Few issues can bring a community closer together than development, especially when a proposed project is in an environmentally sensitive, high fire severity area and can significantly alter the fabric of a neighborhood.
An application was recently submitted for a high-density multi-family project at the Woodland Hills Country Club. This project has raised many concerns in the community, and I want to be clear about where I stand.
In short, this proposed project takes advantage of new state laws that may have made it impossible to get an environmental review and community input. It is deeply concerning that these changes, which could affect our district and many areas throughout the City and State, have happened with little scrutiny or local awareness.
This bill and its amendments are poised to be like SB79- but on steroids.
My office was approached by the owners of this site years ago seeking my support for various entitlements needed for a large scale project like this, but I told them no – not without public scrutiny. Now it looks like the developer is attempting to use newly passed State laws to obtain streamlined approvals for the project ministerially, meaning the City would have no discretion to review the project, no authority to require CEQA and that the project would not be appealable.
As shocking as it sounds, this is what seems to be happening. The state bill is AB 2011, which was amended by AB 2243 and AB 893. In a nutshell, AB 2011 allows high density multi-family projects ministerially along commercial corridors.
The changes include defining a commercial corridor in an overly broad way that includes Canoga Avenue alongside the Woodland Hills Golf Course. They remove protections afforded in specific plans that are over 25 years old, effectively circumventing the goals and requirements of both the Mulholland Scenic Parkway and Girard Tract Specific Plans. And one of the more shocking loopholes is that in single family communities, zoning laws can be ignored because the new bill ignores the City’s CUP requirement for parking in these zones.
But one of the truly egregious changes is that developers have an avenue to ignore Very High Fire Severity Zone limitations, if the site is vacant. But this site is not vacant because it’s a golf course and has a clubhouse.
I fully support multi-family housing, and I supported many affordable and permanent supportive housing sites in the district. Building dense housing in appropriate locations is why I finalized the Warner Center 2035 Specific Plan. It’s a designated urban commercial core where large scale developments like this are welcome and approved through a simple administrative clearance process.
I can’t help but feel as if this developer went behind our backs to forge the path they wanted. Sacramento surgically amended bills to avoid public and environmental scrutiny and get this project approved “by right’ under newly enacted State law. They fit this project like a glove, almost as if they were written with this project in mind. The impacts of these bills may not have been known by the State legislators when they were adopted. Wittingly or unwittingly, they voted for extreme measures that take away local control around development and in this specific case eliminate discretion for a massive project.
The City’s Planning Department is reviewing all the details. If these new rules apply, the application could be deemed complete in a few days. While I am shocked that this could be a reality, I believe it is important to share the truth as we understand it.
This week I introduced a motion seeking clarity from the City’s land use experts and attorneys to answer all the questions about this application. While I fear the worst, if there is a way to get the public input, and CEQA review that a project of this size should be required to do, I will pursue it.
As more clarity and information become available, I will continue to share updates in my newsletter and on social media that can be found at Blumenfield.LACity.org. Also, you can contact my Planning Director Elizabeth Ene at elizabeth.ene@lacity.org with any questions or concerns about this location and proposal.
