APPEALING PLANNERS' DECISIONS COULD BECOME COSTLIER PROCESS.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

Sherman Oaks homeowners leader Richard Close lives about four miles from the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Woodman Avenue, but that did not stop him from appealing two Planning Commission approvals of projects on that corner.

Van Nuys Homeowners Association President Don Schultz has appealed planning approvals for projects two miles from where he lives.

Combined, the two men have filed appeals on about 35 developments in the past five years on behalf of their homeowners groups.

But now they say their ability as community leaders to challenge development projects outside their immediate neighborhood is being threatened by city officials who want to hike the fees for filing an appeal.

The proposal by a panel appointed by Mayor Richard Riordan would increase the fee for people living more than 500 feet from a project from the current $64 to up to $5,000 - or up to 780 percent - to discourage what it sees as NIMBYism.

Those within the 500-foot radius would pay $150.

The fees would be charged for filing an appeal of a Planning Commission decision to the Board of Zoning Appeals and the City Council.

``This is a clear attempt by development interests to take away residents' rights to be heard on development projects,'' said Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association.

Deputy Mayor Sharon Morris and other city officials said the proposed fees - which are to be considered Tuesday by the council - are in keeping with the mayor's support of neighborhoods, in that they preserve neighbors' control over their destiny and prevent outside interference.

Riordan appointed the Development Reform Committee as part of his efforts to make the city more business friendly and to overcome the Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) mentality that Morris said causes unnecessary roadblocks for businesses.

``What we are interested in is discouraging the frivolous complaints, the NIMBYism,'' Morris said. ``Right now, for $64, anyone who lives across town can file an appeal.''

Schultz and Tujunga homeowners leader Sylvia Gross say they are prepared to take the city to court to fight the proposed fee changes, saying they violate equal protections under the 14th Amendment.

``This pretty much takes us out of the appeal process unless we can find someone living within 500 feet of a project,'' Schultz said.

An ad hoc council panel chaired by Councilman Hal Bernson has suggested an alternative proposal that would place a $150 cap on fees charged to residents appealing projects over 250,000 square feet providing they live in the same ZIP code as the project.

For smaller projects, residents would not have to live in the same ZIP code to take advantage of the lower fees, according to Bernson's proposal.

But, Close and Schultz said even the use of ZIP codes to determine fee levels is unreasonable, because their homeowners groups likely would face cases of projects in different ZIP codes that they would like to appeal.

``The impact of many projects go far beyond ZIP code boundaries,'' Close said, citing a project by MCA Inc. to expand its development in Universal City.

``The MCA project is going to impact a large sector of the Valley,'' said Close, who says he files about five appeals a year on behalf of his homeowners group.

Close's group, for instance, waged an eight-year battle against developments proposed for the corner of Ventura and Woodman before the property owner agreed to a project that was acceptable to the homeowners.