SUNLAND : Valley Vista Project OKd After 5 Years

A development project of 105 single-family houses in Sunland, fought over by two opposing resident groups, was approved by the Los Angeles City Planning Commission Thursday after nearly five years of revisions and negotiations.

A few neighbors who oppose the Valley Vista project said at a public hearing Thursday that the two-story homes would block views and lower their property values as well as create privacy, traffic and fire safety problems. After the meeting, project advocates said it will mean jobs and a higher tax base.

“We feel the land should be left the way it is,” said Ruth Lund, who has lived for 30 years next to the property to be developed and is a member of the Sunland-Tujunga Assn. of Residents, which opposes the project.

“We are looking forward to having families move into the community,” said Jim Peterson, a member of the pro-development group, the Foothill Alliance of Informed Residents.

“Property that surrounds the subdivisions would increase in value,” said Charlyne Pleasant, head of the pro-development group and president of the Sunland-Tujunga Chamber of Commerce.

The commission approved the project 3 to 1 with Commissioner Suzette Neiman dissenting because of the concerns raised about safety and firetruck access to the site.

Final approval could come from the city within a month, said Arthur K. Snyder, a lawyer representing Dale Poe Development of Agoura, the project developers.

The project had been cut from 126 to 105 homes and 26.1 acres of open space plus a 2 1/2-acre park have been added. The height of the homes will be limited to 30 feet and will be angled to limit the impact on neighbors’ views, Snyder said.

The Planning Commission rejected a proposal by Sylvia Gross, head of the Sunland-Tujunga Assn. of Residents, that the developer pay a special fee for the Sunland-Tujunga Library to offset the influx of people to the area. They also rejected an appeal from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to cut the project by seven more houses.

“We have a responsibility to be as sensitive as possible,” said Snyder, who said the developer had surveyed more than 4,000 residents and held several meetings with neighbors trying to find ways to accommodate their concerns.