No to Home Depot Campaign Appeal Heard
Group Appeals Building and Safety Permits; New Decision
Expected in Two Weeks

by Elaine Brown
Capping a two-year effort, Sunland-Tujunga’s No to Home Depot Campaign (NHDC) received a Public Hearing on its appeal Friday, January 19, before Gary Booher, Zoning Administrator. The hearing is the second step in what could be a three-or four-step process. (The City of Los Angeles appeal process is unclear when the appellant is the community.) A decision is expected in two to four weeks.
Approximately 200 community members adamantly opposed to Home Depot’s construction attended the hearing, held at the Marvin Braude Center in Van Nuys. The community participants also demonstrated in the rotunda of the Braude Center for several minutes.
The Foothill Boulevard property was purchased originally along with numerous other local K-Mart stores, as potential sites for new Home Depot Warehouses. The community began to fight the improvement giant upon hearing the news because the property sits in the middle of a residential neighborhood and light retail commercial zone.
The NHDC appeal contends that Daniel Scott, the Principal City Planner, ignored numerous environmental impacts at the time the plans were approved. Instead of requiring a Project Permit Compliance Review, the City has allowed Home Depot to proceed with the issuance of a simple tenant improvements building permit.
According to the L.A.Department of Building and Safety, the current construction and renovation of the existing 30-year-old structure are not “structural alterations,” and do not prolong the life of the building. Tenant improvements are typically a designation for minor interior remodeling such as new paint, stucco or bathroom remodeling. The permits were approved in July 2006 and construction began in November.
The No Home Depot Campaign (NHDC) argued at the hearing that the work consists of structural alterations, which constitutes a Project, as defined in the Foothill Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan, the Municipal Ordinance, which governs the development of the commercial area in Sunland-Tujunga. When remodeling reaches the level of a Project, the owner is required to submit to environmental review.
(Since the remodeling began, steel braces known as “deadmen” have been placed around the building to hold up the block walls while the 3 1/2 inch, older, non-reinforced slab is demolished and the interior dirt is graded to a depth of 14” to allow for 8” of rock base (gravel) and a new reinforced 6 inch slab. A haul route for the dirt and gravel was not required, even though the construction job is in a hillside grading area, since the remodeling was not designated as a Project.)
Leading the list of those speaking in opposition to the new Home Deport store was Second District Councilmember Wendy Greuel, who has opposed the new store from the outset.
Abby Diamond then spoke on behalf of the NHDC, accompanied by the group’s legal counsel, Mark Sellers. Also testifying at the Public Hearing were two expert consultants, Mr. Richard Pozzo, a local civil engineer and building contractor, and structural engineer Mr. Arnold Bookbinder. Mr. Pozzo argued that Home Depot’s cost of remodeling has gone beyond the dollar limit, which automatically makes it a “Significant Project.” Bookbinder said that the building is not being remodeled in a sufficiently strong and safe manner, and said this may cause a collapse of the warehouse in a future earthquake. (Home Depot when shown aerial photos of three huge holes cut into the roof, admitted to a recent accident in which a worker fell through one of these holes on the roof. No report was given as to the worker’s condition.)
Cindy Cleghorn, President of the Sunland Tujunga Neighborhood Council (STNC), also spoke against Home Depot, as did Victor M. Castro IV, chairman of the Design Advisory Committee of the STNC. Several representatives from other Neighborhood Councils and community groups also spoke out against Home Depot Warehouse, including Jim Alger of Northridge West Neighborhood Council, Frank Buchanan of the La Tuna Canyon Residents Association, Pacoima N/C and Kagel Canyon Civic Association. Mary Benson, of the Sun Valley Neighborhood Council, later commented to the North Valley Reporter, “When did the LADBS become the Department of Bad Development?”
Lisa Mollinaro-Palmer, a Van Nuys NC member, City traffic engineer and a candidate for city council, also spoke out against the project. She said that a traffic study should have been required as the traffic generated by Home Depot is totally different than that of a K-Mart. Many people complained about the severe increase in traffic, which is already very heavy on Foothill Boulevard, the only major street through Sunland-Tujunga. Neighbors are anxious at the increase in traffic the diesel trucks and contractor vehicles will bring through the residential neighborhoods. Home Depot admitted that they would be expecting as many as eighteen semi truck deliveries to the warehouse per day, not counting the Home Depot deliveries to customers.
Among the other community members who spoke against the Home Depot Warehouse was a city planner who was also a former city manager. There were several people who testified about the noise and air pollution, which the construction, and eventually the Home Depot Warehouse, is bringing to the residential community that surrounds the property.
STNC District Representative Lydia Grant aired concerns about the toxic and flammable substances sold by the warehouse store, which would be located less than 400 feet from Apperson Elementary School. (The LAUSD has strict policies about this kind of pollution so near to a school, but can not become involved unless the remodeling is designated as a “Project.” According to Grant, Julie Kornstein of LAUSD will be submitting a protest letter in support of the NHDC.)
Home Depot’s attorney Patricia Taggert, and representative Richard Greene denied any wrongdoing or obfuscation of the facts. Both contended that Home Depot has met all the requirements of the city, are remodeling without structural alterations, and are being “Good Neighbors” to the community.
The community has been demonstrating in front of the site for four hours a day during the peak traffic periods each Thursday since the beginning of December. The NHDC has decided to continue the demonstrations during the two-week lull that will take place while the decision is under advisement.
If the City does not decide in favor of the community, the NHDC intends to file a lawsuit to stop the opening of the warehouse store.