Local News in Brief : Search Begins for Consultant on Ventura Boulevard Plan

The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday authorized a search for a private consultant to prepare a new development plan for Ventura Boulevard. The plan would include controls sought by homeowners on design, landscaping and signs.

Council members Marvin Braude, Joy Picus and Joel Wachs, whose districts include portions of the boulevard, in December decided to postpone considering controls over aesthetics until the council approved a traffic-easing plan that would include new limits on the size of buildings.

Homeowner groups, however, protested. They expressed fear that, if controls on design, landscaping and signs were not addressed, the unsightliness would become too extensive.

Under Wednesday’s council action, consultants have until March 21 to submit a work program, including their fee, for preparing a development plan for the boulevard. The city Planning Department will make a recommendation to the City Council, which will select a consultant.

The council has set an Oct. 31 deadline for the selected consultant to make recommendations, with a final decision on a new plan coming a year later.

A one-year moratorium imposed by the council on high-rise building on the boulevard expires in October, although the council can extend it another year. The moratorium was approved to provide time for preparation of the new development plan.

Braude said Wednesday that the necessity to move fast on the development plan made the hiring of a consultant necessary.