14430 Vanowen Street, Land Acquisition, Permanent Affordable Housing; Land Bank Pilot Program Site #3
Summary
SCH Number
2026071066
Public Agency
Los Angeles County
Document Title
14430 Vanowen Street, Land Acquisition, Permanent Affordable Housing; Land Bank Pilot Program Site #3
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
7/28/2026
Document Description
On July 7, 2026, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (Board), approved and authorized the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), or her designee, to execute a Purchase Sale Agreement (PSA) for the 20,328-square-foot (per survey) property located at 14430 W. Vanowen Street in the Van Nuys neighborhood of the Van-Nuys-North Sherman Oaks Community Planning area in the City of Los Angeles and to establish and approve an affordable housing project as discussed below. The purchase is part of the CEO-HI (CEO-Homeless Initiative, now known as the County’s Department of Homeless Services and Housing) Land Bank Pilot Program. The Board established the Pilot Program on June 14, 2022, to create new opportunities for affordable housing in areas experiencing and set to experience rapid gentrification and displacement. The project would include an approximately seven to eight-story (approximately 78-feet-tall) mixed-use affordable housing development with up to 195 units and up to 6.5: 1 Floor Area Ratio; parking would be provided according to code; the project could also include 1,500 square feet of community-serving commercial space and an approximately 3,000-square-foot community room and/or amenity space primarily to serve project residents. The property would include minor landscaping and low-level security lighting. The site currently contains an asphalt parking lot that has been used by adjacent uses but is currently unused. There is one ornamental street tree in the sidewalk in front of the site and an ornamental palm tree in the alley to the east of the site that abuts the site that could be impacted by the project. Subsurface parking is not anticipated. The proposed building foundation design and construction method have not been identified but could include localized foundation piles extending to some depth but more likely spread footings or mat slab foundation extending up to 10 feet to 20 feet below grade. However, the quantity of earth that would be disturbed is anticipated to be relatively minor. Construction is anticipated to take about 24 months. The project would include sustainability features. The site is identified as a Lower Income Rezoning Housing Element site in the City of Los Angeles Housing Element and with more than 20% of the units to be affordable to lower income households the development of housing would be a by-right project in the City of Los Angeles (Government Code Section 65583.2(i)). The site would remain as a parking lot until development started.
Contact Information
Name
Joyce Chang
Agency Name
CEO RED
Job Title
Senior Manager
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Los Angeles
Counties
Los Angeles
Regions
Southern California
Cross Streets
Sylmar Ave, Vanowen St
Zip
91405
Parcel #
2237-002-021
State Highways
405
Railways
Van Nuys Station
Schools
Van Nuys Elementary School, Van Nuys High School
Other Location Info
14430 W. Vanowen Street, Los Angeles CA 91405
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Emergency Project
Type, Section or Code
Sec. 21080(b)(4); 15269(b)(c)
Reasons for Exemption
Homelessness in the City and County of Los Angeles experienced a large increase from 2016 to 2023, with 2024 remaining similar to 2023 and 2025 seeing a small (4%) countywide decrease. According to the 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, the County of Los Angeles had at the time of the count (January 2023) approximately 75,518 people experiencing homelessness countywide, including approximately 46,260 in the City of Los Angeles. In 2025 the overall homeless count was 72,308 countywide and 43,699 in the City of Los Angeles; countywide unsheltered homelessness decreased from 2024 by 9.5% while sheltered homelessness increased 8.5% (City of Los Angeles unsheltered homelessness decreased 7.9% and sheltered homelessness increased 4.7%). The County of Los Angeles represents approximately 25 percent of the State of California’s population, but over 40 percent of the state’s unhoused population. The City of Los Angeles represents 9.6 percent of the State of California’s population, but nearly 25 percent of the state’s unhoused population. On December 12, 2022, the City of Los Angeles declared a state of emergency on homelessness and activated the city’s Emergency Operations Center. On January 10, 2023, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to proclaim a local emergency for homelessness in the County of Los Angeles. Previously, on April 17, 2018, Mayor Eric Garcetti declared a shelter crisis to provide emergency housing for the unsheltered homeless people in the City of Los Angeles. On October 30, 2018, the LA County Board of Supervisors declared a shelter crisis to address homelessness in unincorporated LA County. This affordable housing project would provide permanent affordable housing that would address the homelessness emergency by providing for people to avoid or move from temporary shelters. Thus, the project would be eligible for the CEQA emergency project exemption.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class I Existing Use(CEQA Guidelines Section 15301);Class 32 In-Fill Development Projects(CEQA GuidelinesSection 15332)
Reasons for Exemption
CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 – Class1 – Existing Facilities. Continued interim operation of the existing parking lot would be eligible for a Class 1 Exemption as the existing use would remain with no expansion in use.
CEQA Guidelines Section 15332 - Class 32 -- Infill Development Projects. The affordable housing project is consistent with applicable general plan designation and zoning. The project site is within the City of Los Angeles, is less than 5 acres and is surrounded by urban uses. There is no habitat on the site. The project would not have the potential to significantly impact traffic, noise, air quality or water quality based on proposed site improvements and anticipated changes in occupancy. Typical construction techniques for building rehabilitation would be used that would be required to comply with applicable regulations including Low Impact Development (LID) and Noise Ordinances. The site is located in an urban area well-served by utilities and public services.
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Common Sense Exemption (Section 15061(b)(3))
Reasons for Exemption
CEQA Guidelines 15061(b)(3) – Common Sense Exemption. The proposed acquisition and interim operation of the project site (ongoing operation
as a parking lot) would result in the same impacts as at present and would have no possibility of an increase in impacts.
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Guidelines Section 21065; Section 15378(b)(5); Section 15300.2
Reasons for Exemption
The proposed acquisition and interim operation of the project site (ongoing operation as a parking lot) is exempt from CEQA because it does not constitute a project as defined under CEQA since the actions are (1) activities that are excluded from the definition of a project by CEQA Section 21065, and (2) administrative activities of government under section 15378(b)(5) of the State CEQA Guidelines because the action would not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment. No changes to the existing facilities (parking lot) are proposed as part of the interim operation.
None of the exceptions to exemptions, found at Section 15300.2 of the State CEQA Guidelines would apply to invalidate the Class 32 categorical exemption. Based on the record, the County has determined the following: (a) the site is not located in a sensitive environment; (b) the project would not create significant cumulative impacts by contributing to impacts of successive projects of the same type in the same place; (c) there is no potential for the project to result in a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances; (d) the project would not result in damage to a scenic resource; (e) the site is not on a list compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code; (f) the project would not change the significance of any historical resource.
County Clerk
Los Angeles
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
Disclaimer: The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. For more information, please visit LCI’s Accessibility Site.