Panel Urges ‘Urban Village’ for N. Hollywood

In the latest effort to revitalize North Hollywood, a panel of experts strongly cautioned Los Angeles officials against trying to develop large commercial projects in the area in the near future.

Instead, the city and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority should focus on creating an “urban village” of high-density housing near the Metro Red Line subway station, while fostering an environment that would help the local arts scene thrive.

“The NoHo Arts District is central to the development strategy,” said Zane Segal, a Houston developer and participant on the Urban Land Institute team that studied the area.

Commissioned by the MTA and the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency for $110,000, the study was intended to provide an unbiased “fresh look” at the community’s challenges and opportunities, officials said.

Despite years of redevelopment efforts, the area still suffers from economic distress and blight, with weed-infested empty lots and unsightly chain-link fences dotting the streetscape.

But there are signs of new life. Ground was recently broken for two massive high-density developments -- the 15-story NoHo Tower apartment complex, and NoHo Commons, which will have 716 apartments as well as office and retail space. The community will also be the starting point for an east-west busway, recently renamed the Orange Line, which is scheduled to open in 2005.

Some of the study team’s advice -- delivered Friday to about 70 officials, community leaders and residents inside a Holiday Inn ballroom in North Hollywood -- was broad, such as a suggestion that MTA and city officials coordinate their efforts. Given that nearby Universal City has big hotels with vacant rooms, and nearby Burbank already offers huge shopping centers, plans to build such amenities in North Hollywood just aren’t realistic, they said.

Other recommendations were detailed: To make the area pedestrian-friendly, Lankershim Boulevard should have a landscaped center divider, and shops should have large windows. A major cultural attraction, such as an animation museum, could make the area a tourist destination.

To keep small businesses from being pushed out by high rents and to preserve the area’s funky charm, the panelists suggested that the city consider establishing a foundation to buy up land.

Longtime community leaders said most of the team’s ideas were not original.

“I’m kind of disappointed ... I don’t think anything is new,” said Victor Viereck, president of the North Hollywood Residents Assn. “There have been so many studies in the past, and nothing happens.”

But others said they hoped the group’s findings would have more pull than past efforts.

“They’re a brain trust,” said Bruce Spiegel, president of the Universal City-North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. “The MTA and CRA will likely listen to these guys.”