Sherman Oaks' Future Subway Stop Is at Ventura and Van Nuys, and the Zoning Rules Got There Before the Train

If you're comparing homes in Sherman Oaks and someone tells you a subway is coming, ask two questions. Where is the station? And which part of it is already real? The station is planned for Ventura Boulevard at Van Nuys Boulevard, not on Sepulveda. And the part that's already real is the zoning, not the train.

California's transit housing law treats a planned stop as a transit stop once a route has a selected preferred alternative. Metro's board picked that alternative for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor in January 2026. So the rail line began shaping what can be built near its future Sherman Oaks stations years before Metro can say what the line will cost or when it will open. For a buyer looking at a house within walking distance of Ventura and Van Nuys, those two schedules call for two different checks.

Two Schedules, Running Separately

Here is where each one stands as of October 2026.

The left column is already law. The City of Los Angeles adopted both ordinances on June 23, 2026, and they took effect June 30. The right column is still a plan. Metro's own FAQ says choosing an LPA "does not constitute project approval," and that the board must certify final environmental documents before the project is officially approved.

The Line Runs Under Van Nuys Boulevard, Not Sepulveda

The project carries Sepulveda's name, so many people picture trains under Sepulveda Boulevard through Sherman Oaks. The alternative Metro chose works differently. It is underground heavy rail from the Van Nuys Metrolink Station to the E Line Expo/Sepulveda Station, with automated trains in a single-bore tunnel and peak service every 2.5 minutes. In the Valley, it generally follows the earlier Alternative 6 route along Van Nuys Boulevard.

Metro lists the planned stations as Van Nuys Metrolink, G Line/Van Nuys, Ventura/Van Nuys, UCLA, Wilshire/Westwood, Santa Monica Bl/Sepulveda and Expo/Sepulveda. That makes two stops on or near the Sherman Oaks side of the line. One is at Ventura and Van Nuys. The other is at the G Line, where Metro's earlier Alternative 6 map put the platform at Van Nuys Boulevard and Oxnard Street.

These are the best street-level references available today, but they aren't final footprints. Metro says the refined route and station designs will show up in the recirculated environmental report, and its current scoping period specifically asks for comment on station locations.

The board also named a shorter first phase, an Initial Operating Segment of about 8.4 miles between Wilshire/Westwood and G Line/Van Nuys. The Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association's October 2026 newsletter points out that this segment would leave the Valley with two stations, Ventura Boulevard and Oxnard Street. So the Sherman Oaks stops are part of the first segment Metro wants to build.

Why the Law Counts a Train That Doesn't Exist Yet

The mechanism sits in one definition in Senate Bill 79, signed October 10, 2025, and operative July 1, 2026. The bill text defines a transit-oriented development stop to include:

"stops on a route for which a preferred alternative has been selected or which are identified in a regional transportation improvement program, that is served by heavy rail transit..."

Heavy rail stops are Tier 1, the highest tier. Los Angeles City Planning's draft eligibility map lists the Sepulveda Transit Corridor as Tier 1, and the City revised its Sepulveda stop locations in February 2026. Under the state standards, eligible sites within half a mile of a stop can generally allow multifamily buildings of five to nine stories, depending on distance. That includes sites zoned single-family.

Building a train depends on money, environmental clearance and construction. Changing zoning depends on a vote and a map. Sacramento tied the zoning to the earlier milestone, so planning around the Sherman Oaks stations started long before any train can arrive.

What Los Angeles Did With That Clock

Los Angeles didn't let the full SB 79 standards take effect on July 1. The Los Angeles Times reported that without local action, the areas around more than 150 transit stops would have been upzoned that day. Instead, the City used its Low-Rise Ordinance to delay SB 79 until 2030 by adding lighter density in fewer places. City Planning says the temporary pause runs until one year after the next Housing Element is adopted, which it expects around 2030. Its modeling found the Low-Rise Ordinance lets every eligible site in the city qualify for that pause.

The pause has a condition attached. The Low-Rise Ordinance opens some single-family lots to small multifamily projects now. It applies within "Opportunity Station Areas," meaning the half-mile around a Tier 1 or Tier 2 stop where more than half the land falls in Moderate or Higher Opportunity Areas. The Times summarized it as up to four-story buildings with up to 16 units on lots that used to be zoned single-family, across 57 areas, mostly in Central L.A., West L.A., the Eastside and the San Fernando Valley. A project needs at least five homes and must set aside affordable units, and the ordinance's base table includes no parking requirement. The program is optional. It trades extra density for restricted affordable units, and some sites are excluded.

In practice, this means one house near Ventura and Van Nuys may sit next to a lot where a five-to-16-unit project is allowed today, while another house a few blocks away doesn't. Distance to the station doesn't settle it. Mapped eligibility does. The Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council saw the stakes early. Its April 2026 statement on the Low-Rise file asked for five-foot side yards, 15-foot rear yards and mailed notice to affected residents.

Before you write an offer near either Sherman Oaks stop, check the specific parcel yourself:

1. Open the City's SB 79 eligibility map and turn on the layer labeled "Opportunity Station Sites Eligible for Low Rise." The Times points readers to this layer for exactly this check.
2. Look up the address and the parcels next to it in ZIMAS, where the City posts its local SB 79 and Low-Rise eligibility maps.
3. Read City Planning's SB 79 page for any map updates. The City calls its maps draft and says it will release updated versions as transit decisions change.

This is general information, not legal or financial advice. A land use attorney or the City's planning staff can confirm how these rules apply to a particular property.

The Train Has No Price Tag or Opening Year

On the other schedule, almost nothing is fixed. Metro's formal preliminary capital cost is still $24.2 billion in 2023 dollars, and that figure was for the original Alternative 5. Metro says the chosen alternative is shorter, has one fewer station, and will get a new estimate as design advances. Metro's FAQ says the delivery approach is still under study. That includes whether to carry on with its pre-development partner, Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners, under a public-private partnership.

Opening dates have moved before. The Santa Monica Daily Press reported in January 2026 that earlier targets had shifted among 2033, 2035 and 2038, and that the new alignment had no firm date. Metro expects the recirculated environmental report in 2027 and says it should not delay the overall schedule. SOHA's transportation chair, Bob Anderson, wrote in the association's October 2026 newsletter that SOHA's public records requests showed design work finishing in March 2027 and environmental work at the end of 2028.

Local groups support the route and remain uneasy about it. The Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council formally backed the modified alternative in February 2026. SOHA's board voted unanimously to support it. In the same newsletter, SOHA listed concerns about the exact route, noise and vibration under some residential areas, cost, funding and schedule. For anyone buying near Van Nuys Boulevard, the tunnel alignment is the question that hasn't been settled.

Where Sherman Oaks Is Adding Homes Right Now

While both schedules play out, new housing in Sherman Oaks is coming from a different source. Urbanize LA reported in September that IMT Residential will convert the former Sunkist headquarters at 14130 Riverside Drive into 95 homes. The building is AC Martin's 1970s brutalist landmark next to the 101, roughly 125,000 square feet, and KFA Architecture is leading the conversion. Units will range from studios to three bedrooms, with the smallest at 516 square feet. The project uses the citywide adaptive reuse ordinance. It follows Citrus Commons, IMT's development on the same site's former parking lots, which added 249 apartments and a Trader Joe's.

None of that depends on a station. Office conversions and mixed-use projects are adding units today, the Low-Rise Ordinance allows small projects on mapped lots, and the full SB 79 standards are paused until about 2030. Metro has not yet set an opening year for the train.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a Sherman Oaks station on Sepulveda Boulevard? Not in Metro's current station list. The Valley stops are Van Nuys Metrolink, G Line/Van Nuys and Ventura/Van Nuys.

Can I comment on the station locations? Yes, through November 18, 2026. Metro is holding a Sherman Oaks scoping meeting on Monday, November 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sherman Oaks East Valley Adult Center, 5056 Van Nuys Bl, Building B. There's also a Saturday, November 14 session at the Marvin Braude Constituent Center, 6262 Van Nuys Bl. You can also comment online, by email or by phone through the project page.

Does the 2030 pause mean nothing changes near the stations until then? No. The pause covers the full SB 79 standards. The Low-Rise Ordinance has been in effect since June 30, 2026, on eligible lots in mapped Opportunity Station Areas.

If you're weighing a home near Ventura and Van Nuys, I can help you look up the parcels on that block, line up what's allowed today against what Metro hasn't decided yet, and build your offer around both. Sally Greene works with buyers and sellers across Sherman Oaks, so Let's Connect before the November 18 comment deadline.