Sunnyslope Residents Fight 3-Story Project

Sunnyslope Avenue in Sherman Oaks is a quiet neighborhood of single-story homes that has been admired by its residents for generations. But on July 21, Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council considered the application of developer Anita Livingston for rezoning and building a mixed-use structure at 4216 Sunnyslope Avenue.

Families with young children and seniors who live in harmony on the quaint Sunnyslope Avenue say they have issues with building a commercial three-story structure on a street where such a development might create problems.

Last Friday, residents attended a meeting where they pleaded with the South Valley Area Planning Commission to deny Livingston’s application.

Residents fear commercial activity will pose safety concerns for the children and exacerbate the parking shortage. There are no speed bumps on the street and drivers use that street as a shortcut to Ventura Blvd.

“First and foremost the project design is out of character and out of touch with the neighborhood,” said Art Fields, Vice President of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council. “We don’t have enough parking for ourselves. It is important that we maintain the residential aspect of this neighborhood.”

The Department of City Planning of Los Angeles sent out a notice to the residents of Sunnyslope Ave. stating:

Demolition of existing structures for the construction, use and maintenance of a three- story (approximately 30 feet high) mixed use building with one subterranean level of parking. The ground floor of the building will be devoted to 1,200 square feet of commercial space. The second and third floors will occupy 4,800 square foot and contain a total of three residential condominium units.

A total of 14 parking spaces will be provided both in a surface parking lot for the commercial, use and m one subterranean level for the residential uses. The project is located on a 6,694 irregularly shaped site currently classified in the P-1 Zone and also located within the boundaries of the Ventura/Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Ran.   

 Barry Johnson, a resident of Sunnyslope Ave said, “I’m here today not because anyone asked me to be, but when will the city of Los Angeles start supporting its single family residents? We supply more tax base to the city than any other entity. To think that a 30-foot building would be next to a single story home, they would lose their backyard privacy forever. We see this as a dangerous plan if implemented.”

“This is the worst plan I’d ever seen,” said Michael Bernback, Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association Committee Chair. “What is meant here is that people aren’t supposed to be operating illegally and then be rewarded. We respectfully request that application be denied. More residential in nature and less commercial.”

 Resident Robert Blackmon agreed, “all of these things impact us whether we like it or not.”

No representative of the developer attended the meeting.