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A closer look at Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, CA

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A closer look at Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, CA

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a neighborhood in Los Angeles, CA. Located in the San Fernando Valley.

Less dense, mostly white population (66%).

Generally known as a more affluent suburb.

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"How an L.A. Rams Training Complex Could Help Transform Urban Sprawl" by Arielle Paul

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"How an L.A. Rams Training Complex Could Help Transform Urban Sprawl" by Arielle Paul

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Paul, A. (2023, November 23) "How L.A. Rams Training Complex Could Help Transform Urban Sprawl" The New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/23/business/rams-football-training-sports-complex.html?searchResultPosition=3

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How an L.A. Rams Training Complex Could Help Transform Urban Sprawl

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The football team’s proposal for a San Fernando Valley neighborhood includes plans to create a walkable community with stores, offices and apartments.

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Affordable Housing

15 minute cities

walkability

sprawl

community building processes

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NFL team, the LA Rams, plans to transform a dead San Fernando Valley neighborhood using a $650 million land deal. This deal is set to transform about 100 acres of Woodland Hills land into a hub for the team, which will include a practice facility and team headquarters. This space is also set to revitalize old buildings to create new shops, restaurants, offices, hotels, and apartments with commitments to affordable housing, in addition to the neighborhoods existing transit options. Developers expect this 15-minute city model to be a worth-while investment, promoting care for your own community, but some believe this transformation will bring in more noise and traffic.

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Woodland Hills Household Income Interactive Map

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Woodland Hills Household Income Interactive Map

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https://bestneighborhood.org/household-income-woodland-hills-ca/

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NIMBYs fear the change in lifestyle. They worry about the traffic and noise this development will bring.

The development is being made in an already affluent neighborhood.

Regardless if affordable housing is being built, there is still the issue of people not being able to afford living where they work.

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Emphasis on whether or not the affordable housing being built means an affordable lifestyle.

Will this project worsen traffic congestion?

Revitalizing old land rather than using new land is intended to help with urban sprawl.

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Pro 15-minute city development vs density and affordable housing availability

NIMBY vs YIMBY

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Additional article regarding the new LA Rams facility and the community's concerns

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Additional article regarding the new LA Rams facility and the community's concerns

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After seven years based at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, the Los Angeles Rams are charging into the San Fernando Valley this winter. The team envisions that by January 2024 they will bring their practice field and facilities, administrative offices and community outreach offices to the vast 30-acre property near the 101 Freeway in Warner Center once occupied by health insurer Anthem Inc.

Billionaire team owner Stanley Kroenke paid $175 million in 2022 for the property off of Canoga Avenue and Erwin Street which has an empty 13-story office building and acres of landscaping, greenery and parking lots. He also paid $325 million last year for the nearby 600,000 sq. ft. mall The Village, and in March 2022 a private investment group that includes Kroenke's company bought the 34-acre Promenade for about $150 million - an abandoned mall near the Anthem property.

The practice facility will be temporary, Rams representatives said, and after they move in they plan to take steps to get city permits to make it permanent. The plan will move the Rams 20 miles closer to the SoFi stadium in Inglewood, compared to their facilities at Cal Lutheran.

The biggest concerns raised at a community meeting on Wednesday, June 28, held by the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization, were traffic, noise and the Warner Center area's lack of affordable housing. Another pressing question was whether the team practices will be open to the public.

To the disappointment of no doubt many, the team practices at Warner Center will not be open to the public, Rams representatives said in their presentation to the Woodland Hills homeowners meeting. But for those in favor of the Rams moving to Woodland Hills, there were other reasons to be pleased.

"It's going to bring a sense of pride to the West Valley," said Diana Williams, CEO of the West Valley/Warner Center Chamber of Commerce. "It'll bring prestige to Warner Center."

But activist and geographer Gina Thornburg finds Kroenke's land purchases worrisome. Some of the land is part of the Promenade 2035 Plan, a $1 billion vision to build 1,432 apartment units, a 28-story office tower, two hotels with 572 rooms and a 10,000-seat entertainment and sports center. Thornburg and other Woodland Hills residents successfully pushed for a requirement that some of the apartments, about five percent, be affordable to very low-income households.

Now that some of that property has been sold, she worries that the affordable housing won't come to Woodland Hills.

"People can't afford to live in the same (communities) where they work," Thornburg said. "So I hope the Rams owner fulfills this obligation for very low-income apartments."

Others said they are concerned about potential noise and traffic caused by the move. Rams representatives said that since the facility will not be open to the public, these disruptions will be minimal.

"Some (WHHO members) are worried about the noise level," WHHO President John Walker said. "But we're excited for the Rams to come."

In a letter to residents obtained by RamsWire, Los Angeles City Councilmember Blumenfield, who represents Woodland Hills, wrote, "Over the coming months, as this project moves forward, the Rams and my staff will continue to meet with community groups to share (the Rams') proposal and address any issues or questions that may arise. I'm looking forward to welcoming such a storied NFL franchise to the West Valley."

Blumenfield argued that, "Unlike a stadium that is open to the public, this practice facility will have little to no traffic, noise or other negative impacts on the surrounding community."

Kroenke bought the three large properties in Warner Center for about $650 million. He has not announced any plans for the Village and Promenade properties.

The transactions have set off speculation that Kroenke is considering building an entertainment district similar to the Dallas Cowboys complex in Frisco, Texas.

"Our long-term vision is to build a permanent practice facility at the Woodland Hills site that Stan Kroenke purchased over the past year," a Rams spokesperson said. "This application we recently filed with the city is intended to set up an interim practice facility in Woodland Hills as we work on future ideas for a long-term facility."

The Rams do not plan to use the facility for their annual training camp, which is open to the public and typically is held at UC Irvine, representatives said during the Woodland Hills homeowners meeting.

Several residents said they look forward to the Rams coming to the area, with hopes that the move will contribute to the local economy. But others were worried about potential noise and worsening traffic. Rams representatives said that since the facility will not be open to the public, those disruptions would be minimal.

"It's going to be offering more jobs and it's going to boost the economy," Williams, of the Chamber of Commerce, said. "There's going to be more dollars circulating, which is good for our businesses."

The concerned resident Thornburg said the key step she hopes the Rams take is to "get to know the surrounding community."

"This is going to have a big impact on us," Thornburg said. "So I hope that they will talk to community groups and engage with the public."

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Woodland Hills residents get peek at Stan Kroenke's planned Rams facility

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Once-sleepy Woodland Hills is in for change with Rams owner Kroenke buying big chunks of land at a cost of about $650M.

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Affordable Housing development

But will the housing actually be able to serve low income residents?

Traffic congestion, noise, and density

Change in spatial flows of people

Change in general appeal of the area for residents who are already settled there.

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Under construction. Project began construction late 2023 and is set to be built before the 2024 NFL season in early September.

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Pros and cons of community building and its process.

The urban planning process is highly political.

There is almost always a debate on planning developments, especially regarding affordable housing.

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How did you feel about this specific planning topic?

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How did you feel about this specific planning topic?

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I'm happy that there will be developments toward a 15-minute city model and that they are building more apartments.

However, it's being developed in an already affluent suburban neighborhood, so I wonder how much of an impact it will really have. Especially for lower income people.

Will this new community eventually consist of mostly high income residents if the surrounding area is expensive?

Doesn't this defeat the purpose of "affordable housing" ?

It may have affordable housing, but not affordable living.

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Although I don't live in or near Woodland Hills, its still important that as a USP major I understand the political effects of new developments. Understanding multiple perspectives in planning debates are fundamental in the profession of urban planning.

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A general sketch of a city, relevant to the extensive city planning process.

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Expectation of heightened traffic congestion after project is executed.

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Land to be used for Rams project on West Oxnard St. & Canoga Ave.

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Stan Kroenke, owner of the Rams, buys a Westfield mall property to be used in project.

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Debates and politics are a prominent part of the urban planning profession.