Victory for Proponents of Giant Empty Parking Lots

fletchersquare101, originally uploaded by Luis Lopez.

THE GIANT, EMPTY PARKING LOT near Fletcher Drive and San Fernando Road will stay giant and empty a while longer. The Home Depot has been chased away, officially, from developing the old Kmart site. This is a huge win for people who think northeast LA has plenty of jobs and that taggers don't have enough unoccupied buildings upon which to practice. And for people who love California Pizza Kitchen. Yay. Home Depot Slinks Away [Franklin Avenue] No Home Depot in Glassell Park [Curbed LA] Home Depot Abandons Plans [AV News]

Glendale Wants to Handle Our Hardware

ACCORDING TO A RUMOR at Curbed LA, Lowe's is considering a new location nearby: "I called Glendale Planning... They were happy to report that Lowe's would be building a store at the old Levitz site." The old Levitz site is at 5375 San Fernando Road West. The important word here is "West." This isn't regular San Fernando Road. It's a frontage road on the west side of the tracks. It's 90039, entirely within Los Angeles city limits, part of Atwater Village. So back off, Glendale Planning. It's not our fault your Home Depot might be closing. (Although I can already hear the next NIMBY rallying cry: "Four Lowe's Home Improvement Centers Between Northridge and Pico Rivera Are Too Many!")

'Mega' Housing On Other Side of the Tracks

While neighborhood worry-warts snivel and survey about a proposed 90-unit "mega" housing development in Atwater Village, a 44-unit "workforce" housing project - on the other side of the tracks in Glendale - is nearly complete. The City of Glendale released a list (PDF) of 700 eligible renters - from more than 13,000 lottery applicants - for apartments in the Metropolitan City Lights project. And a walk around the property this weekend shows it might be only a few more months before move-in. Find these green, gray and yellow boxes on Gardena Ave., overlooking where Los Angeles and Glendale meet, where Glendale Blvd. becomes Brand Blvd., just east of the railroad tracks.

Unlike Housing, They Like Surveys Stacked

Friends of Atwater Village is conducting a survey about the 90-unit Casitas Avenue Housing Project. Is this the scientific study developers and leaders can rely on for unbiased reporting of neighborhood preferences? Not exactly: What concerns, if any, would you have about a 90 unit apartment complex being built in Atwater Village? Check all that apply High population density Increase in crime activity Increase in noise levels Increase in air pollution Increase in traffic congestion on Casitas and adjacent streets Street parking problems Violates the "village" ambiance of Atwater Village Loss of privacy created by "high rise" complex Further overburden city services (schools, trash pickup, police/fire departments) Would encourage further high density housing development in Atwater Village Other (specify in General Comments section of survey) None You can almost taste the begrudging obligation to insert "if any" and "none" into that question. While I admire their concern over the beloved trash picker-uppers, I wonder if they could swap the city services answer for one of these: Unique architecture would provide showpiece for Atwater Village and northeast side of Los Angeles Multi-unit housing would complement development of Los Angeles Community College campus at nearby Van de Kamp bakery Would help Castias Avenue look less like a "dump" (This one's for Sung Lim Kee) Take the survey here, but be warned: full name, full address and email address are required. They'll want to know exactly where to ship the lawn signs. PREVIOUSLY: First Look at New Sci-Fi Housing in Atwater Village, What Will These Developers Think Of Next

Building a Library, One Rocking Chair At a Time

From the Los Angeles Times fact-checking department:

In an article in Sunday's California section about the success of neighborhood councils in Los Angeles, Jeff Gardner of the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council said his group had provided a local elementary school with a library. In fact, the library was funded by a grant and school funds. The Atwater council provided a rocking chair and is funding the purchase of additional library books.

I guess there weren't any weapons of mass destruction, either.

First Look at New Sci-Fi Housing in Atwater Village

First image emerges from proposed housing project on Casitas Avenue in Atwater Village. Thanks to Friends of Atwater Village: From 3234-3274 Casitas Avenue... A 4-story building with approximately 90 units/apartments ranging in size from 550 to 2,200 sq. ft. on 10 lots (5,300 sq. ft. each). The architectural design, a collaborate effort by Patterns and LRG Architects, gives a metallic 'sci-fi' feel... Mr. Marcello Spina gave a detail explanation about the philosophical aspect of his architectural design which he refereed to as 'intelligent urban design' and 'natural urban growth.' (Typos theirs. And the Patterns site is "suspended" now. See the architect's other "sci-fi" work here.) Here's an aerial look at 3234 Casitas, as it stands, just across the tracks from a future northeast campus of Los Angeles Community College at the old Van de Kamp bakery. Some people are in favor of the project, though not very diplomatically. From FAV: Ms. Sung Lim Lee (a recent electee to the AVNC Board as Business Representative) ... stated that Casitas Ave looks like a 'dump' and expressed her opinion that long time residents on Casitas should be grateful for the improvement this project would bring. But apparently there's some "public outrage." (No. Really?) Something about how the developers didn't rub everyone's shoulders enough before trying to sleep with them. The process took less then two weeks from beginning to end and totally bypassed any outreach to the various community stakeholders... As a result of the public outrage at the Board meeting regarding the lack of community outreach the AVNC Board has called for a Town Hall meeting on this matter for some time in January 2007. Hmm, what was that LA Times story about infighting among neighborhood councils? So, table this for "some time in January." Unless the council caves into its own penchant for rescheduling things. Hey, at least the H&R Block is open.

At Least the Psychic Saw It Coming

The Atwater Village Pedestrian Oriented District [PDF here] has been a subject lately on the AV forum [here] and Friends of AV blog [here].

What is it? The POD represents "communal" portions of Los Feliz Blvd. and Glendale Blvd. as they pass through Atwater Village to "encourage people in the surrounding neighborhoods to walk and shop along these streets." Click map on right to see larger vision of how the POD is "orientated."

What kind of businesses discourage walking and shopping? These apparent ne'er-do-wells, from the list of Prohibited Uses [PDF pages 3 & 4]:

• Adult Entertainment
• Auditorium
• Automotive Painting
• Automotive Repair and Service
• Automotive Sales, used
• Automotive Storage Area
• Automotive Storage Garage
• Automotive Upholstering
• Bail Bond Broker
• Baseball Batting Range
• Body Piercing Establishment
• Bowling Alley
• Cable Television Broadcasting
• Car Wash
• Day Labor Site
• Fortune Telling, Psychic
• Gasoline Stations
• Helicopter Landings
• Hospital (contagious, mental, drug and alcohol)
• Miniature Golf
• Night Club
• Open Storage Area
• Pawnshop
• Pool Halls
• Public Storage Facility
• Recycling Business
• Rescue Mission
• Restaurant, drive through
• Roller Skating Rink
• Shooting Gallery
• Skateboard Track
• Skating Rink
• Sports Arena or Stadium
• Tattoo Studio
• Tow Truck Dispatching

A finer NIMBY wishlist has hardly been produced. My favorite: "Automotive Sales, used," as if "Automotive Sales, new" is so much more pedestrian friendly. And let the NFL know Atwater Village will not be bidding for LA's new pro football stadium.

So how did existing gas stations, psychics and car washes get there? According to a Los Angeles Independent article [PDF here], they must have beat the 2001 ordinance: "Those businesses that appear on the list but already exist in the area would be exempt."

That's one way to keep the competition down.

Unneighborly Neighborhood Councils

The LA Times reports on where 86 neighborhood councils have taken the city so far:

Seven years after a network of neighborhood councils was created to give Los Angeles residents a greater voice in city politics, the groups' effectiveness remains blunted by infighting, poor community outreach and a lack of influence with key city departments...

Infighting? Surely not in our banana-shaped haven, where neighborhood elections were delayed three times. No, not here. We're too busy procuring pencils:

Jeff Gardner of the Atwater Village council said his group provided supplies to two local elementary schools, including a new library for one.