A massive housing project on a Southern California country club\u2019s golf course has been stalled due to the presence of mountain lions.<\/p>\n
The plan calls for turning part of the Woodland Hills Country Club, a century-old golf course near the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood, into a 400-strong housing complex.<\/p>\n
Newport Beach developer Arrimus Capital, which owns the country club, filed an application to redevelop part of the golf course with 398 homes.<\/p>\n
A massive housing project on a Southern California country club\u2019s golf course has been stalled due to the presence of mountain lions. National Park Service<\/p>\n
Two women at the Woodland Hills Country Club. Instagram\/@woodlandhillscountryclub_<\/p>\n
The proposed project would include 175 for-sale, three-story detached single-family homes; 189 rental apartments in a four-story building; and 34 rent-restricted apartments in another four-story building. It would also include more than 55,900 square feet of open space.<\/p>\n
Arrimus Capital was looking to use a state housing law that allows developers to bypass extensive city review processes for certain mixed-income multifamily residential projects built on commercial land, such as a golf course.<\/p>\n
But on Friday, the Los Angeles City Council voted to block the massive housing project, with LA councilmember Bob Blumenfield arguing that the property serves as habitat for mountain lions.<\/p>\n
The LA City Council voted to block the massive housing project, with an LA councilmember arguing that the property serves as habitat for mountain lions. National Park Service\/Jeff Sikich<\/p>\n
\u201cDue to a plethora of documentation from neighbors and a lot of biological and ecological research provided by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and other biological experts, the Planning Department just determined the Woodland Hills Country Club site is \u2018wildlife habitat\u2019 for the endangered Mountain Lion,\u201d the council member said in a newsletter to constituents.<\/p>\n
Blumenfield has also argued that the property is located in a \u201cvery high\u201d fire hazard severity zone and that the state law being used to fast-track the development was not intended for projects like this one.<\/p>\n
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Another concern raised by Blumenfield was that the developer was on track to bypass the city\u2019s normal discretionary review process by using Assembly Bill 2011, a state housing law that requires qualifying projects to be approved through a streamlined process.<\/p>\n
Blumenfield argued that doing so would prevent the project from undergoing the city\u2019s usual review process, including consideration of community input, environmental impacts and fire safety before receiving approval from the Planning Department.<\/p>\n
However, he said, \u201cdetermining that the project is proposed on endangered species habitat was enough\u201d to force the developer to instead go through the lengthier conventional approval process.<\/p>\n
A view of the golf course at Woodland Hills Country Club. Instagram\/@woodlandhillscountryclub_<\/p>\n
Arrimus Capital representative Aaron Green told the Los Angeles Times that the developer will now need to file a lawsuit in response to the city\u2019s actions. He accused the city of working against Angelenos who are \u201cin desperate need for real housing opportunities\u201d and said \u201cfalse assertions\u201d had been made that the golf course is mountain lion habitat.<\/p>\n
In response to the threat of a lawsuit, Blumenfield told the Times there is \u201ca plethora of information\u201d showing that the property is, in fact, mountain lion habitat and said the city\u2019s decision leaves the Woodland Hills community \u201cin a good position.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woodland Hills developer Victor Giraud first built the golf course in the mid-1920s. He offered free club memberships to people who bought lots in his housing tract. In 1945, the course became a private country club.<\/p>\n
In 1988, the Los Angeles Times had already reported about concerns over a developer that hoped to buy the then-member-owned club and convert the property into luxury single-family homes.<\/p>\n
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