Ventura redesign timeline urged at SCNC meeting

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Ventura redesign timeline urged at SCNC meeting
BY NAZBANOO PAHLAVI

The Studio City Neighborhood Council (SCNC) debated a potential redesign of the stretch of Ventura Boulevard between Colfax and Vineland Avenues at its monthly board meeting November 28 at the CBS Studio Center.

Dale Thrush, Planning Director for City Councilmember Wendy Greuel, attended the meeting to discuss a charrette, a stakeholder gathering aiming to resolve urban design issues through consultation and planning.

The meager process outline Thrush shared described the charrette’s goal “to create land use regulations that will facilitate the replacement of auto-related uses” and potentially include mixed-use housing, business and retail buildings similar to the village-style development of Tujunga Village.

Thrush said officials are currently in the process of assessing the physical limitations, land use regulations and economic feasibility of the project. The outline included rough estimates as to the length of the process goals, but no exact dates.

The SCNC board received Thrush’s outline with disappointment in light of the Land Use Committee’s meeting November 14 in which a detailed charrette report, including a timeline, was expected and not received.

Board member Gail Steinberg accused Thrush of putting profit margins ahead of community concerns, even though he emphasized the importance of “wide community support” before moving forward.

“What about our homeowners and protecting the equities in our homes?” Steinberg asked, adding that the current plan was “unacceptable to the community and to the council.”

Board member Richard Niederberg noted that the development, particularly the projected housing along Ventura Boulevard, would gulp up too much land, available parking, and homeowners’ views.

“One of the engines that will drive the change…is economics,” said Thrush, echoing a sentiment emphasized by other city officials including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, whose support of smart growth integrating mixed-use projects is well known.

The SCNC board ultimately decided to send a letter to Greuel to urge an expedient and community-involved process for the future of the charrette.

The other hot button item was board secretary John Walker’s report on the progress of the MTA/Universal Community Working Group, for which he is SCNC’s representative. The Working Group is comprised of the four neighborhood councils and 11 long-established residential, business and property owners most affected by the NBC Universal development plans.

Walker stated that the proposed construction includes two 28-storey live/work buildings called “Commons” on the Universal City/MTA site, in addition to another development further north on Lankershim Boulevard that would house 2,900 residential and production facilities.

“Imagine if you will,” Walker stated, “500 trucks a day of dirt for a year and a half before they even begin the process of development. That’s how long the destruction is.” According to Walker, the Working Group plans to buy space in the Los Angeles Daily News to endorse their disapproval with the current state of the project.

The board also discussed the need to financially support the North Hollywood Police Department’s efforts to add updated digital technology in its interrogation room, and elected Jeremy Lipton-Schwartz, a student at Grant High School in Valley Glen, to the board’s Youth Seat.

The SCNC board will not meet in December.