City OKs Building 454 Units on Warner Ridge

The Los Angeles City Council approved a 454-unit multifamily townhouse development Wednesday on Warner Ridge as an alternative to a larger commercial development that was opposed by neighbors.

“This is a happy day for the city and for my district,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick. It’s a happy ending because the neighborhood never wanted a commercial property,” she said.

Community activist Gordon Murley, president of the San Fernando Valley Federation, agreed.

“It would be better at 350, not more than 375. That would give a max of 400 units,” he said.

The Woodland Hills property has been a bone of contention for more than a decade, which included a successful court battle by a developer to override a council vote to block plans for commercial space.

Jerry Katell, president of Katell Properties, had asked for the option of building a 471-townhome residential complex and a 274,000-square-foot commercial development on the property on the east side of De Soto Avenue.

Katell still has the right to build a 690,000 square-foot commercial and office development on about 16 acres of the property between Oxnard and Victory Boulevards. He said previously, however, that he would abandon those plans if the city approved the townhomes.

Katell purchased the controversial 21.5-acre property in 1996, when a prior owner was involved in a bitter dispute with the city. The dispute was a factor in the election loss by Councilwoman Joy Picus, who had led a losing effort against the project.

The original project was delayed in January 1994 when a key tenant backed out of the deal because the developers had failed to secure adequate financing.

“We would have liked something of lesser density, but so be it,” said Shirley Blessing, a 28-year resident of the area who has represented the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization since 1986.