CHATSWORTH — A controversial plan to build a residential development on a broad pasture that for generations has been the center of Chatsworth's equestrian community was approved Thursday by the Los Angeles Planning Commission.
The panel voted 5 to 2 in favor of a developer's plan to build 20 single-family houses on the 6.7-acre lot at the northwest corner of Chatsworth Street and Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
One of the last remaining preserves amid the bustle of suburban sprawl, the undeveloped tract was purchased in 1970 by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Ted Stein, an Encino developer and lawyer, is currently negotiating to buy the property, according to Planning Commission records. Stein has served at different times as a planning, airport and harbor commissioner and as an unpaid advisor to Mayor Richard Riordan.
The development plan must win approval from the City Council, which generally relies on recommendations from the Planning Commission and area council members when deciding land-use issues.
A spokeswoman for Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the area and is an ardent supporter of equestrian activities, said Bernson backed the housing development because it would stave off more intensive residential or commercial development proposals for the site.
At a raucous hearing Thursday morning in Van Nuys, owners of horse properties repeatedly interrupted the commission's deliberations, booing loudly and waving hand-lettered placards that read "No Zone Change."
"The amendment and zone change are unnecessary and would contribute to the erosion of the equestrian nature of the community that is highly prized by residents," said Douglas P. Carstens, a land-use lawyer representing the residents.
"Once the plan is amended and zoning is changed in one location, similar proposals are likely to follow," he said.
The archdiocese was represented at the hearing by Tom Stemnock, a lawyer specializing in planning issues, who argued that the developer had taken the residents' concerns into consideration by creating deeper lots along the north end of the property that would allow for a greater distance between the new residences and horse-keeping properties.
*
While the horse property owners are not opposed to residential development at the site, they would prefer 16 homes rather than the 20 that are proposed.
