Horse Owners Snort at Home Plan

A controversial plan to build a residential development on a broad pasture that for generations has been the center of Chatsworth’s equestrian community was approved Thursday by the Los Angeles Planning Commission.

The panel voted 5 to 2 in favor of a developer’s plan to build 20 single-family houses on the 6.7-acre lot at the northwest corner of Chatsworth Street and Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

One of the last remaining preserves amid the bustle of suburban sprawl, the undeveloped tract was purchased in 1970 by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Ted Stein, an Encino developer and lawyer, is currently negotiating to buy the property, according to Planning Commission records. Stein has served at different times as a planning, airport and harbor commissioner and as an unpaid advisor to Mayor Richard Riordan.

The development plan must win approval from the City Council, which generally relies on recommendations from the Planning Commission and area council members when deciding land-use issues.

A spokeswoman for Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the area and is an ardent supporter of equestrian activities, said Bernson backed the housing development because it would stave off more intensive residential or commercial development proposals for the site.

At a raucous hearing Thursday morning in Van Nuys, owners of horse properties repeatedly interrupted the commission’s deliberations, booing loudly and waving hand-lettered placards that read “No Zone Change.”

“The amendment and zone change are unnecessary and would contribute to the erosion of the equestrian nature of the community that is highly prized by residents,” said Douglas P. Carstens, a land-use lawyer representing the residents.

“Once the plan is amended and zoning is changed in one location, similar proposals are likely to follow,” he said.

The archdiocese was represented at the hearing by Tom Stemnock, a lawyer specializing in planning issues, who argued that the developer had taken the residents’ concerns into consideration by creating deeper lots along the north end of the property that would allow for a greater distance between the new residences and horse-keeping properties.

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While the horse property owners are not opposed to residential development at the site, they would prefer 16 homes rather than the 20 that are proposed.

The owners also said the developer could still make money from 16 homes and that number would leave larger lot sizes to meet the legal requirement of 75 feet between an animal enclosure and the habitable rooms of a neighbor’s dwelling.

If the developer moves forward with 20 homes, the smaller lot sizes would reduce the distance between existing ranches and new residences, making the horse-keeping properties nonconforming.

With insufficient distance between old and new residences, the ranchers fear they would lose their right to keep horses.

But one Chatsworth ranch owner, Stan King, spoke in favor of the development, saying residential and commercial development would bring a windfall of tax revenue to the area. He was roundly booed as he returned to his seat.

After the hearing, Planning Commissioner Jorge Jackson said the panel sided with the developer because of the need to create more housing in the city.

“I understand what the [horse property owners] are fighting for, but we are looking at the whole picture,” he said. “There is a significant need for all kinds of housing in the city--affordable, moderate and luxury. The commission has to balance those interests.”

Residents said they were particularly irked by Stein’s request to amend the Chatsworth/Porter Ranch General Plan, which he had supported during his tenure on the Planning Commission.

“He was on the board when the General Plan was adopted in 1991, and now he wants to change it,” Jeannie Plumb, a longtime resident, ranch owner and onetime advisor on equestrian issues to Bernson, said before the meeting.

Attempts to reach Stein for comment on Wednesday and Thursday were unsuccessful.

Residents said they were also dismayed that Bernson supports Stein’s plan. The longtime councilman has been a staunch advocate of equestrian facilities.

“We don’t understand why Councilman Bernson has taken the position that he has,” Susan Eskander, owner of Trails End Ranch in Chatsworth, said before the hearing. “It’s a total about-face, and it’s just not right.”

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Phyllis Winger, Bernson’s planning deputy, who represented him at the hearing, said the councilman supported the developer’s proposal because it would stave off more intensive residential or commercial developments proposed for the site.

“He has done more to support horse-keeping in the Valley than anyone else,” Winger said. “Putting in this development would not affect horse-keeping.”

Property owners say they are prepared to fight for their right to keep horses in an area that for decades has been preserved by the city for equestrian activities.

If the amendment and zoning change are ultimately approved by the council, Plumb said, the action would open the floodgates for other developments.

“This is the first intrusion into the General Plan and it could trigger all sorts of piecemeal changes in the plan,” she said.

Ranchers say the zoning change would alter Chatsworth’s identity as a rustic outpost within city limits.

“Chatsworth is really a special place, and what makes it so special is that there are so many horse-keeping properties,” said Marilyn Ruzicka, a longtime resident and horse ranch owner. “It’s like a little oasis in the city.”