355 South Grand Avenue Los Angeles, California 90071-1560 Tel: +1.213.485.1234 Fax: +1.213.891.8763 www.lw.com December 12, 2016 BY HAND DELIVERY AND EMAIL Councilmember Jose Huizar, Chair Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Vice Chair Councilmember Gilbert A. Cedillo Councilmember Mitchell Englander Councilmember Curren D. Price, Jr. Planning and Land Use Management Committee 200 North Spring Street Los Angeles, California 90012 FIRM / AFFILIATE OFFICES Barcelona Moscow Beijing Munich Boston New Jersey Brussels New York Century City Orange County Chicago Paris Dubai Riyadh Düsseldorf Rome Frankfurt San Diego Hamburg San Francisco Hong Kong Shanghai Houston Silicon Valley London Singapore Los Angeles Tokyo Madrid Washington, D.C. Milan Re: Westfield Fashion Square Restaurant Renovation Project Council File 94-2018; CPC-2016-778-VZC; ENV-2016-779-ND Dear Chair Huizar and Honorable Committee Members: On behalf of our client, Westfield, we look forward to presenting the Westfield Fashion Square Restaurant Renovation Project (the Project ) to the PLUM Committee on December 13, 2016. Fashion Square has long been an asset for the Sherman Oaks and the San Fernando Valley communities, and this Project will further enhance the mall by offering additional dining options to the community without a building expansion. Customers number one request has been for more restaurants at Fashion Square. Meeting this demand is essential to keep Fashion Square competitive, in a market with both online shopping alternatives and other malls providing many more restaurant options than Fashion Square is currently permitted. We are very pleased to report that the Master Conditional Use Permit allowing alcohol at the Project s requested additional restaurants was approved by the City in September. No appeal or litigation was filed challenging that approval. The Vesting Zone Change request before you today which was unanimously recommended for approval by the City Planning Commission would allow operation of these restaurants by eliminating decades old, obsolete zoning conditions limiting the number of restaurants at Fashion Square to three, and limiting the hours of operation. Throughout this process, Westfield has been exceptionally engaged with the community, and the current Project reflects public input. We are extremely proud to have the support of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council and its Land Use Committee. Approximately 260 selfidentified individuals also support the Project, with most support coming from the residential community immediately surrounding Fashion Square. A letter of support from the Neighborhood Council, and a map showing the locations of the Project s supporters, are included as attachments to this letter.
December 12, 2016 Page 2 A. Project Background The Project will convert approximately 30,500 square feet of existing retail stores and approximately 5,500 square feet of back-of-house space within Fashion Square into restaurant space, without expanding the shopping center building. An existing Q condition that is almost 30 years old limits the Shopping Center to only three sit-down restaurants with alcohol sales. A Vesting Zone Change is being requested to allow an additional eight restaurants, for a total of eleven restaurants at the mall. In addition, Q Condition 15, which limits the hours of operation at Fashion Square to 10:00 p.m., would be modified to allow all the restaurants at the mall to operate from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., Friday and Saturday. The rest of the mall would continue to be required to close at 10:00 p.m., pursuant to the existing zoning condition. B. Additional Restaurants Are an Appropriate and Needed Amenity Fashion Square currently has far fewer restaurants than comparable shopping centers. This request would allow it to provide the same dining options as other malls in the region. By way of comparison, permitted restaurants at other centers include 26 restaurants at Westfield Century City; 21 restaurants at Fig and 7 th ; 17 restaurants at the Village at Westfield Topanga; 14 restaurants at the Grove; and 13 restaurants at Americana. The requested entitlements would put Fashion Square on par with other shopping centers. Restaurants are a growing and essential part of the mall experience, which wasn t the case in 1988 when this zoning limitation was first implemented at Fashion Square. Malls have to compete with online shopping, and fewer customers are travelling to shopping centers solely for purchasing goods. Shopping centers have to provide a much more comprehensive experience to get people out of their homes, and dining and restaurant options are part of that experience. The number one request of shoppers at Fashion Square is for more restaurants, which under the current zoning conditions, Westfield is unable to provide. The Project would meet this demand, and provide high-quality and family-friendly eateries like those typically found at other Westfield centers, such as at the Westfield Topanga Shopping Center and the Village at Westfield Topanga. The option of ordering alcohol will be ancillary to food service at these restaurants, and is provided as an amenity to shoppers. C. Community Outreach and Neighborhood Support Westfield has conducted extensive outreach to solicit feedback on the Project, and the overwhelming response has been strong support for new dining options at Fashion Square. The Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council voted unanimously on July 11, 2016 to support the Project, as did its Land Use Committee on June 16, 2016. Other organizational supporters include: Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce, Valley Industry and Commerce Association, and Sherman Oaks Business Improvement District. Approximately 260 individuals have also identified themselves as supporters.
December 12, 2016 Page 3 Information about the Project was shared in as many forms as possible in order to solicit community feedback. A Project fact sheet was mailed to more than 1,400 people in April, and Westfield hosted outreach booths with information about the Project at both the Farmers Market in March and the Health Expo in April, held at Fashion Square. A Community Information Session on the Project was hosted at the Shopping Center in May, and the notice for this information session was mailed to more than 1,400 neighbors. Westfield also set up a Project information page online, and established a community hotline and email address for anyone who was interested in reaching out with questions or comments. Westfield has also met individually and in groups with numerous community members, and will continue to do so with anyone who is interested in learning more or discussing the Project. The Project team presented to the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council Land Use Committee on multiple occasions, and also made a presentation to the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association in April. We are extremely proud of the outreach Westfield has done, and the overwhelmingly supportive feedback Westfield has received. D. Community Benefits and Incorporating Community Feedback Westfield incorporated early feedback from community members into the Project. While potential restaurant tenants had asked to stay open until 2:00 am, in response to public feedback, Westfield is requesting a restaurant closing time of 11:00 pm Sunday through Thursday, and midnight on Friday and Saturday, as reflected in the Project s applications. In addition, Westfield also agreed to close the Shopping Center s driveways to Riverside Drive after 10:00 pm in response to community feedback. As requested by the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, Land Use Committee, Westfield has also agreed to improve the existing pedestrian street entrance on Riverside Drive to the Shopping Center as part of the proposed Project in order to create a more welcoming environment for pedestrians. The Project is primarily a conversion of existing retail space to new restaurant square footage, therefore the Project will not have significant traffic impacts to any intersections or local streets. However as a long-time neighborhood stakeholder, Westfield understands the community s focus on traffic issues. Therefore Westfield has agreed to contribute funding for traffic calming measures and associated traffic studies for Matilija Avenue and the nearby Library Square area. As these community benefits have no nexus to any traffic impacts from the Project, Westfield has made this private obligation to the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council by a separate letter of commitment. Westfield is extremely happy to be able to support its neighbors in these efforts, and looks forward to community members working together to implement traffic calming improvements in their neighborhoods.
December 12, 2016 Page 4 E. Comprehensive CEQA Analysis A Negative Declaration has been prepared for the Project which includes a comprehensive CEQA analysis of all potential impacts, and determines that all impacts would be less than significant. Noise from operation of the restaurants, including noise from outdoor patios located on the south side of Fashion Square facing the surface parking lots, was evaluated through a quantitative noise analysis. This quantitative assessment determined that due to the location of the patios on the south side of the existing building, and due to the location of intervening buildings, noise from operation of the Project would be less than significant. A voluntary traffic study was also prepared, even though one was not required since the Project did not meet screening levels for preparation of a traffic study. This analysis determined that the Project is expected to generate two new AM peak hour weekday trips, nine new PM peak hour weekday trips, and 14 new Saturday peak hour trips, none of which result in any significant traffic impacts to any intersections or local streets. Finally, Fashion Square is required by an existing zoning condition to provide 4.5 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet, which is higher than the Municipal Code s requirement of 4 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet. No changes are requested to this zoning condition, and Fashion Square will continue to park at a higher rate than required by the Municipal Code. F. Requested Entitlements are Consistent with Community Character The Project s findings demonstrate substantial consistency with the General Plan Framework, the Van Nuys-North Sherman Oaks Community Plan, and Los Angeles Municipal Code for Vesting Zone Change and Conditional Use Permit requests. These findings also justify the proposed modification to the site s Q conditions under existing Ordinance 170151, which would permit the Shopping Center to have up to eleven restaurants with conditional use permits for alcohol, and to allow extended hours of operation for the restaurants as described above. The proposed Project would not change the nature of the existing uses at the Shopping Center site, and permitted uses at the Project site would continue to be limited to those allowed under the site s Q conditions and the Los Angeles Municipal Code. The Project will enhance the economic viability of the Shopping Center, ensuring that it remains a vibrant and an attractive commercial center in the Community Plan area.
Stakeholder Support Summary Approximately 260 Supporters