Woodland Hills Country Club, Mayoral debate, and more

Last year, the owner of the Woodland Hills Country Club filed an application to redevelop a large swath of the property with 398 homes. The proposed project, which utilizes the provisions of AB 2011 to allow housing on a site which otherwise could be developed with multifamily, has run into staunch opposition from outgoing 3rd District Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who has adopted a series of measures in an attempt to force the project into discretionary review. Yesterday, Blumenfield appeared to declare victory in the matter.

"Due 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 ‘wildlife habitat’ for the endangered Mountain Lion," announced Blumenfield in a newsletter. "With concerns including the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, I tried many different ways to secure a discretionary process  — not to stop any development, but to make sure that the project would not endanger the health and safety of our community. While we made sure City Planning did a thorough review of the project application for ministerial approval, we all feared that the Department was on the verge of possibly approving the process ministerially."

Property owner Arrimus Capital, on the other hand, says "not so fast."

“Today’s letter from the City is an affront to Angelenos who are in desperate need of real housing opportunities,” said Aaron Green, a representative of the project. “I’ve heard some creative excuses for blocking housing in Los Angeles, but golfing mountain lions may take the prize.”

Green indicates that that the next step for the developer will be to file a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, warning that the result may be a fine of up to $20 million due to the City's repeated violations of state housing law. The City has lost several legal battles over Executive Directive 1 affordable housing projects which proposed large apartment buildings in single-family zones, including projects within Blumenfield's district, resulting in court orders to approve said projects and pay attorney fees.

Gary Leonard sent over images from the reopening of Palisades Village last weekend, which was an important milestone in recovery from the devastating January 2025 fires. What struck me the most was the juxtaposition between the picturesque Village, which looks good as new, and the immediate surroundings, where there is still a long way to go.

Anywhere, here's what we're reading this week:

Bass, Raman spar over policing, homelessness in first mayoral debate since June primary "Bass accused Raman of failing to work collaboratively with her colleagues, while Raman hit the mayor repeatedly over homelessness, saying she brought numbers down in her council district even as homelessness grew citywide." (LA Times)

In Karen Bass’ bad debate night, she even trashed taco vendors "Take the moment when Bass pointed out that Raman had missed the second-most votes among council members during her six years in office. Raman responded that she missed many meetings while representing the city on the South Coast Air Quality Management District and other governmental boards." (LA Times)

Transportation Commissioners Defy Bass, Delay Venice Dell Again "The August 13 agenda appeared to set up a rare moment of bureaucratic cleanup. Item 7 called on the Board to vacate its prior decision concerning Municipal Parking Lot 731, the city-owned site near the Venice Canals where Venice Dell would provide 120 affordable and supportive homes while replacing the existing surface parking with 200 spaces in two structures....But before the commissioners could act, John Heath of City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office told them that his office had 'important legal advice' about the judgment entered Monday. Heath said the advice could only be delivered in closed session. And since no Venice Dell closed session was included on yesterday’s agenda, commissioners could either proceed with vacating the vote as recommended or postpone the matter until another meeting." (Mar Vista Voice)

L.A. County Investment Sales Jump 28% in July Thanks to Multifamily "More than $2.1 billion of commercial real estate traded last month. Office remained the laggard." (Commercial Observer)

Skanska JV Secures $2.43B East San Fernando Valley Rail Contract "Construction began in July 2026, with completion scheduled for December 2031." (Construction Owners)

The crosswalk designed to appease angry drivers "Our codependent relationship with people in cars is preventing us from getting to Vision Zero" (Future is LA)

Driver Smashes Plastic Bollards on Santa Monica’s 23rd Street Bike Lane "Using flimsy plastic bollards to separate bikes from automobile traffic is better than nothing, but this recent video makes a strong case that only concrete barriers will truly protect bicyclists" (Streetsblog LA)

L.A.’s Fashion District Feels Like a Ghost Town a Year After the Raids 'For Lease' signs dot once-busy storefronts, where immigration raids led to a drop in foot traffic and fear among workers and shoppers. (Capital & Main)

The LAX people mover wasn’t ready for the 2026 World Cup. Will it even be ready for the 2028 Olympics? "The relationship has continued to deteriorate. On July 24, the city accused LINXS of eavesdropping on a confidential conversation between a city consultant and a city lawyer, ostensibly regarding the city’s litigation strategy. The privileged conversation, according to the city, provided gist for the LINXS lawsuit." (LA Times)

Waymo wins approval for drastic expansion in Los Angeles, Bay Area regions "The new service area will eventually stretch from Santa Clarita and Thousand Oaks down to San Diego in Southern California, and from Sacramento to San Jose in Northern California." (LA Times)

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