Panic Attack A citizens panel has developed a visionary development plan for Ventura Boulevard. But some commercial interests on the review board want to rewrite it.: [Valley Edition]

Some business owners caught up in the recession have begun to panic and now want to gut the Ventura/Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan, along with its vision for the future.

The plan governs development on Ventura Boulevard. Adopted in 1991, it was the result of 3 1/2 years of hard work by homeowners, elected officials and business leaders. It established rules for building height, density, setbacks, landscaping and land use for the boulevard's 17 miles.

Both practical and visionary, it establishes five "villages" along the boulevard, each unique.

Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Tarzana and Woodland Hills are to have their own distinctive characters, signage and design motifs. New amenities are to include wider streets, trees and street furniture.

All this is to be paid for by fees from new developments and assessments on existing properties on the boulevard.

A citizens committee developed the plan by spending many hours gathering facts, studying reports and making field observations.

It hired consultants who prepared detailed traffic analyses before making recommendations such as street widenings at Van Nuys and Laurel Canyon boulevards among dozens of intersections.

The public participated at every juncture. The final plan was supported by virtually all business interests and residents.

It was a compromise that resolved...