RESIDENTS SPLIT OVER RETAILER SOME SUPPORT, OTHERS OPPOSE KOHL'S FOR GRANADA HILLS.

Byline: ANGIE VALENCIA-MARTINEZ

Staff Writer

GRANADA HILLS -- Plans to develop a Kohl's at Granada Village has prompted an outcry from some residents who don't want a major retailer near residential neighborhoods.

The project got the green light from the Planning Commission recently, but opponents said they will appeal the decision.

"It's nothing against Kohl's," said Jim Summers, Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council president. "The project is too big. This is deep in the pocket of residential homes."

Regency Centers is proposing a 95,000-square-foot Kohl's department store at the corner of Chatsworth Street and Zelzah Avenue. It would replace a 43,000-square-foot market that closed more than six months ago.

But critics say the store is too large for the center and worry about traffic and parking.

Maria Fisk, a 28-year resident of Granada Hills, said stores in the center currently are between 40,000 and 50,000 square feet.

"It's a bad project," she said. "It sets a bad precedent. ... It doesn't fit the community."

A traffic study indicates that the project would generate more than 900 daily vehicle trips, although opponents believe that will be higher and are requesting another review.

They have gathered 600 signatures of opponents and have sent more than 250 letters to the City Council.

But the project has some supporters, including City Councilman Greig Smith.

"This is a good thing for Granada Hills," he said. "I keep hearing from people in the area that they want it. I see nothing but benefit. The majority of calls to my office are positive, not negative."

Smith said the Ralphs market that was initially there received more truck traffic than Kohl's will and that the center was designed for heavy traffic and once housed a bowling alley, movie theater and police station.

Regency Centers said it will redesign the aging center, which was built in the 1960s, and update it with Spanish colonial architecture, trees and landscaping.

"This center has been a tired, run-down center," said Mark Armbruster, a land-use attorney representing the developer. "Just by revitalizing, it will generate more jobs and bring more sales tax revenue for the city.

"The community is divided on the project. There's a group that opposes it, and there's a group that strongly supports it."

Bonnie Marie Bursk, a Granada Hills business owner, said she is among supporters of Kohl's, which will provide a boon to the business district.

"Having a larger store such as Kohl's might bring more shoppers into the area and help stores get more business," she said.

"People who are local to the area drive past our stores to go to major stores. I like to see them stay in Granada Hills to go shopping."

But those opposed to the project said they will continue to fight.

"People in our neighborhood are going all the way because we believe we're right," Summers said.

Regency Centers hopes to open a Kohl's by next October.

For information on the project, visit www.granadavillageshoppingcenter.com.

angie.valencia(at)dailynews.com

[phone]