CSUN RETAIL CENTER DOESN'T MEET PERMIT CRITERIA, CITY PLANNERS SAY.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

City planners critical of Cal State Northridge's proposed retail center on campus are questioning whether the project has anything to do with education and indicating it may not be able to get the local approval it needs.

The eight-page report issued last week by the Los Angeles City Planning Department is part of the environmental review process for the proposed 220,000-square-foot University MarketCenter on 20 acres of campus land.

The controversial project, which is opposed by some retailers in the area because of the competition it would bring, ultimately will come before city planners for a special permit to operate.

``Because it's a retail center, our contention is that it doesn't fit the description of (CSUN's) mission and function as a university,'' said Deputy City Planner Ron Maben, who oversees the Northridge area. ``We would like to see them explore other alternatives other than a commercial shopping center.''

As a commercial venture, the Planning Department report contends, the retail center doesn't meet the criteria for a city conditional-use permit on property that's in a public facilities zone. The fact that the project would generate revenue for the university isn't enough, the report says.

``The intent of the public facilities zone was to accommodate government uses,'' it states. ``To qualify for joint use, simple income generation is insufficient.''

Frank Wein, facilities director for Cal State Northridge's North Campus, said Thursday that the university will seek all local approvals before building, despite the fact that the project would be built on state-owned land.

But he said he disagrees with the Planning Department's assessment of the environmental impact report, saying the final draft will be adequate to defend the project.

``In most of the cases we feel that the information is provided in the EIR, and we are just going to expand on that,'' Wein said.

Spokesman Bruce Erickson defended the university's decision to seek a commercial development that would provide CSUN with $1 million a year in lease income.

``There is no more direct connection between education and the quality of education than the dollars that go into it,'' said Erickson, who did not comment directly on the report because he had not reviewed it. ``And $1 million is nothing to sneeze at.''

The proposed center would include six retail stores, a food court and restaurants. University officials have said the MarketCenter will provide CSUN students with job training, internships and a public plaza area for students in the performing arts.

The school's EIR says that since the 20-acre lot forms part of a 65-acre parcel of state-owned land, the university is not required to seek local land-use approval but elected to do so anyway.

City planners say Cal State Northridge is not exempt from seeking city approval because the development is not primarily for university use.

``If that (development) were an auditorium, classrooms or even housing, they would not have to come to us,'' Maben said.

The Planning Department also questioned the benefits of a retail center in an already crowded commercial district, noting that the private Granada Hills Towne Center is expected to open a 200,000-square-foot retail development nearby this fall.