City Project Hearings in Valley Urged

Two City Council members have called for hearings on proposed development projects in the San Fernando Valley to be held in the Valley--rather than downtown Los Angeles.

Currently, subdivisions and parcel maps are approved by a Planning Department advisory board, which is headed by a city planner and includes representatives of other departments, such as the Fire Department and transportation agencies.

Councilmen Hal Bernson and Richard Alatorre submitted a motion to the council Friday saying it is unreasonable for the advisory board to hold all of its hearings in downtown Los Angeles.

Bernson said about 50% of the planning applications the city receives originate in the Valley.

“Many interested parties are unable to attend hearings on local subdivisions and parcel maps when the hearings are held downtown,” Bernson said, citing the emotional and financial costs of driving downtown.

Bernson also said requiring people to drive downtown increases air pollution.

Deputy Planning Director Gordon Hamilton said his agency has been considering the change for some time and welcomes the potential council support. “We really are fine with this,” said Hamilton.

A stumbling block has been finding a location where the meetings can be held on a regular basis, Hamilton said.

The issue is likely to come before the council for a vote within the next two weeks.

Subdivisions and parcel maps are often controversial because they can result in multiple homes or apartments being built on a property, which potentially adds to traffic in surrounding neighborhoods.

“I think it’s extremely important,” said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. “One of the major criticisms is City Hall is so distant from the Valley that people have to take a day off to go to a hearing.”

Close said the proposal might even foster better access to government than the proposed new charter.

Developers also will appreciate not having to go downtown for their projects, said Fred Gaines, a Woodland Hills attorney who often represents builders on planning matters.

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Hamilton said the city advisory board holds about 24 meetings each year and considers five to 10 subdivisions and parcel maps at each meeting.

At the meetings, departments can set conditions for subdivision approval. The Fire Department, for example, might ask for streets to be made wider to accommodate fire trucks.

Decisions of the advisory agency are appealable to the Planning Commission, which already holds one meeting per month in the San Fernando Valley.