Condo project near Happy Face Hill to be put on ice
Developer wants to wait until spring to decide whether to proceed with construction
By Kyle Jorrey kjorrey@theacorn.com

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers UNFINISHED BUSINESS- A view of the graded 10.2-acre Douglas Ranch site slated for construction of 66 condominiums at Kuehner Drive and the 118 Freeway. The Happy Face hillside is visible to drivers headed west from the San Fernando to the Simi valley. The builder, Larwin Co., wants a work hiatus until springtime so it can see if market conditions will improve.

City Hall was still stirring Thursday in the wake of an announcement by the Larwin Co. that the Encino-based developer was going to delay construction of 66 condos at the intersection of Kuehner Drive and the 118 Freeway. Several months of grading work has been done, and 23 oaks have already been boxed for relocation.

An e-mail on Tuesday was the city's first notice of Larwin's plan to halt construction until at least midspring on the 10.2-acre site adjacent to what residents refer to as Happy Face Hill.

City Manager Mike Sedell and Larwin representatives met facetoface on Wednesday afternoon for a further explanation.

"They're not stopping at this point," Sedell said. "What they're doing is they're going to complete the storm drain work that's going on right now, and at that point . . . they're going to take a few months off. When that time is up they said they will evaluate market conditions, and if they are as they are now, they don't plan on spending further money on construction."

But if it's up to the city, Larwin will also finish up landscaping the property before halting the project so as to not leave residents with a steeply graded dirt hill at the eastern entrance to Simi, Sedell said.

"The City Council is still very concerned that they don't leave the project in the state it's currently in," he said. "They would like to see them move forward with landscaping on the hillsides along the freeway, which was a commitment Larwin made in moving forward with the approval process."

After hearing the city's request for them to finish landscaping, Larwin representatives told Sedell they would have to consult with their corporate office before giving their answer, the city manager said.

Sedell said he hopes the issue can be resolved without resulting to any legal tactics.

"We'd like to solve this with diplomacy, not war," he said.

Councilmember Glen Becerra said he understands the developer's desire to "take the time they need" as long as Larwin Co. doesn't abandon the construction completely.

"I'm disappointed that there might be a question as to how fast they can proceed," Becerra said. "But coming from a business perspective, I completely understand what they're going through. The housing market is extremely slow. There's a lot of stuff going on in the housing market that will have a very negative impact on the community- and the country as a whole."

Whether the developer decides to keep building or further slow construction after re-evaluating the housing market next year, Becerra said that in the meantime he still wants Larwin to landscape the slope overlooking the freeway.

"That slope needs to be landscaped," Becerra said. "It would provide a benefit to the community and to the project itself. That would be a positive part of the project that I will continue to push for."

The developer has also discussed slowing progress at Arroyo Run, the residential project on Erringer Road and Heywood Street that had its grand opening in late September, Becerra said.

The City Council approved the development by a 4-1 vote in April 2005 after more than two years of work between city staff and the developer to get the project up to General Plan guidelines and mitigate the potential effects on the environment and views.

Councilmember Barbra Williamson cast the lone dissenting vote.

At that meeting, which featured more than four hours of public comment- most of it in protest of the project- residents spoke passionately about the visual importance of the Douglas Ranch site, which greets drivers on the 118 Freeway as they enter the city from the San Fernando Valley.

In 2003, Larwin proposed building 90 condos on the site. The City Council rejected that proposal as well as a scaled-down version with 75 condos the company presented in January 2005.

At that time, Mayor Paul Miller, Councilmember Michelle Foster and Williamson rejected the plan because the homes were to be built on 30 feet of fill.

They were concerned about the damage an earthquake could cause. They also opposed the height of the buildings, concerned they would mar or block drivers' views of the mountains.

Sedell admitted the developer may be being optimistic if it thinks the market will improve by next spring.

"They only believe it will be a few months before the market conditions will turn . . . but I think that's doubtful based on what we all see out there," Sedell said.

Still, the city manager reassured residents that Larwin has no intentions of abandoning the project and isn't shopping the land around to another potential buyer.

"Their intent is to keep the project and put it back in motion as soon as it's feasible," Sedell said. "Their position is they are holding back on expending a large amount of resources until they have better visibility of the market."

Phone calls to Larwin Co. were not returned as of Thursday afternoon.