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L.A. Planning Commission OKs rules for fast-food eateries in South L.A.

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Ignoring a warning about heading down a “slippery slope” of regulation, the Los Angeles Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a plan to regulate new stand-alone fast-food businesses in South L.A.

The issue goes now to the City Council’s planning committee, possibly in a couple of weeks, Councilwoman Jan Perry’s office said. It would then go to the full council.

New stand-alone fast-food restaurants would have to meet several criteria, such as being at least half a mile from another fast-food outlet unless granted an exemption. Fast-food places in mixed-use developments such as shopping centers could still be built.

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The plan is not aimed only at the food that’s sold but also at preserving the land in South L.A. for diverse uses, said Eva Kandarpa, spokeswoman for Perry.

In South L.A., 72% of the restaurants are fast-food spots, while in West L.A., the total is 41%, Jason Chan of the Planning Department told the commission Thursday. The new measure would address that “over-concentration,” he said.

“Previous decades of spot zoning and neglect in planning these communities have resulted in an extreme imbalance,” Perry, who represents the area, said in a statement.

“This is one of many planning tools that we are employing to begin to correct this imbalance. We have already attracted new sit-down restaurants, full service grocery stores and healthy food alternatives, and we need to continue to do so in an aggressive manner. Ultimately, this action is about providing choices — something that is currently lacking in our community,” she said.

Several people spoke on behalf of the measure.

“Where you live has a big impact on your health,” said Lavonna Lewis, who lives in South L.A. She called the issue “a matter of life and death.”

Commissioner Diego Cardoso warned that “regulating food through land use is a very slippery slope” and said that not all fast food is unhealthy.

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No one from the California Restaurant Assn. spoke at the hearing, but the group opposes the measure, said spokesman Daniel Conway.

“It singles out our industry and adds unnecessary burdens to the process of opening a business,” he said Thursday.

Angela Fentiman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. asked the commission to put off a decision so the association could have more time to study the proposal. She said later that the additional challenges to new business development could make it difficult for companies to locate in South L.A.

mary.macvean@latimes.com

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