Communities Fight Over Where to Place Border

Sherman Oaks residents moved Wednesday night to tighten controls over development at the edge of their community by overwhelmingly endorsing a new boundary with next-door Studio City.

Homeowners voted 342 to 43 during a raucous meeting at Dixie Canyon Elementary School to recommend that Sherman Oaks’ border be moved half a mile east into Studio City.

By moving the boundary from Fulton Avenue to Coldwater Canyon Avenue, the slow-growth oriented Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. would have more clout over development in the fast-growing Westside that is now considered Studio City, residents said.

Response to Sign

Results of the advisory vote will be forwarded to Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Woo, officials said. The vote was undertaken by the association in response to a newly erected Sherman Oaks boundary line sign on Ventura Boulevard at Fulton Avenue. About 2,300 homes are in the disputed area.

As the area’s councilman, Woo has the authority to establish formal community dividing lines.

But Larry Kaplan, Woo’s chief deputy, said the poll will be ignored by the councilman. “This whole thing is a tempest in a teapot,” Kaplan said.

The homeowners at the meeting were told that they were not voting to change city services but only to retain a Sherman Oaks identity that has gradually eroded over the years.

“For some reason, Studio City has been creeping to the west. . . .” said Don Bender, a Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. board member.

That prompted an angry response from the back of the crowded school auditorium. Polly Ward, president of the Studio City Residents Assn., shouted “That’s a lie!” before being drowned out by boos.

Eric Schockman, an aide to Woo, accused Sherman Oaks leaders of waging “a disinformation campaign” about the boundary controversy. Schockman said that the recently erected sign did not change city services or alter the disputed area’s historical identity. The two communities always have been distinguished by separate ZIP codes, he argued.

“Richard Close should be ashamed of himself for wasting everyone’s time with this,” Kaplan said of the poll. Close is president of the Sherman Oaks association.

But Close said the vote shows that “Woo has made the greatest political blunder of the year. His decision with that sign will have political ramifications next year when he’s up for reelection.”

Last week, Woo announced he would order removal of the 2-month-old sign in an effort to defuse a growing rift between the two communities. But his move only intensified the anger of the Sherman Oaks group.

Part of the reason is that he insisted the area east of Fulton is still part of Studio City, not Sherman Oaks, despite removal of the sign. He said city transportation planners, postal officials and private map makers view the area the same way.

All residents living in an area designated by the ZIP code 91604 will be considered Studio City, Woo decided.

Woo also signed a “compact” with Studio City residents giving them veto power over new developments near their homes, including the much-disputed Tail O’ the Cock project.

He said he will listen “exclusively” to the Studio City Residents Assn. and the Studio City Chamber of Commerce on such issues as density and traffic when considering development projects.

This week, Woo mailed letters to 3,000 homes suggesting that last week’s action had made Wednesday night’s vote unnecessary.

“I want to put an end to the controversy and make my position clear,” he wrote. “There was never any plan to change the boundary line.”

Woo charged that “a misinformation campaign was launched” by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. over the boundary issue.