Dive Brief:

• Developer Westfield Corp. has proposed replacing an existing suburban Los Angeles shopping mall with a $1.5 billion mixed-use complex called Promenade 2035, the Los Angeles Times reported.

• Westfield said the new West San Fernando Valley downtown district would feature 1,500 residential units, office space, retail, restaurants, a 1-acre central park, two hotels and a 15,000-seat arena. Most buildings will incorporate rooftop gardens or some other green element, according to Curbed Los Angeles.

• Developers said the project would complement its $350 million "lifestyle center" across the street while city officials noted that the project will face critical consideration from the community before it can be approved.

Dive Insight:

Promenade 2035 is part of an overall initiative to develop the Warner Center business district into a more livable area.

Los Angeles has seen a few proposals in recent months for urban-style, high-density developments that aim to create distinct neighborhoods within the city limits. However, the move toward "megadevelopments" has spurred the city council to look to Los Angeles residents for guidance as to how easy — or hard — it should be to get these projects built.

The Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, which would impose a two-year ban on the kind of zoning these massive developments need, is on the city's March 7 ballot. The measure has proven to be controversial, with proponents claiming that the regulation is needed to prevent overcrowding, traffic jams and reduce developer influence in city planning. Critics say that Los Angeles residents are desperate for housing and that these kinds of developments would help keep prices from continuing to climb.

One of the high-density developments at the center of the controversy is a proposed 14.5-acre mixed-use community in the Los Angeles Arts District. The project, which would be built on a site that is currently home to two massive warehouses, includes a 58-story high-rise and about 1,700 for-sale and for-rent residential units, in addition to retail and office space, two hotels, a school, two parks and 23,000 square feet of community art space.