Spound Co

A bitter five-year dispute over construction of high-rise office buildings in the Warner Ridge area of Woodland Hills drew to a close Wednesday when the Los Angeles City Council rejected the proposal and tentatively approved single-family houses for the site. The 10-2 vote was a victory for Councilwoman Joy Picus and the influential Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization, which has vehemently opposed the Spound Co.'

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday rejected a proposal to ask a judge to work out a compromise settlement of the lawsuit between the city and the would-be developer of the 21.5-acre Warner Ridge site in Woodland Hills. Councilwoman Joy Picus, who represents the area, said the council decided in a private session that settling the lawsuit is premature. The partnership of Spound Cos. and Johnson Wax Development Co., owners of Warner Ridge, proposed the non-binding settlement process.

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday indicated it may be willing to consider some level of commercial development on Warner Ridge in order to settle a lawsuit filed by the developers of the 21.5-acre Woodland Hills site. Councilwoman Joy Picus, who represents the Warner Ridge area and opposes anything but a handful of residences on the site, conceded Tuesday that other council members were agreeable to some kind of combined residential-commercial development.

A Superior Court judge on Thursday rejected a city of Los Angeles bid to quash a lawsuit by the developers of Warner Ridge and then rapped the city's knuckles for improper legal tactics. Superior Court Judge Kathryn Doi Todd said in a written ruling that a motion filed by the city to void the $100-million lawsuit was so "frivolous" that it violated state law.

The partnership that owns Warner Ridge, which has been struggling with the city over development on the 21.5-acre site, has offered another building plan as an alternative to continuing a lawsuit over the issue. But Councilwoman Joy Picus, who has led city opposition to the partnership's previous plans, Wednesday rejected the proposal as "plainly out of line."

A Superior Court judge on Thursday rejected a city of Los Angeles bid to quash a lawsuit by the developers of Warner Ridge and then rapped the city's knuckles for improper legal tactics. Superior Court Judge Kathryn Doi Todd said in a written ruling that a motion filed by the city to void the $100-million lawsuit was so "frivolous" that it violated state law.

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday rejected a proposal to ask a judge to work out a compromise settlement of the lawsuit between the city and the would-be developer of the 21.5-acre Warner Ridge site in Woodland Hills. Councilwoman Joy Picus, who represents the area, said the council decided in a private session that settling the lawsuit is premature. The partnership of Spound Cos. and Johnson Wax Development Co., owners of Warner Ridge, proposed the non-binding settlement process.

A Los Angeles City Council panel Tuesday voted unanimously and without debate to recommend approval of an ordinance permitting only single-family houses to be built on the controversial Warner Ridge property. The action of the council's Planning and Land Use Management Committee is part of Councilwoman Joy Picus' design to thwart plans for commercial development of the 21.5-acre site by the Spound Co. and its partner, Johnson Wax Development Co.

About 275 Woodland Hills homeowners rallied Thursday night in an attempt to block a $150-million high-rise office project they claim will extend Warner Center congestion to their doorsteps. Residents were urged to flood Los Angeles city officials with complaints about the effect that the Warner Ridge project will have on their 1,300-home neighborhood. The project envisions nine office buildings, some seven stories high.

Developer Jack Spound said Tuesday that he has a new plan to build a 690,000-square-foot, mixed-use project on Warner Ridge that would be 15% smaller than his original proposal. The plan, which Spound characterized as a compromise, calls for a project with 100 residential units. Some of those units would be designated as "affordable," which means they would be within reach of lower-income tenants, he said.

The partnership that owns Warner Ridge, which has been struggling with the city over development on the 21.5-acre site, has offered another building plan as an alternative to continuing a lawsuit over the issue. But Councilwoman Joy Picus, who has led city opposition to the partnership's previous plans, Wednesday rejected the proposal as "plainly out of line."

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday indicated it may be willing to consider some level of commercial development on Warner Ridge in order to settle a lawsuit filed by the developers of the 21.5-acre Woodland Hills site. Councilwoman Joy Picus, who represents the Warner Ridge area and opposes anything but a handful of residences on the site, conceded Tuesday that other council members were agreeable to some kind of combined residential-commercial development.

A bitter five-year dispute over construction of high-rise office buildings in the Warner Ridge area of Woodland Hills drew to a close Wednesday when the Los Angeles City Council rejected the proposal and tentatively approved single-family houses for the site. The 10-2 vote was a victory for Councilwoman Joy Picus and the influential Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization, which has vehemently opposed the Spound Co.'

Woodland Hills homeowner activists said they will continue to oppose a $150-million office complex after the developers' consultant issued a long-awaited environmental impact report this week. Homeowners expressed disappointment that the report, the second one issued, recommended only minor modifications to the proposed 22-acre Warner Ridge project.

Closing the Woodland Hills headquarters of Informatics General Corp. will do more than throw as many as 60 people out of work. It will leave the future owner of Informatics, Sterling Software of Dallas, with a $12-million lease it doesn't need. The closing also will leave the building Informatics was to have occupied without its anchor tenant. On top of everything else, it irks Jack Spound. The Spound Co.