Commercial, Residential or Both?
The developer of Warner Ridge has announced that he will seek city approval this month for the option to build 471 townhomes on the controversial Woodland Hills site, instead of a commercial development.
Jerry Katell, president of Katell Properties, said that with city approval, the real estate market will determine whether homes or offices are built on the 16 acres on the east side of De Soto Avenue between Oxnard Street and Victory Boulevard.
DIANE WEDNER asked a homeowner, a businessman and a land-use entitlement consultant about their preferences for development of the land.
SHIRLEY BLESSING / Member of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization
The ridge site has been controversial since 1971. The homeowners have been a political football between the city and the developer throughout the project’s various phases. At this time, the homeowners are tired, frustrated and wondering what’s the sense of even fighting this issue any more.
We met with the developer in March 1998, and he said he wanted to put up residential units for rent, not sale, and he wanted to retain the right to build commercial too. We homeowners could accept residential if he’d give up commercial. He said he wouldn’t do it.
I would prefer that the density be what we have on the south side of Oxnard, which is less than 300 units--a combination of single-family units and condos. We’d like a compromise: We’ll sit down and agree to a larger project but less than what [the developer] wants. I’m afraid [Katell] will go with whichever is denser and makes more money.
What it boils down to is, do you want to die by gas or lethal injection? Do we want the entire residential project he wants or the entire commercial project he wants? That is no choice for us. We want an agreement from him to build one or the other, and that we’ll work together for a quality development that’s livable out here.
MARTIN COOPER / Encino resident and Woodland Hills business owner
I would like to see a development that is supported by the community and, if deemed appropriate, is a mixture of commercial and residential.
Some of us in the community lean more toward commercial [development] of the ridge. But I wouldn’t be opposed to the project ending up with mixed use because I think we need more first-caliber commercial development.
I love The Commons development in Calabasas because it’s people-friendly in terms of its scale and architecture. If I were the king of Warner Ridge, I’d like to see commercial development like The Commons, that would have mixed-used purposes. I don’t want a 20-story office building. I’d like the commercial to be part of a residential development.
Development should be based on two criteria: one, is it consistent with the community’s needs and wants, and two, is it structured to give the developer the opportunity for a fair profit?
One of the challenges of Los Angeles is to find a way to combine commercial and residential. As long as there’s a consistency of look and it’s what the community members want, it’s great. San Francisco is a good example of the coexistence of residential and commercial property that’s good for everyone involved.
BRAD ROSENHEIM / Agoura Hills resident and Warner Center land-use entitlement consultant
I think a multiple-residential development is preferable because it perpetuates the line that De Soto creates between the commercial community and the residential community.
We need additional high-quality residential opportunities in the area, and I think the density that’s being proposed at Warner Ridge is a good compromise to the commercial alternative.
Regarding traffic issues, my personal experience is that a residential project will create far less traffic than a commercial development would. Overall, if the community is concerned about traffic congestion, this alternative will create less traffic.
The city and the region are in dire need of new housing opportunities. The fact is, people will continue to move to this area, so somehow we’ve got to be able to make sure there’s adequate housing. Crowded apartment conditions create worse problems than well-planned new development.
