DEVELOPMENT MORATORIUM PROPOSED REYES' L.A. RIVER PLAN PUSHES THE LIMITS.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

With little notice, a Los Angeles councilman tried last week to get the Planning Commission to approve the city's largest-ever emergency land-use measure that would severely restrict development along 32 miles of the Los Angeles River for at least one year.

The effort by Councilman Ed Reyes angered community and business leaders who said his plan had been cloaked in secrecy and was an attempt to close off development efforts without public debate.

Responding to quickly organized opposition, the Planning Commission on Thursday delayed a decision on the Reyes measure. It was pushed forward less than a week after the City Council authorized steps to regulate river development in line with principles of a Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan due out later this year.

The proposed ``interim-control'' ordinance, however, would immediately limit land-use entitlements and building permits - within a 300- to 1,000-foot corridor along the river channel - unless specific conditions are met.

While the emergency ordinance would be dissolved once the master plan is approved, it touched off one of the first public dust-ups over a long-term vision for river development as stunned property owners, community and business members decried it as too far-reaching to be adopted without public outreach and discussion.

``Interim-control ordinances ... send very strong messages to people who are investing. We were very surprised to hear about it,'' said Carol Schatz, president and CEO of the Central City Association.

``You just don't want to send a message on no development, or putting very serious limits, criterias (on development), especially when there is no outreach to those property owners and developers who would fall under it.''

Reyes defended his effort, saying his intent was to ``red flag'' projects that might not conform to principles adopted by the council's ad hoc river committee, which has laid out broad goals for an extensive network of greenbelts, natural habitats and other amenities along the channel.

``Properties are already slipping, they already want to submit (building permits) now, and they are not consistent with the vision of the ad hoc committee,'' he said.

Ray Franco, president of the Studio City Improvement Association representing 250 businesses, said Reyes failed to establish the necessity of placing what amounts to a year-long moratorium on certain development activities, with a possible one-year extension.

``You haven't proven the urgency. We've been working on the river for five years.''

Planning Department Deputy Director Gordon Hamilton said the ordinance technically is not a moratorium because it would not take away basic development rights.

Rather, he said, it would limit certain kinds of development potential - including requiring projects that abut the river face the river, be set back at least 30 feet, encompass no more than 55 percent of the property built out and be limited to 30 feet high.

To date, a measure passed in the late 1980s restricting development along 17 miles of Ventura and Cahuenga boulevards has been the city's largest interim-control ordinance.

``An emergency ordinance is to try to stop speculation; really, that's the bottom line,'' Hamilton said, adding that public hearings on such measures are not required before commission consideration.

``It's hard to put your finger exactly on an emergency in land-use planning; it's based on what could happen.

``We don't know who's in escrow, but there's the fear that when you're about ready to come out with the (master) plan, people may react to it ... in a way contrary to where it would go. We don't have evidence that's happening, but the council motion asked for it, and we assume there's something they're aware of to trigger the need.''

Hamilton said the measure would have little impact in the mostly residential West Valley where the proposed limited-development corridor is 300 feet.

He said the downtown area south to Washington Boulevard - where the proposed corridor would be 1,000 feet - and the Studio City area, part of the East Valley where the proposed corridor is 500 feet, is of more concern.

Hamilton said some ``big parcels'' there ``might get ahead of the master plan.''

``There was no ability for input or time to have meetings,'' said Polly Ward, a member of the Studio City Neighborhood Council. ``The concern is there are area businesses in Studio City that are impacted on either side of Ventura Boulevard.''

Ventura Boulevard runs so close to the river in that area that the ordinance potentially could impact dozens of businesses, including CBS Studio Center and its expansion plans.

``This is the only issue that's brought everyone together,'' Franco said. ``It's 32 miles long, affects thousands of properties, which means if you freeze development along those lines, you're freezing possible tax increases that will happen from improvements on those properties.''

Under Reyes' proposal, projects that have all their entitlements, such as zone changes or variances, but haven't gotten a building permit would be subject to the restrictions.

Ellen Berkowitz, an attorney with Manatt Phelps & Phillips, said the current proposal would freeze a 149-unit apartment project in Studio City, despite the fact that her client already has all of the entitlements for it.

``It took him a long time, a great deal of effort and expense, meetings with the community and renegotiations,'' she said. ``The interim control ordinance would prohibit the construction of his project.''

Planning Commission President Jane Ellison Usher said the commission was not yet convinced of the need for an emergency measure, noting city staff could not provide specific examples of imminent threats to the plans for green space and other amenities along the river.

``An interim control ordinance needs to be a measure of last resort, by its statutory nature,'' said Usher. ``It boiled down to, what is the risk if we don't adopt it today? ... That was not answered.''

Richard Meruelo, the largest landowner downtown, was the only person to testify in favor of the measure even though he said some of his properties would be affected.

``I support greening of the Los Angeles River,'' Meruelo said. ``It takes a while to develop the (master) plan, and in the meantime I don't want to see recyclers and strip clubs, nuisances come in, because they see a window of opportunity.''

Beth Barrett, [phone]

beth.barrett(at)dailynews.com

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L.A. RIVER PROJECT

SOURCE: Los Angeles Planning Department

Gregg Miller/Staff Artist