the density,” he said.

The next step for Katell is to process a supplemental environmental impact report through the city, which will be followed by a series of hearings. Ultimately, it will be up to the City Council to grant an amendment to the existing development agreement. The earliest Katell sees that happening is next spring.

In the meantime, Katell said he is pushing ahead with his office complex plans, noting that the phase one building--a 274,000-square-foot structure--has been designed. He added that he will be meeting today with a prospective tenant at the site.

“We’re actively marketing it,” Katell said. “If a major office user comes along and is ready to proceed with becoming a tenant . . . we’ll start building.”