VAN NUYS : Developer’s Move to Halt Appeal Cheered

To the delight of surrounding residents, a developer Thursday dropped his appeal of a city Planning Commission requirement that he block access between a planned retail project and residential street in Van Nuys.

More than 100 residents had signed a petition protesting the appeal, which concerned two driveways that connect Cantlay Street to a commercial property at the corner of White Oak Avenue and Sherman Way. The property is now occupied by a Builder’s Emporium and an abandoned market.

In April, the city planning commission approved a conditional-use permit for the creation of a 24-hour market and a two-story retail complex, with the condition that the driveways be closed to prevent the market’s customers from speeding into a residential neighborhood.

The developer, Ik Wan Oh, had requested a hearing to appeal the decision, but dropped the appeal before the commission’s hearing on Thursday.

D’lynda Fischer, a representative for Ik Wan Oh, said the project may also be scaled back in size.

While the abandoned market would still be converted into a 24-hour market and the Builder’s Emporium would still be demolished to make way for the retail complex, only one floor may be planned for the retail facility, Fischer said.