Council denies Mulholland Scenic Parkway design appeal, asks for status report on 1995 tract map

The City Council denied an appeal of decisions upholding the Mulholland Design Review Board and the City Planning Commission approvals for design and landscaping in the Mohon Scenic Parkway specific plan area, and the council additionally asked the Deputy Advisory Agency to provide a status report on the underlying 1995 tentative tract map.

Homeowners and the applicant both addressed the council. Gordon Murley, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization, thanked councilmembers for returning portions of the project file to staff so all facts could be reviewed and supported the committee recommendation to deny the appeal. John Bowman, representing the owner and applicant (EPAC Woodland Hills Partners), said the appeal lacked merit and urged denial; he also expressed concern that repeated status reviews could require his client to attend multiple hearings over compliance issues tied to conditions not yet due for enforcement.

The Planning and Land Use Management Committee’s report recommended denying the appeal while asking for a status report from the Deputy Advisory Agency on the tract map’s compliance with conditions (the tentative map had been vested in 1995, with some conditions not yet due). The council approved the committee recommendation by roll-call vote (13 ayes).

Why it matters: The decision upholds land-use design review approvals and preserves the process for tracking compliance with long-standing conditions on a previously approved subdivision. The council’s action directs staff to provide a consolidated status report so all parties can monitor compliance going forward.

Votes and instructions

Council approved denial of the appeal (13 ayes) and instructed the Deputy Advisory Agency to prepare a status report on the 1995 tract map conditions and compliance schedule for presentation to PLUM and thereafter to the council.