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Tag: woodland hills

  • Residents push back against housing development in Woodland Hills

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    Dozens of people packed the pews of St. Mel Catholic Church Friday to come up with a plan to stop developers from closing a historic golf course and country club to build nearly 400 homes on the land.

    Residents at Friday’s meeting say their top concern is more congestion in a high fire hazard zone.

    “I think it’ll be the death of Woodland Hills if they go ahead with this project,” said Woodland Hills resident Stephen Scheff.

    Built in the 1920s, the club and golf course have been around for generations, sitting on 93 acres just east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and south of the 101 Freeway.

    The club was sold in 2020 and is owned by Newport Beach-based real estate firm Arrimus Capital.

    According to the project’s website, developers plan to close the club and use a 20-acre portion to build 175 single-family homes, 126 apartments and 97 rent-restricted senior homes.

    “The fire risks and just the changing character of our community,” said Anita Zaccaro. “It’s in a high fire zone and it’s a lot of units they are considering putting there. I think it’s way too massive for the area.”

    The developers filed an application with the city of LA last month and claim their efforts will help address the housing crisis.They’re seeking approval under AB 2011, a state law that fast-tracks housing permits in commercial corridors by bypassing environmental review and public hearings.

    “This is not a commercial corridor and as a result, it’s a misapplication of the law,” said Matt Heisie, with the Woodland Hills Neighborhood Collective.

    Councilmember Bob Blumenfield explains that Governor Newsom recently signed amendments to the bill, redefining what makes a commercial corridor – instead of use, it’s the width of the street. He claims the developers lobbied lawmakers in Sacramento to craft amendment language to avoid public scrutiny.

    “If this moves forward under those state laws, it never comes to a vote before the city council,” said Blumenfield. “I ultimately think this is probably going to be something that ends up in court.”

    Currently, the developer’s application is under review by the city’s planning department.

    Blumenfield says he wants to get clarity from the city’s land use attorneys to make sure the state law is correctly interpreted before the project goes any further.

    The developer and project spokesperson did not immediately respond to NBC4’s request for comment.

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    Macy Jenkins

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  • $200K worth of jewelry robbed from store owner in Woodland Hills

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    A jewelry store owner said a group of masked men robbed him in Woodland Hills Monday night, taking more than $200,000 worth of jewelry. 

    According to police the man who was robbed owns a jewelry store in Downtown Los Angeles and is believed to have been followed after work.

    Ali Sedaghat stopped for dinner on Ventura Boulevard and as left the restaurant in his car, he noticed his tire was flat.

    He pulled over, a block away from the restaurant and that’s when he says he was robbed.

    “They put the knife on me and they grabbed my bag and they took all of my stuff and all of my jewelry, more than $200,000 value jewelry they robbed me,” Sedaghat said. 

    Sedaghat says two to three masked men robbed him around 9 p.m. last night and at least one had a knife.

    He says he believes he was targeted and that the robbers slashed his tire while he was at dinner.

    The culprits got away in a dark colored van, according to authorities. And according to the Los Angeles Police Department, this is the fourth follow-home robbery involving jewelry in the last six weeks. 

    Police are working to gather security video to track down the people responsible.

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    Lauren Coronado and Génesis Miranda Miramontes

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  • Widow of murdered Woodland Hills doctor files lawsuit against his ex-wife

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    The family of a Woodland Hills doctor who was gunned down outside his clinic is suing his ex-wife, whom prosecutors say orchestrated his murder.

    Ghazal Simorgh, the widow of Dr. Hamid Mirshojae, still gets emotional as she speaks about her late husband. She says his untimely death greatly impacted the couple’s family.

    “This was not fair for my 1-year-old baby – to lose her dad at a very young age,” Simorgh said.

    While the victim’s ex-wife, Ahang Mirshojae, remains behind bars in connection with his death, she and four others are facing a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Simorgh and her daughter. The complaint accuses Ahang of trying to hide financial assets and real estate.

    “Through an extensive family network, we do believe there’s assets that have been hidden and/or moved,” said Alex Guerrero, Simorgh’s attorney.

    “We also believe there’s currently, in the past year, some movement of the assets that’s going on right now,” said Arya Tahmassebi, another one of Simorgh’s attorneys.

    The brother of the Woodland Hills doctor who was fatally shot allegedly in a murder-for-hire plot speaks out about his family’s grief. Tracey Leong reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.

    According to the lawyers and prosecutors, bitterness and hatred are what drove Ahang to allegedly orchestrate the murder-for-hire plot on Hamid. The widow’s attorneys described Ahang as resentful after seeing her ex-husband move on with his life 15 years after their divorce.

    The doctor, who resided in Calabasas, was shot to death on Aug. 23, 2024,  as he left his urgent care clinic on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley.

    Ahang, who pleaded not guilty to his murder, was charged in connection with his death, along with Evan Hardman, 41, of Tomball, Texas; and Sarallah Jawed, 26, of Canoga Park.

    NBC4 has reached out to Ahang’s criminal defense attorney for comment.

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    Gordon Tokumatsu and Karla Rendon

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  • Man fatally shot outside urgent care in Woodland Hills

    Man fatally shot outside urgent care in Woodland Hills

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    A man was fatally shot outside of a clinic in Woodland Hills and police Saturday were searching for the shooter.

    The shooting occurred at about 5:30 p.m. Friday on Topanga Canyon Boulevard just south of Oxnard Street. The victim was walking to his vehicle at the time of the shooting, according to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Division.

    Several bullet casings reportedly were found next to the body. Police said the victim fled the scene on foot. No suspect description was immediately available.

    Anyone with information regarding the shooting was urged to call the LAPD’s Topanga station at 818-756-4800. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls can be directed to 877-527-3247. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org.

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    City News Service

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  • Newborn girl found dead in Woodland Hills

    Newborn girl found dead in Woodland Hills

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    An investigation is underway after a newborn was found dead at a home in Woodland Hills on Tuesday.

    The Los Angeles Police Department said a 23-year-old woman arrived at a local hospital bleeding profusely. Her condition prompted law enforcement to respond to her home on the 2300 block of Burbank Boulevard, where a 1-day-girl was found dead.

    It is unclear how the newborn died. Her mother’s condition was not disclosed.

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    Darsha Philips and Karla Rendon

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  • Hate crime investigation in vandalism of Jewish-owned businesses

    Hate crime investigation in vandalism of Jewish-owned businesses

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    WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – The Los Angeles Police Department’s Topanga Division detectives are seeking the person or person’s responsible for the acts of vandalism against three Jewish-owned businesses this past week.

    A spokesperson for the LAPD told local media that officers responded to a call of vandalism at a business in the 20900 block of Victory Boulevard just after 8 a.m. on Saturday morning. 

    When they arrived, they found that a rock had been thrown at a business with a note written in Aramaic. Surveillance video captures a man walking up to the business before throwing a rock through the storefront. 

    KTLA reported a Jewish-owned business two doors down on the same property was also vandalized, likely by the same suspect or suspects, one business owner believes.

    “Apparently, only me and my neighbor who have a mezuzah outside got broken into,” one storeowner told KTLA. “So, we know it’s a hate crime, and oddly enough, when we came in, there was a rock that said ‘payback’ and ‘glory,’ and I don’t know what that means.” 

    “Obviously, these guys are not happy with us being Jewish in the neighborhood,” he added.

    The owners of the vandalized businesses told KTLA that another business – a dance studio – was vandalized on the same morning, and that another nearby Jewish-owned establishment had been vandalized two days prior. The owner of the dance studio confirmed that she is not Jewish.

    The LAPD has not yet released a description of the suspect.

    The LAPD noted that if you have any information about these criminal acts, you can remain anonymous by submitting a tip to Crime Stoppers at www.lacrimestoppers.org, or call 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

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    Brody Levesque

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  • Rams will move headquarters and practice facility to Woodland Hills

    Rams will move headquarters and practice facility to Woodland Hills

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    The Los Angeles Rams will move their practice facility to Woodland Hills next season as part of a large-scale real estate development planned by owner Stan Kroenke that could help give the car-centric Warner Center district a more urban feel.

    The Rams officially announced the long-expected move Tuesday at an outdoor shopping center that Kroenke bought earlier this year as he assembled a 100-acre parcel for future development that will include a new headquarters for the Rams.

    The move will center the Rams, now based in the city of Agoura Hills, in Los Angeles’ Woodland Hills neighborhood. The team plays at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on game days, but spends most of the year at its headquarters and practice facilities.

    “It’s important for us to have a foothold in L.A.,” said Kevin Demoff, chief operating officer of the Rams.

    A temporary practice facility similar to the one the team now uses at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks will be built on what is now a parking lot next to an unoccupied office tower the Kroenke Group bought in Warner Center in 2022.

    Kroenke plans to build a more permanent and expansive training facility and team headquarters on the site in the future, part of what is expected to be a sprawling mixed-use complex that may include stores, restaurants, hotels and residences.

    The parking lot at the former Anthem building in Warner Center will be the new location of the Los Angeles Rams practice facility.

    (Los Angeles Times)

    Work will start shortly on the temporary football compound at Erwin Street and Canoga Avenue, Demoff said. Asphalt and two one-story buildings will be removed to make way for two practice fields and a network of temporary modular trailers that will be similar to the setup the team uses at Cal Lutheran.

    The trailers will include office space and meeting rooms for coaches, players, scouts and staff, along with a weight room, a training room, a locker room, a media room and a meal room.

    City Councilman Bob Blumenfield called the facility “a great use that brings a lot of value” to the neighborhood and “not much traffic.”

    The 13-story tower on the site that was formerly home to health insurer Anthem Inc. may be part of the future mixed-use campus or could be eventually razed to make way for other uses.

    Kroenke Group is working on a new land-use design for the site that also includes the former Woodland Hills Promenade, a largely inactive shopping center built in 1973, and the thriving outdoor mall Topanga Village built next to the Promenade in 2015. The move was announced at the Village, which will remain a cornerstone of the Kroenke complex that could take many years to complete.

    Los Angeles city officials are encouraging dense mixed-use development in the Warner Center neighborhood that could include new housing, offices, shops, restaurants, hotel rooms and entertainment venues.

    The planned building boom may help Warner Center finally achieve its original purpose. In the early 1970s, planners decided that the west San Fernando Valley land, once the site of movie mogul Harry Warner’s horse ranch, should be turned into a “downtown” for the Valley.

    As it developed, however, Warner Center bore only passing resemblance to the densely built urban districts people associate with that word.

    Today, the neighborhood is mostly a mix of office towers that jut up from a sea of cookie-cutter, low-slung office buildings served by acres of surface parking lots. Apartments and stores are mostly isolated in discrete blocks, and the whole expanse is cleaved by wide, fast-moving streets that flow to freeways.

    Kroenke’s $325-million purchase of the Village in January further signaled the billionaire businessman’s intention to build a sports-centric development like the one around SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

    In Inglewood, Kroenke controls nearly 300 acres surrounding SoFi Stadium, in what was formerly the Hollywood Park horse racing venue. When the Inglewood complex is completed, it will be 3½ times the size of Disneyland and contain a performance venue, hotel, stores, restaurants, offices, homes and a lake with waterfalls.

    With the additional 100 acres in Woodland Hills, Kroenke is now one of the largest real estate developers in the Los Angeles region, Demoff said. His company could build and operate as much as 7 million square feet of property in Woodland Hills as envisioned under the city’s Warner Center 2035 Specific Plan.

    “Stan and everybody else is a believer in the potential of Warner Center,” Demoff said. “Everything keeps growing here.”

    The Kroenke Group owns and operates shopping centers in 39 states with a combined total of 40 million square feet, the company said.

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    Roger Vincent

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