Dear Friend:

The proposed Woodland Hills Country Club housing development continues to be the subject of great concern and consternation in our community, and I am writing to give you the latest update from my vantage point. Like many of you, I have been aghast that nearly 400 units of high density housing could be built with a minimal “ministerial” review in a very high fire hazard severity zone rather than the normally required discretionary process. By taking advantage of new state laws including the recent amendments to AB 2011, there would be no community input or public hearings.

In response to my concerns and those raised by neighbors, and as a strategy to mitigate their risk given the certainty that even if the City ministerially approves their project they will be sued and could lose in court, representatives of the land owners approached me with a creative idea.  They suggested that they might be willing to pursue a modified discretionary review process for a much less dense project that would be spread out over the full 92 acres, rather than the 19.5 acres of their proposed project. They said that such a project would produce homes that are similar in square footage and lot size to homes already in the area and that such a project would be subject to CEQA review as are all discretionary projects.

However, their willingness to consider a less dense project would be contingent on my willingness to support a zone change and general plan amendment that would be needed for such a project. I, of course, have been clear that I do not support such a zone change/general plan amendment and would not, unless the community was firmly in support of such a modified project or felt that allowing such a project was better than taking the risk that the high density project would be approved and enable future dense projects on the remainder of the land.

Deciding whether to go down such a road is a decision that I feel needs to be made by the community that is most impacted by the proposed development. Consequently, I immediately put together a meeting with leaders of the Woodland Hills Neighborhood Collective, Woodland Hills Landwise Alliance, the Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council, the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority — all of the groups that have been most vocal about the project. After several days of consideration, the consensus of the groups was not to negotiate with the developers for a modified project. 

Read more in depth on the latest WHCC update here. Also, you can contact my Planning Director Elizabeth Ene at elizabeth.ene@lacity.org or my Communications Director Jake Flynn at jake.flynn@lacity.org with any questions or concerns about this location and proposal.

Councilmember Blumenfield is working with the City's Bureau of Street Services to finalize the design of Phase 2 of the Reimagine Ventura Blvd project, which aims to make the segment of Ventura Blvd near Fallbrook Avenue more of a neighborhood "main street." From the start a decade ago, this has been a community-initiated and driven effort.

Blumenfield seeks feedback from Woodland Hills constituents regarding two possible improvements: a community monument sign, which could be placed on wider sidewalks or in a median; and longer medians between Gomeres Road and Rigoletto Street, which would allow room for planting trees, but would affect left turns in and out of three driveways.

Other improvements include upgraded curb ramps and driveways to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), parking triangles with shade trees, and other elements to beautify the street. Comments are welcome at 818.774.4430 or councilmember.blumenfield@lacity.org.

This week's photo, taken in 1960, is from the Los Angeles Public Library's Valley Times Collection of a student receiving skating lessons from an instructor at the Valley Ice Skating Center, located 18361 Ventura Blvd in Tarzana. The structure has since been demolished and later became the Whole Earth Marketplace, an indoor flea market. Learn more about the photo here.