City Council OKs Subdivision in Equestrian Area

The Los Angeles City Council approved a Chatsworth housing subdivision proposed by Airport Commission President Ted Stein on Tuesday despite opposition from residents who said it will threaten the large-lot, horse-keeping character of their neighborhood.

Councilman Ed Reyes, who heads the council’s planning committee, said the project meets an important demand of residents by requiring a horse trail to be built along Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

“This is a case in which we have been able to reach consensus with the applicant and the community,” Reyes said before the unanimous council vote.

“It makes public safety a priority in how we are aligning the path for the horses coming down a very busy street.”

While horse-keeping neighbors of the project welcomed the requirement for the trail, they were troubled that it may only be 7 feet wide despite a city standard of 12 feet.

And they also remained opposed to Stein’s plans to build 21 houses on 6.7 acres in an area where many houses are on 1- or 2-acre lots.

Residents Fear Threat to Culture

In addition to concerns that the project might pressure others in the area to subdivide their lots, some also fear that because horse-keeping is not allowed at the new houses, it may result in complaints that would threaten the neighbors’ ability to keep horses.

“Our equestrian culture in Chatsworth has been attacked by the political process,” horse owner Jerry England said.

The Chatsworth Land Preservation Assn. already has filed a lawsuit challenging a previous zone change approved by the council for the Stein project.

Stein was not at the council meeting and did not return calls for comment.

The half a dozen neighbors at the council meeting took out most of their frustration on Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents Chatsworth and supported the project by his friend, Stein, despite community opposition.

“We in Chatsworth don’t feel that we have been given a fair shake by our city or by our council office,” resident Susan Eskander said.

Political Ties Are Attacked

She denounced the close ties between Bernson and Stein and also complained that Stein’s wife is city Public Works Commissioner Ellen Stein.

Bernson said he was doing the community a favor by approving a development of single-family homes instead of an apartment complex or commercial development for the northwest corner of Chatsworth Street and Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

“Hopefully, this will provide for a reasonable buffer for the horse-keeping and make sure this corner never will be commercial or high-density use, which would severely impact horse-keeping in the Chatsworth area,” Bernson said.

Lisa Kay Epstein, another member of the residents group, said the threat of a development worse than Stein’s was a red herring. “I am disappointed in my councilman for shutting his door to his constituents and hiding behind the same lame excuse that he is protecting us from gas stations and batting cages,” Epstein said.