Wildlife Determination Halts Major Housing Project
A proposal to build nearly 400 homes on the Woodland Hills Country Club golf course has hit a roadblock, with mountain lions at the center of the dispute. The Los Angeles City Council voted on Friday to block the project, a move that came after the Planning Department determined the site is "wildlife habitat" for the endangered mountain lion.
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents the area, announced the decision in a newsletter to constituents. He cited "a plethora of documentation from neighbors and a lot of biological and ecological research provided by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and other biological experts" as the basis for the Planning Department's determination.
Developer's Plan and State Law
Newport Beach-based Arrimus Capital, which owns the country club, had filed an application to redevelop part of the golf course into 398 homes. The project would have included 175 for-sale, three-story detached single-family homes; 189 rental apartments in a four-story building; and 34 rent-restricted apartments in another four-story building. The plans also called for more than 55,900 square feet of open space.
The developer sought to use Assembly Bill 2011, a state housing law that allows builders to bypass lengthy city review processes for certain mixed-income multifamily projects on commercial land, such as a golf course. Blumenfield argued that this law would prevent community input, consideration of environmental impacts, and fire safety reviews.
The golf course, built in the mid-1920s by Victor Giraud, became a private country club in 1945. It sits near the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley, an area known for its wildlife.
Blumenfield's Arguments
Blumenfield has raised multiple objections to the development, citing the golf course's location in a "very high" fire hazard severity zone. He argued that Assembly Bill 2011 was not intended for projects like this one, as the property is not in the kind of "commercial corridor" the law addresses.
Despite these concerns, Blumenfield said that "we all feared" the Planning Department would still approve the project, but the recent wildlife habitat determination has stalled the fast-track approval process.
Developer's Response
Arrimus Capital representative Aaron Green called the wildlife habitat determination "an affront to Angelenos," and accused the city of working against those in need of housing. Green told the Los Angeles Times that the developer will file a lawsuit, suggesting the city may have to pay millions in fines for what he claimed were "false assertions" about mountain lion habitat.
Blumenfield responded that there is "a plethora of information" supporting the decision, and that the city is "in a good position."
Historical Context
The Woodland Hills Country Club site has been a point of contention for decades. In 1988, the Los Angeles Times reported that a different developer sought to convert the club to housing. At that time, Gordon Murley of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization vowed to fight the conversion, according to the same publication.
The current dispute is still unfolding, with the developer promising legal action while the city defends its wildlife-based decision.