Senior Citizen Housing, Stores Proposed on Site : Sherman Oaks: Another plan for the block that housed the Scene of the Crime bookstore gets a guarded reception from residents and their councilman.

A developer who has tangled with Sherman Oaks residents for years over his controversial proposal to build an office complex along Ventura Boulevard has unveiled a new and unusual plan for the site--a combination of retail stores and senior citizen apartments.

The site, between Woodman and Ventura Canyon avenues, is best known as the former site of the Scene of the Crime bookstore and other small businesses.

So far, reaction from residents and the area’s councilman has been guarded. But the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. and Councilman Michael Woo agree that the concept of mixing stores with housing on the boulevard would mark a significant and perhaps welcome departure from the many office buildings and retail outlets erected in recent years along the “Main Street” of the San Fernando Valley.

The new plan calls for 11,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and 144 one-bedroom apartments above and behind stores fronting Ventura Boulevard. Parking would be provided below the three-story building.

Developer Jacky Gamliel had previously proposed a three-story, 90,000-square-foot office and retail building.

Gamliel’s original proposal for the site would not be allowed under sweeping planning guidelines adopted for the boulevard this year. Gamliel filed a $10-million lawsuit against the city and Woo in March, arguing that the project was illegally blocked because the city, at Woo’s urging, delayed action on the project until after the new guidelines were approved in January.

A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for July 10. Gamliel’s attorney, Benjamin M. Reznik, said Wednesday that the new plan was proposed as a compromise. If the city and homeowners support the new plan, the trial can be avoided, Reznik said.

Woo said he is pleased that Gamliel has drawn up a new plan but feels no pressure to negotiate a quick deal with the builder. “It would be good if we could settle this case before this trial begins, but I don’t consider it a major deadline,” Woo said. “The City Council can’t let land-use decisions be based on threats of lawsuits.”

Woo, citing the litigation against him, said he could not discuss the new proposal in detail but called it an improvement over the previous plan.

Woo has long pushed for mixing commercial enterprises with housing, especially senior citizen apartments. “I think it’s the wave of the future for Los Angeles,” Woo said. “It represents a more efficient use of the land.” It remains to be seen whether the Ventura Boulevard site is right for such a mix, he said.

Judith McCurdy, member of a Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. committee studying the new plan, said a mixed-use project shows some promise. But she said the organization also has many concerns, such as the project’s impact on traffic and property values.

The group is requesting additional information from Gamliel before it can take a formal stand on the project, McCurdy said. But she called the new plan a good sign in what has been a long and sometimes bitter dispute between the developer and Sherman Oaks residents.