Warner Center, the office and shopping anchor of the west San Fernando Valley, would see a seismic shift in its future development under a long-range plan going before the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday.

The Warner Center 2035 Plan guides the residential and commercial growth for the 1,000-acre community and replaces the Warner Center Specific Plan adopted in 1993.

The new plan is pedestrian-oriented and divides the community into eight districts where walking and other forms of eco-friendly transportation are encouraged. The prior plan focused on mitigating the impact of traffic generated by growth.

The new plan calls for concentrating a mix of uses that are within walking distance of one another to get people out of their cars. Its intent is to create smaller streets and small “slow vehicle lanes” for bicycles, Segway-like vehicles, electric bicycles, other small electric vehicles and “any other vehicle that does not move faster than a bicycle.”

Developers will also pay a “mobility fee” that will help fund a variety of transportation improvements, including a modern streetcar system in Warner Center, which will also get some new places to go, with names like Uptown and Downtown.

“The new plan very much reinvents Warner Center as a much more walkable and transit-oriented center for the San Fernando Valley,” said Ken Bernstein, a principal city planner who has worked on the 2035 plan since about 2005.

“Warner Center now has major transit stops, and the Orange Line has been a tremendous success in bringing riders into the heart of Warner Center. The new plan recognizes that we can’t build our way out of our transportation challenges and we need to focus on Warner Center as a transit-oriented community.”

The plan calls for Warner Center’s new personality to evolve from the eight districts that will be created: College, Commerce, Downtown, North Village, Park, River, Topanga and Uptown.

The area’s northern boundary was extended north of Vanowen Street to include the Los Angeles River, hence the River District. It’s a fitting designation since the headwaters of the river are near Canoga Park High School where Calabasas and Bell creeks converge, Bernstein said.

The plan has already passed muster with the city’s planning commission and West Valley citizen groups.

“I think it’s forward moving and guiding the future of the West Valley by providing more places for commercial uses and places for people to work and live,” said architect Dennis DiBiase, vice chairman of the Woodland Hills/Warner Center Neighborhood Council.

He notes that the plan created a series of “activity nodes” near major intersections to stimulate public gatherings and pedestrian activity.

The plan now caps commercial space at about 30 million square feet and residential space at about 32 million square feet. The number of residential units tops out at 20,000, up from 9,000 now in Warner Center.

The plan can be reviewed and adjusted as time passes.

And the shift to put living spaces near workplaces is already underway.

Over the past several years large apartment and condo complexes have opened within walking distance of Orange Line stops and offices in Warner Center. And Westfield LLC is doing site-prep work on its massive $450 million The Village at Westfield Topanga. The Village, south of Victory Boulevard between Owensmouth Avenue and Topanga Canyon Boulevard, will be the cornerstone of the new development plan, said City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who represents the area.

The company’s two other nearby properties, Westfield Topanga and Westfield Promenade, are traditional malls.

The Village will bring the essence of a small community to the large urban space.

“It will be the anchor for this plan. When you look at the plan that’s what really jumps out at you, breaking up these massive city blocks that were put in place because (the prior plan) was an auto-centric plan,” Blumenfield said.

The new plan is also more forward thinking by linking up with the river to unlock potential for developing recreational opportunities.

“The idea of connecting to the river was completely foreign (in the earlier plan). The words ‘L.A. River’ had not even been spoken,” Blumenfield said.

Westfield, which is one of the biggest owners of vacant land in Warner Center, has high hopes for the plan.

“We are excited about the vision for Warner Center. A lot of hard work has gone into the plan, and we’re pleased to see it moving forward,” company spokesman Katy Dickey wrote in an email.

The Village project did trigger opposition from local residents because it includes a Costco with a gas station. The Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization sued the city over its approval process because of the additional traffic it will bring. The homeowners lost in Superior Court and the matter is now set for arbitration at the appeals court level.

John Walker, executive vice president of the group, said that it likes the focus on the new development plan.

“Woodland Hills homeowners have supported sensible development in our community. We hope the plan will increase the quality of life. That’s the bottom line,” Walker said. “They (planners) worked long and hard and did a heroic job. They have what appears to be a fair and reasonable plan for the community.”