Mission Statement

The mission of the Tarzana Property Owners Association is "to preserve and enhance the quality of life for residents of our community. We espouse a balanced approach with due consideration for the concerns of current homeowners, future residents, and commercial and residential developers.  We attempt to work with developers and city agencies to enhance our residential areas, preserve valuable open space, encourage attractive and successful businesses that stimulate economic vitality, and optimize transportation options.  We accomplish our mission by:

• Encouraging early and open discussions with developers
• Developing and maintaining close contact with appropriate city agencies
• Working closely with the Tarzana Neighborhood Council and other Tarzana organizations
• Providing a forum for community input on issues and projects of interest

  Tarzana Property Owners Association

ANNUAL TOWN HALL FORUM

Wedesday, October 21, 2020

Virtual Town Hall

The impact of Covid-19 and the flu on Los Angeles and methods to prepare for and mitigate their impact.

Bob Blumenfield, 3rd District City Councilmember
Overview of the dangers and Los Angeles preparation
Jill Steward, Livable California
The impact of the virus on private home ownership
Ron Galperin, Los Angeles City Controller (invited)
The impact of the virus on our City budget
Question and Answer session to follow the presentations
Virtual Forum starts at 7:30

Invite Friends…Invite Neighbors…Ask Questions

Zoom dial in: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87869468203

Join meeting; then enter meeting ID: 878 6946 8203 and Passcode: 820489

By phone: 1 669 900 9128 Meeting ID: 878 6946 8203

Welcome Message

Members, prospective members, and visitors: welcome to the website of the Tarzana Property Owners Association.  We believe the website allows us to quickly and effectively communicate with the community on issues of importance, provide information on upcoming events of interest, and provide a forum for community discussion.  In addition, Tarzana and TPOA both have fascinating histories; click onto the links for your edification and entertainment. We also provide links to other organizations and government entities.  We hope you take advantage of the information available on the website.  We welcome suggestions on ways to improve access, other information you would find useful, and other comments

Why should you care about TPOA?  We are one of the oldest (since 1962), most respected (due to our knowledgeable, balanced approach), and successful organizations of our kind.  TPOA has played a major role in the following:

• Protecting the single residential nature of much of the community. The only commercial buildings are on Ventura and Reseda Boulevards. There are no commercial establishments or multiple residential buildings south of the Ventura Boulevard complex. North of Ventura, there are only single family residences west of Wilbur and north of the Topham/Oxnard corridor except a small commercial area at Topham and Tampa and a few establishments on Victory Boulevard.

• A recent development throughout the City of Los Angeles is the use of mixed use projects, with the commercial establishments on the ground floor and residential space on the upper floors. TPOA has studied each proposed development and either supported the development with modifications or opposed the development as not in compliance with the code. A mixed use project has been approved at the northwest corner of Reseda and Clark, including TPOA suggested modifications, and is set to break ground in the next few months. We also supported the proposed mixed use at 1819336-19360 Ventura with modifications and opposed the mixed use project at 5431-5505 Reseda due to concerns about density and access to the project

• Establishing strict regulations regarding hillside development

• Establishing effective regulations for commercial development along Ventura Boulevard, including height limit and support of the attractive Safari Walk area

• Providing extensive open space in the hillside area including the Marvin Braude MulhollandGateway Park and the Corbin Canyon portion of the Big Wild

• Establishing effective regulations for commercial development along Ventura Boulevard, including a foot height limit and the attractive Safari Walk

• Preserving animal keeping rights in Melody Acres

• Establishing the Tarzana Community and Cultural Center

• Promoting attractive commercial development such as the Village Walk project which includes the Whole Foods market, the LA Fitness gym, several restaurants and other commercial establishments

• Playing a key role in establishing reasonable limits to house size based on lot size and zone type.

So, enjoy our website, join our organization if not already a member, and help understand, preserve and enhance our unique community.

Message from our President

TPOA has an enviable history of accomplishments during our 45 year history. We work hard to carry on that tradition and preserve our unique community in the face of ever changing challenges. In the past, many of those challenges were related to preservation of the open space in the hillsides and defining limits to commercial and multiple residential development. We worked with developers and government agencies to limit development of housing in the hills and establishing parkland instead. We worked to defeat the “Reseda to the Sea” freeway which would have cut our community in half. We worked with other communities, the Planning Department, and other interest groups to develop the Ventura/Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan and the Encino-Tarzana Community Plan. Those successes help define Tarzana today. But the job is not finished. Some of the challenges have changed, but the need remains for an effective organization to fight both the long term battles and the day-to-day issues.

By long term battles I refer to those issues which can change the entire look and feel of the community. A critical issue today, just favorably resolved, is that of mansionization: the invasion of existing neighborhoods by homes that are grossly out of scale with their neighbors. Just drive down Lindley or Tampa south of the boulevard to see how mansionization was destroying their traditional Tarzana feel; drive through Melody Acres and sense the danger that the unique bucolic area would give way to oversize homes whose residents have no feel for our history and way of life. What did TPOA do to combat mansionization? Our organization was one of the leaders in helping pass limiting legislation. The current Baseline Mansionization Ordinance incorporates many of the specific suggestions we proposed, including a redefinition of the boundary between the flatlands and hillside south of Ventura Blvd. The hillside area south of Ventura is covered under the separate Baseline Hillside Ordinance.

There has been a serious call from various organizations and individuals to revise the Ventura/Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan. TPOA is studying the issue and will work with the other organizations affected to change provisions which now require modification and retain provisions that remain beneficial to Tarzana and the Valley as a whole. The Planning Department has initiated a multi-year review and update of the 39 community plans in the city. While the current budget problems facing the City impose severe limits on Planning Department staffing, hopefully we will see real progress to modify the Encino-Tarzana Community Plan, or develop neighborhood specific overlays, in response to the increased density suggested for transportation corridors such as Ventura and the Orange Line corridor, and other developing issues.

Concern over the lax enforcement of Zoning, Planning, and Building and Safety regulations is another significant issue. We all know examples where permits were issued that went against specific provisions of the code, where violations are not cited by Building and Safety Inspectors, and where no city action is apparent months or years after formal complaints are filed. TPOA coordinated with the Tarzana Neighborhood Council to convene an open meeting with several representatives of Building and Safety and the Planning Department to address our concerns. Hopefully we will see more coherent enforcement action.

An application for a religious institution in a single family residential area, a proposal for an apartment development in an RA neighborhood, the plight of senior citizens forced out of their apartments by condominium conversion or construction of new condominiums, the ever-increasing traffic on our major arteries, the proliferation of unpermitted cell towers; all these and many others are current issues we are working to resolve.

Let us know your concerns, get involved in the issues facing Tarzana, and help us preserve and enhance our community and our organization’s reputation for effective, balanced activism.