Council keeps Mulholland Scenic Corridor intact under South Valley planning commission after close vote

The Los Angeles City Council voted to place the Mulholland Scenic Corridor under the South Valley Area Planning Commission after a contested committee debate and public comment from neighborhood and conservation groups.

A proposed substitute motion to place the corridor in the West Los Angeles Area Planning Commission failed on a 6‑7 roll call. The council then approved the majority planning committee recommendation to keep the corridor in the South Valley APC, 12‑1.

What the debate was about The question before the council was which of the new area planning commissions should handle appeals, design review board appeals and other planning cases arising under the Mulholland Scenic Corridor specific plan. Supporters of placing the corridor in the West LA APC argued keeping the corridor’s oversight with a single Westside commission would keep the Santa Monica Mountains backbone and Mulholland‑adjacent neighborhoods together in one planning area. Opponents (the majority committee position) urged placement in the South Valley APC because the bulk of current casework and staff activity was located in the valley side, making that APC the pragmatic choice for case load and operations.

Evidence and reasoning cited - Staff and committee figures cited by the planning department showed the corridor’s land and case activity split roughly 54% South Valley, 35% West, and 11% Central; appeals data presented noted recent appeals had been concentrated on the South Valley side. - Supporters of the West LA placement argued the corridor functions as a single geographical and environmental feature (the Santa Monica Mountains) and listed endorsement letters from neighborhood associations and conservation groups urging placement in West LA APC.

Council action and votes - Substitute motion to place corridor in West Los Angeles APC: failed, 6 ayes, 7 noes. - Majority report (place corridor in South Valley APC; keep corridor intact as single planning unit but handled by South Valley APC staff): passed, 12 ayes, 1 no.

Quotes "We think that the Mulholland Corridor is basically the backbone of the hillside neighborhood of the Santa Monica Mountains, and we believe that putting it in the West LA Area Planning Commission will keep the corridor and the hillside neighborhoods intact as one planning area," Barry Reed, executive director of Mulholland Tomorrow, told the council.

Clarifying details - Planning department staff gave a breakdown of planning area distribution: approximately 35% West, 11% Central, 54% South Valley in terms of land/caseload metrics cited to the council. - Appeals volume…