Metro is eyeing the vast north parking lot at the Chatsworth train depot for a possible residential and retail complex plus parking garage, according to Nelia Custodio, director of real property management and development for the transit agency.
However, Jarrod DeGonia, field deputy for County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, was quick to tell the Chatsworth Community Coordinating Council that no plans exist at this time, nor did he expect any commercial development in the near future. Antonovich is chairman of the Metro Board of Directors.
Custodio told the Monday meeting that Metro supports public/private partnerships to develop mixed-use development along mass transit routes. She used as an example the Hollywood & Highland Center that sits above a Red Line subway station. Hollywood & Highland hosts shops, a hotel and the Dolby Theater, which is home to the Academy Awards.
If there is ever any development, Custodio said community involvement would be sought.
The Chatsworth station is a transit hub connecting the new Orange Line busway, Amtrak and Metrolink trains, plus Metro and Santa Clarita buses.
Chatsworth has a Specific Plan that governs local development. There's also a Design Review Board that oversees building height, architecture, colors and signage along the commercial area on Devonshire Street between Mason Avenue and Topanga Canyon Boulevard. The land use committee of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council also plays a role development decisions.
