Panel Endorses Housing Plan for Warner Site

WOODLAND HILLS —  A Los Angeles City Council panel endorsed a proposal Tuesday to build 454 townhomes on the northern 14.7 acres of the Warner Ridge property, saying that the project is preferable to a commercial development previously slated for the site.

Council members Cindy Miscikowski and Mike Hernandez, sitting as the council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee, agreed with many neighbors of the project who thought there would be fewer negative impacts from a residential project than a commercial one.

Developer Jerry Katell said that if the City Council approves the residential project, as scheduled today, he will abandon plans to build 690,000 square feet of office and commercial space and break ground on the residential project early next year.

“This is a win-win for the developer and the community,” Katell said. “It cuts the traffic by 68% from a commercial project.”

Instead of 123-foot-tall commercial buildings, the residential development would be limited to 75 feet in height, Katell added.

Although some neighbors supported the new residential project, Gordon Murley, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization, said there are still some concerns about its height and density.

“We still think 454 [units] is extremely dense for that area,” Murley told the committee. “We would like to see it down to 350 to 375.”

The council panel also recommended that the development include a 10-foot-wide, landscaped buffer area between the residential units and Pierce College.