COUNCIL OKS SHERMAN OAKS DISTRICT; IMPROVEMENTS SLATED FOR RETAIL HEART OF COMMUNITY.

Byline: Michael Coit Staff Writer

The Village at Sherman Oaks was born Wednesday as the Los Angeles City Council approved a business improvement district that will pump money into marketing and beautifying the retail heart of Sherman Oaks.

Beginning with street banners that will go up in a couple of months, the San Fernando Valley's newest property owner-based revitalization effort aims to regain the luster lost when the 1994 Northridge Earthquake rocked the community.

The envisioned improvements should bolster a business upswing along the stretches of Ventura and Van Nuys boulevards where the district has formed, planners say.

``The earthquake hurt big time. We lost one-third of the customer base, but we slowly built it back,'' said Bill Lee, a longtime Sherman Oaks resident who recently sold the popular Ho Toy's Chinese Restaurant but still owns the property.

``But with the business district, we will have focus,'' Lee explained. ``It's going to help for parking, and we're going to clean up the street.''

Some two-dozen areas across Los Angeles and the Valley have created business improvement districts under a 1994 state law allowing property-owner based districts.

The Village at Sherman Oaks is the Valley's sixth such district. It will cover about 70 properties that will be assessed between $873 and $17,000 annually over five years based on a lot's square footage and boulevard frontage, said David Wilcox, the urban planning and economics consultant for the Sherman Oaks project.

The district is projected to generate about $215,000 annually to pay for improvements.

``We're going to see some very sustained improvements,'' Wilcox said. ``We're looking forward to it. It's been a long and strong effort by a very resilient leadership group.''

Marketing, landscaping that includes street trees and benches are some of the proposals. Parking would be improved through validated access to lots serving markets, large stores and a seven-screen theater.

The district's foundation is the solid majority of property owners who agreed to pay the annual assessments. More than 55 percent of property owners signed petitions, and those accounting for more than 62 percent of the assessed property valuation in the area mailed in ballots supporting the district, Wilcox said.

An improved business district is important, said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association.

``This is our main street,'' he said.

``It's worked on a larger scale (in Pasadena and Santa Monica). This is important for all communities, and finally we have ours,'' Close said. ``It allows the business district to provide additional security, parking and beautification without having to rely on City Hall.''

The district's formation committee plans to meet again later this month to plan its budget and staffing, and contract with the city. Rather than wait for assessment revenue, the district could take a city loan to pay for banners and other initial improvements.

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Map: Sherman Oaks Business Improvement District