Development the Hard Way . . .

You can’t always get what you want, so sometimes it’s best to settle for not getting what you don’t want. In that case, Woodland Hills residents have every reason, if not to celebrate, then at least not to mourn the outcome of the long-running battle over developing Warner Ridge.

The City Council last week approved developer Jerry Katell’s plans for a 454-unit, luxury- rental townhome project. Neighborhood homeowners would have preferred single-family homes on large lots. Many would like to have seen the property, on the east side of De Soto Avenue between Oxnard and Victory boulevards, stay undeveloped. After all, this remnant of the old Warner Ranch had been that way for so long, people had grown accustomed to it. And for years, they got their wish as the land stayed tied up in a battle between neighbors and developers that eventually involved the courts after the City Council enacted a zoning change to thwart commercial development. The city lost the decade-long case, which cost a lot of money, a lot of time and the district’s then-City Councilwoman her post.

But if neighborhood activists didn’t get their first, second or even their third choice (fewer townhomes) for the property, they’re also not going to get the commercial development they wanted least, with its attendant traffic and congestion. Katell said that if the city approved his townhome project--scaled down earlier by the Planning Commission from 571 units--he would abandon plans to build 690,000 square feet of office and commercial space. Everyone gave up something.

The Warner Ridge lawsuit made the reasonable point that landowners have the right to develop their land without being subjected to unreasonable restrictions. Neighbors and city officials made the reasonable assertion that they should have a say in what gets built in their neighborhood. The proposal approved by the City Council last week meets the needs of both sides. Why it took decades to come to this is the only unreasonable part of the story.