Northeast San Fernando Valley

Fig. 4 - Centers, Sustainable Community Strategy
Section 4 - Target Areas
Northeast San Fernando Valley
Given the extensive size and population of the
Northeast Valley, the selection of initial target areas
is key to the potential success of the endeavor.
Often the areas of greatest challenge are also the
areas of greatest opportunity.
The project team has selected five initial “centroids”
based on their profile as centers, their proximity to
existing or proposed transportation, their zoning,
or in the case of Sun Valley’s landfills and heavy
industrial lands, their environmental challenges.
For analysis, in each case the relevant study area
adopted is a half-mile radius or band catchment
area around each centroid.
The half-mile distance has become accepted for
gauging a transit station’s catchment area in the
United States and is the de facto standard for the
planning of U.S. transit-oriented developments
(TODs). This radius is loosely based on the distance
that people are willing to walk to transit.
Results support the use of a 0.25-mile catchment
area around transit for jobs and a 0.5-mile catchment
area for population. These are good starting
points for considering transit-oriented land use
policy or collecting labor-intensive data. 1
The selection of the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink
Station is consistent with Metro’s round of
grants to cities with planning zoning jurisdiction
over the areas surrounding Metrolink Stations.
The City of San Fernando covers roughly half the
area around the station and was awarded a grant
for the creation of a “Station Area Plan” to better
accommodate Transit-Oriented Development. This
station will also be the terminus of the proposed
East Valley Transit Corridor, making it an ideal TOD
prospect.
It would be useful to have a complementary plan for
the semi-circle in the City of Los Angeles as well.
Because of their proximity, the Metrolink Station
half-mile radius falls almost entirely within in the
San Fernando Road centroid (see Figure 4). The
Mall portion of San Fernando Road already has a
hardscape in place that can be enhanced at minimal
expense. The tenant mix will require intervention
in order to offer the full array of goods, services
and amenities sought by local residents
Over the past several decades, the tenant mix on
San Fernando Road has lost some of its appeal by
1 Guerra, Erick; Cervero, Robert; Tischler, Daniel “Half-Mile Circle-
Does It Best Represent Transit Station Catchments?” Transportation
Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board,
1981
no longer offering a complete array of goods and
services.
The selection of Van Nuys Boulevard in Pacoima,
between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and San Fernando
Road, is consistent with the “Great Streets”
program in the City of Los Angeles, and with the
Urban Land Institute’s “Healthy Corridors” targets.
It is a classic Southern California “main street” and
serves as the backbone for the Pacoima center.
The Panorama City shopping area came into being
in the 1960s, one of the first major shopping centers
(turned Panorama Mall) in the region. Shopping
occupies both sides of Van Nuys Boulevard,
and the parcels are unusually deep. The mall was
enclosed and stores added.
The original Broadway anchor was joined by a
J.W. Robinsons, Montgomery Ward, and Orbachs,
among others. The east side of the street features
three major blocks of inline stores, all with parking
in the rear. The Macerich company recently sold the
Panorama Mall to Primestor, and the long-abandoned
Panorama Towers office building has been
sold as well.
The Sun Valley Remediation area is the most environmentally
challenged, and is composed of decommissioned
landfills, storage areas, auto wrecking,
and heavy industry. The long-term potential of
repurposing some of these properties is excellent.
The San Fernando Mall already has the necessary configuration for
a Transit-Oriented District, but is in need of intervention to become a
complete street with a balanced tenant mix
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Draft Revision I - May 25, 2016
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