SCHOOL-CITY DEAL WOULD ALLOW HIGH-RISE TO PROCEED.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

Los Angeles city and school officials reached a partial agreement Wednesday that would allow major developments, including a new Twentieth Century Insurance Co. high-rise, to proceed in Warner Center while talks continue on protecting nearby schools.

Having won an appeals court ruling last year to invalidate the Warner Center specific plan, which could block new construction, Los Angeles Unified School District officials agreed Wednesday to ask the court to keep the plan in effect while a long-term agreement is negotiated. They are seeking funds to mitigate noise and traffic impacts on area schools.

In addition, school district officials agreed to provide written assurances that they will not challenge plans for construction of an 11-story, $30 million office building for Twentieth Century on Owensmouth Avenue, according to City Councilwoman Laura Chick, who attended the meeting.

``This was a good and productive first step,'' Chick said. ``We have, I think, very good news in terms of immediate certainty for the Twentieth Century Insurance project and a handful of others in the pipeline. We're not on firm ground in terms of a permanent solution.''

Rich Mason, LAUSD general counsel, said he was optimistic a long-term agreement will be reached. In the meantime, the district will seek to use bond money from Proposition BB to install air conditioning and soundproofing in two area schools. The district's cost, estimated at $5 million, later would be reimbursed by developer fees, Mason said.

The partial agreement was negotiated during a two-hour session including Chick, Mason, city attorneys and planners, LAUSD Superintendent Ruben Zacarias, and school board members Valerie Fields and Julie Korenstein.

Chick said the city offered to agree to make sure developers pay fees to cover the costs of any school-protection measures identified in an environmental study to be done over the next eight months.

However, Chick said the sticking point is that LAUSD officials want the city to commit now to specific mitigation measures to reduce anticipated traffic and noise impacts on Canoga Park High and Parkman Middle schools.

``We can't do that. It's prejudging the supplemental environmental report,'' Chick said.

Still, word that the school district will not stand in the way of current development proposals was cautiously welcomed by Richard Dinan, senior vice president of Twentieth Century.

The company hopes to move hundreds of employees into a high-rise to be built by Tishman International Co. next to the insurance company's current building in Woodland Hills. However, the insurance company might have been forced to consider other options, including moving employees out of the city, if the lawsuit had blocked the development.

``If those measures are adequate to provide the developer funding to proceed, I would have to say it's a successful and gratifying end to a very frustrating problem,'' Dinan said.