Chatsworth Ca

On a wind-swept hill at Rocky Peak in Chatsworth today and Sunday, more than 100 actors, including babies, are going back in time to re-create the first Christmas in Bethlehem. When the sun goes down, the cast of people and beasts in "Back to Bethlehem" will take positions inside a two-acre village of thatched-roof structures and shops.

Chatsworth homeowners are cheering a judge's decision to block a subdivision they say would threaten their neighborhood's horsy character. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs agreed Tuesday with the horse-keeping plaintiffs that city planners and the City Council erred when they changed zoning in the area to allow developer Ted Stein's plan for 21 houses on 6.7 acres. Janavs also agreed that the city had not sufficiently reviewed the environmental impact of the project.

Some in semirural Chatsworth see time running out. After deferring a decision three times, the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission will meet Aug. 21 to decide if Presidio Chatsworth Partners will get to build Deerlake Ranch, a development of more than 400 upscale homes on a wild, unincorporated swath north of the 118 Freeway.

The Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to appeal a court ruling that handed Chatsworth residents a victory in their battle to block a housing project by Airport Commission President Ted Stein. "It was a bad court decision," said Councilman Hal Bernson, who was been criticized by some residents for pushing the 21-home development for Stein, a close friend. After a half-hour closed session, the council voted unanimously to appeal the May decision.

Amid charges of political favoritism, the Los Angeles City Council overrode a mayoral veto Wednesday and approved a Chatsworth development that neighbors complained threatens their rural, equestrian lifestyle. Opponents alleged that Councilman Hal Bernson pushed the 21-home project to benefit political ally Ted Stein, developer of the site and former president of the city's Planning Commission.

A City Council panel recommended Tuesday that the city deny an appeal by a group of Chatsworth residents who are trying to block Airport Commission President Ted Stein from building 21 homes on a small parcel in their equestrian-oriented neighborhood. The full City Council is scheduled today to review the recommendation of its Planning and Land Use Management Committee to approve a subdivision on the northeast corner of Chatsworth Street and Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

The Los Angeles City Council approved a Chatsworth housing subdivision proposed by Airport Commission President Ted Stein on Tuesday despite opposition from residents who said it will threaten the large-lot, horse-keeping character of their neighborhood. Councilman Ed Reyes, who heads the council's planning committee, said the project meets an important demand of residents by requiring a horse trail to be built along Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

An overgrown canyon set between the Santa Susana Mountains and the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Chatsworth has been a settlement for a cluster of homeless people for nearly two years. The tightly knit community contains four to eight men and women living side by side in huts fashioned from tree limbs, bamboo sticks, plastic sheeting, camouflage tarps, plywood and chicken wire.

After years of delay, the $98-million Chatsworth courthouse is almost complete, but no one knows for sure when it will open for business. Presiding Judge James A. Bascue said the Los Angeles County Superior Court needs more state money for staffing. Without it, he said, the court may have to further delay opening the building. "It would be tragic to have a courthouse, ready to serve the community, without the staff to service it," Bascue said.

A 52-year-old pedestrian was struck by a car and killed Tuesday night in an intersection, authorities said. The man, whose name was not released, was hit about 7:15 p.m. at Lassen Street and De Soto Avenue, said Bob Collis, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman. The man died at the scene. Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division are investigating the incident.