LOS ANGELES CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT STAFF REPORT LOS ANGELES CITY PLANNING COMMISSION CASE NO: CPC 2006-9374 CRA CEQA: Exempt DATE: December 21, 2006 Location: Valley Plaza and Laurel Plaza TIME: after 8:30 a.m. Council District: 2 PLACE: Van Nuys City Hall Plan Area: North Hollywood-Valley Council Chambers Second Floor Village Plan 14410 Sylvan Street Land Use: Community Commercial Room 201, Council Chambers Open Space Van Nuys CA. 91401 Zone: Various PUBLIC HEARING NOT REQUIRED PROJECT: Preliminary Plan On A Proposed Amendment to the Disaster Assistance Plan for the Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor. APPLICANT: Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles RECOMMENDATION: 1. ADOPT: The Staff Report as the Commissioner s report on this matter. 2. CEQA: Exempt 3. APPROVE: Exhibit A, Preliminary Plan for Amending the Disaster Assistance Plan (A Redevelopment Plan) for the Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor S. Gail Goldberg, AICP Director of Planning Dan Scott, Principal City Planner Robert Z. Duenas, Senior City Planner (818) 374-5072 Table of Contents 1. Staff Report 2. Exhibit "A", Preliminary Plan for Amending the Disaster Assistance Plan (A Redevelopment Plan) for the Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor. 3. Exhibit B Boundaries of the Earthquake Disaster Assistance Project for Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor. 4. Exhibit C Boundaries of the Valley Plaza Shopping Area. ADVICE TO PUBLIC: *The exact time this report will be considered during the meeting is uncertain since there may be several other items on the agenda. Written communications may be mailed to the Commission Office, 200 North Spring Street, Room 532, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (Phone No. (213) 978-1300). While all written communications are given to the Commission for consideration, the initial packets are sent the week prior to the Commission s meeting date. As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability, and upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to these programs, services and activities. Sign language interpreters, assisted listening devices, or other auxiliary aids and/or other services may be provided upon request.
Page 1 STAFF REPORT The Disaster Assistance Plan for the Earthquake Disaster Assistance Project for the Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor ("project area") was adopted on December 9, 1994. As a redevelopment plan approved in accordance with the Disaster Assistance Provisions of the California Health and Safety Code (Section 34000), it provides the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles ("CRA") with authorization to maintain, repair, restore, demolish or replace property, areas or facilitates damaged or destroyed as a result of the January 17, 1994 Northridge Earthquake. The boundaries of the 248-acre project area are identified on the attached map, Exhibit A. The CRA has requested the approval of a preliminary plan as one of many actions during a 12- month planning process to amend the redevelopment plan for the Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor project area. The purpose of the preliminary plan is to describe in general terms the proposed amendment to the redevelopment plan and the general impacts that may result from the amendment upon land use, building intensities, building standards, street systems, and neighborhood conditions. The preliminary plan further describes how the amendment will advance the purposes of the California Redevelopment Law, and how it will conform to the General Plan of the City of Los Angeles, including the North Hollywood - Valley Village Community Plan. The proposed amendment would add provisions to the redevelopment plan to provide for the acquisition of property, if necessary, by eminent domain, and to extend dates in the redevelopment plan governing its effective period and project financing. Other provisions of the redevelopment plan will be amended, as necessary, to conform with any new requirements of the redevelopment law since the plan was adopted or as needed to effectuate redevelopment. The proposed amendment would facilitate the redevelopment of part of the Valley Plaza Shopping Center Area, bounded generally by Hamlin Street on the north, Laurel Canyon Boulevard on the east, the 170 Freeway on the south and west, and Victory Boulevard and Bellingham on the northwest, as illustrated on the attached map, Exhibit B. The availability of eminent domain would be applicable solely to this area. The amendment would further implement a specific development proposal being negotiated by the CRA with the JH Snyder Company for an approximate 23 acre site bounded by Victory Boulevard on the north, Laurel Canyon Boulevard on the east, and the 170 Freeway on the south and west, identified as the "shopping center site" on Exhibit B. The City Planning Department would assist in evaluating and amending the North Hollywood Valley Village Community as necessary. In addition, any required zone changes would also be processed and evaluated by the City Planning Department. All plan amendments and zone changes would be presented to the City Planning Commission and thereafter to the City Council for final adoption. The JH Snyder proposal would redevelop the shopping center site as a new pedestrian oriented regional commercial and entertainment center. The proposal includes replacing land currently devoted to a portion of Valley Plaza Park with commercial development. That portion of Valley Plaza Park is approximately five acres and is situated south of Victory Boulevard along the easterly edge of the 170 Freeway adjacent to existing commercial property that fronts Laurel Canyon Boulevard. JH Snyder is proposing to replace the existing park with the construction of a new park, with the same acreage as the original, southwest of Radford Avenue and Erwin Street, on land currently used for parking and part of Laurel Plaza, an approximate 24 acre site where the Robinsons May Department store is located. New townhome and multiple family ownership housing are proposed for the remainder of the site. All changes to the existing park sites and the establishment of new park sites will involve the Department of Recreation and Parks. The Department of Recreation and Parks would evaluate the appropriateness of any changes. Page 2
The proposal by JH Snyder for Valley Plaza and Laurel Plaza will require an amendment to the North Hollywood - Valley Village Community Plan. The shopping center proposal will require redesignation of the existing open space land use designation to one permitting commercial development. For Laurel Plaza the proposal will require an amendment to re-designate an existing community commercial land use designation to one permitting new park development, with an open space designation. Removal of an Equestrian Trail designation is also proposed. The requested approval, of the Preliminary Plan, by the City Planning Commission does not constitute a final approval with respect to any of the proposals. Subsequent consideration will first be required by the City Planning Commission, the CRA Board of Commissioners, the Recreation and Parks Commission, and the City Council. An environmental impact report is being prepared to meet the environmental review requirements of the proposed amendments to the redevelopment plan and the community plan, the replacement of the identified portion of Valley Plaza Park, and the shopping center and residential development proposals for Valley Plaza and Laurel Plaza, respectively. Scheduling of final actions is anticipated for the first half of 2007. The agreement between the CRA and the JH Snyder Company shall be contigent upon the prior approvals identified herein. Meetings with the Mid-Town North Hollywood Neighborhood Council, the Greater Valley Glen Neighborhood Council, the Valley Village Neighborhood Council, the Laurel Grove Homeowners Association, the Valley Plaza Park Advisory Board, and others in the community are being conducted by the CRA. Councilmember Wendy Gruel supports the planning process as a means to formally consider the redevelopment of the Valley Plaza and the Laurel Plaza areas. Page 3
BACKGROUND The purpose of the preliminary plan is to describe in general terms the proposed amendment to the redevelopment plan and the general impacts that may result from the amendment upon land use, building intensities, building standards, street systems, and neighborhood conditions. The preliminary plan further describes, generally, how the proposed amendment will advance the purposes of the California Redevelopment Law, and how it will conform to the General Plan of the City of Los Angeles, including the North Hollywood - Valley Village Community Plan. Consideration of the proposed amendment to the redevelopment plan requires documentation of blight, financial analysis including project financing, the preparation of a Preliminary Report for Los Angeles County taxing agency review, an EIR, and a Report to the City Council that draws together all the major documents and is in part the basis of findings required for CRA and City Council approval of the proposed redevelopment plan amendment. A section of the Report to the City Council is the report and recommendation of the City Planning Commission, regarding its review and approval of the proposed amendment to the redevelopment plan. A joint public hearing by the CRA and the City Council to consider the proposed amendment will be conducted subsequent to City Council's receipt of the report and recommendation from the City Planning Commission. At the time the redevelopment plan was approved in 1994 for the Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor, the provision to acquire property by eminent domain was not included based on assumptions that federal emergency assistance and the availability of long term tax increment financing would be sufficient to ensure recovery and redevelopment of the project area. In 1999, the CRA released a request for proposal for the redevelopment of Valley Plaza to address remaining economic and physical dislocation and the need to restore vitality to the commercial area. An Exclusive Right to Negotiate with the JH Snyder Company was approved by the CRA on March 16, 2000, and negotiations with the Snyder Company have continued since that time. Delays in completing negotiations have been associated with the construction of a new middle school on land originally proposed for redevelopment, changing market conditions, and evolving constraints and opportunities in the commercial and residential development market place. The JH Snyder Company is a major property owner in the Valley Plaza shopping center site, and is conducting independent negotiations with the owner of Laurel Plaza. CRA staff will be assisting the City Planning Department staff in the preparation of the proposed amendment to the North Hollywood - Valley Village Community Plan. The Final EIR will be used for any required permits and approvals, including but not limited to zone changes, and height district changes, variances, merger and re-subdivision of land for residential condominium purposes, building permits, and other actions from local, regional, State, and federal agencies as may be required.
Exhibit A CPC 2006-9374 CRA PRELIMINARY PLAN TO AMEND THE EARTHQUAKE DISASTER ASSISTANCE PLAN FOR THE EARTHQUAKE DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROJECT FOR LAUREL CANYON COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR Prepared by the CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES In cooperation with the COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES
I. PURPOSE This preliminary plan has been prepared by the City Planning Commission of the City of Los Angeles and the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles in accordance with California Community Redevelopment Law (Health and Safety Code Section 33000, et seq.) to amend the existing Earthquake Disaster Assistance Plan ("the redevelopment plan") for the Earthquake Disaster Assistance Project for the Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor, adopted on December 9, 1994. The purpose of the preliminary plan is to describe in general terms the proposed amendment to the redevelopment plan and the general impacts that may result from the amendment upon land use, building intensities, building standards, street systems, and neighborhood conditions. The preliminary plan further describes how the amendment will advance the purposes of the California Redevelopment Law, and how it will conform to the General Plan of the City of Los Angeles, including the North Hollywood - Valley Village Community Plan. The amendment to the redevelopment plan is proposed to facilitate the recovery and redevelopment of the Valley Plaza Shopping Center Area by adding a provision to provide, if necessary, for the acquisition of property by eminent domain, extending the effective period of the plan to the maximum period permitted by law, and increasing the financing limitations in the redevelopment plan to levels necessary for recovery and redevelopment, and by amending related provisions. The City Planning Department would assist in evaluating and amending the North Hollywood Valley Village Community as necessary. In addition, any required zone changes would also be processed and evaluated by the City Planning Department. All plan amendments and zone changes would be presented to the City Planning Commission and thereafter to the City Council for final adoption. II. DESCRIPTION OF THE BOUNDARIES OF THE PRELIMINARY PLAN FOR THE AMENDMENT TO THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE EARTHQUAKE DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROJECT FOR LAUREL CANYON COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR The boundaries of the Earthquake Disaster Assistance Project for the Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor are described on the Map attached to this document and incorporated as Exhibit "B". No change to the existing project area boundary is proposed. The provision providing for the acquisition of property by eminent domain would apply solely to commercial properties within the Valley Plaza Shopping Center Area, bounded by Hamlin Street on the north, Laurel Canyon Boulevard on the east, the 170 Freeway on the south and west, and Victory Boulevard and Bellingham Avenue on the northwest. The Valley Plaza Shopping Center Area is identified on Exhibit "C". III. GENERAL STATEMENT OF PROPOSED LAND USES The development of property within the Earthquake Disaster Assistance Project for the Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor shall conform to the General Plan of the City of Los Angeles, the land use provisions of the North Hollywood - Valley Village Community Plan, and applicable zoning, as each now reads or may be amended.
CPC 2006-9374 CRA IV. GENERAL STATEMENT OF PROPOSED LAYOUT OF PRINCIPAL STREETS Principal streets within the redevelopment project area include Laurel Canyon Boulevard, a Major Highway Class II, Victory Boulevard, a Major Highway Class II, Oxnard Street, a Secondary Highway, Vanowen Street, a Secondary Highway, and Burbank Boulevard, a Major Highway Class II. Streets within the Valley Plaza Shopping Center Area and Laurel Plaza include Laurel Canyon Boulevard, a Major Highway Class II, Victory Boulevard, a Major Highway Class II, Erwin street, a collector street, Bellingham Avenue, a collector street, Hamlin Street, a local street, Radford Avenue, a collector street, Sylvan Street, a local street, and East Park Drive, a local street. An equestrian trail is designated by the North Hollywood - Valley Village Community Plan within the Valley Plaza Shopping Center Area and in Laurel Plaza. The proposed vacation of all or portions of Bellingham Avenue, Sylvan Street, Erwin Street and East Park Drive, within the area south of Victory Boulevard and west of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and the equestrian trail, shall be executed in accordance with the standards and criteria contained in the Highways and Freeways Element of the General Plan and all applicable City standards. V. GENERAL STATEMENT OF PROPOSED POPULATION DENSITIES As a basis for the redevelopment of the area, population density, in general, shall not exceed those densities permitted by the North Hollywood - Valley Village Community Plan, as of 2006. VI. GENERAL STATEMENT OF PROPOSED BUILDING INTENSITIES As a basis for the redevelopment of the area, building intensity, in general, shall be consistent with the North Hollywood Valley Village Community Plan, as it now reads and upon amendment. The Community Plan permits an overall floor to area ratio will be restricted to 1.5:1, overall, with a maximum amount of 6 stories, or a maximum floor area ratio of 6:1 on any one site. VII. GENERAL STATEMENT OF PROPOSED BUILDING STANDARDS Building standards shall conform to the building requirements of applicable City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles and state codes. VIII. ATTAINMENT OF THE PURPOSES OF THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT LAW The purposes of the California Community Redevelopment Law would be attained through the recovery and redevelopment of the Valley Plaza Shopping Center Area, by: 1) maintaining and promoting private sector investment through the restoration and enhancement of commercial sales, 2) restoring and expanding the employment base, 3) redesigning off-street parking, 4) re-designing vehicular and pedestrian circulation, 5) enhancing the accessibility and safety of open space through the relocation of a portion of Valley Plaza Park, and 6) improving the overall quality of life in the community by restoring and enhancing vitality in the area.
CPC 2006-9374 CRA IX. CONFORMANCE TO THE GENERAL PLAN OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES The preliminary plan proposes a pattern of land use requiring an amendment to the North Hollywood - Valley Village Community Plan. An area devoted to Open Space within the Valley Plaza Shopping Center Area, south of Victory Boulevard and immediately east of the 170 Freeway, where a portion of Valley Plaza Park is now located, is proposed for re-designation to permit Commercial development. A second area, east of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and south of Erwin Street, and devoted to Commercial use, is proposed for re-designation to permit Open Space, and the relocation of Valley Plaza Park from the area to be redeveloped. The programs, policies, goals and objectives in the General Plan the North Hollywood - Valley Village Community Plan were considered in the preparation of the preliminary plan, and the policies of will be fulfilled in terms of land use, service systems, circulation, and public improvements. X. GENERAL IMPACT OF THE POTENTIAL PROJECT ON THE RESIDENTS AND SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD The impact of the amended plan upon the residents of the area and the surrounding neighborhood will, in general, be in terms of economic development, employment, commercial services, housing, pedestrian and traffic circulation, park use and open space, and public improvements, facilities, and services. Activities to be implemented and necessary to eliminate blight under the plan include owner participation; property acquisition, property disposition, relocation of owners and tenants, demolition of structures, improvement of building sites, and construction of public improvements and facilities. XI. Map Exhibit B illustrates the boundaries of the Earthquake Disaster Assistance Project for Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor and Exhibit "C" illustrates the Valley Plaza Shopping Center Area.
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