Los Angeles Film School may erect building at intersection where Hollywood farmers market is held

City officials trying to forge an agreement between the Hollywood farmers market and the Los Angeles Film School said they were surprised to learn that the school is considering building a major development at the intersection the market has called home every Sunday since 1991.

A film school official revealed plans for a large classroom building at Ivar and Selma avenues two weeks ago at a meeting with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

“That was the first we heard about it. We were shocked,” said Yussef Robb, who works for Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti. In December, Garcetti — whose district includes the site — stepped in to help the two parties negotiate a dispute over access to the school’s parking garage.

Antoine Ibrahim, a spokesman for the film school, said plans for the building are still theoretical and have nothing to do with the school’s current request that the market move to provide unhindered access to that garage. “But we’re trying to be as open as possible,” Ibrahim said.

The market has long closed off a two-block stretch of Ivar to traffic on Sunday mornings. But in December, the city denied the market a permit for one of those blocks — in part because school officials complained that the market cut off the garage entrance. Representatives from both parties have been meeting twice a month in a push to resolve the dispute before April 12, when a 90-day extension of the market’s street closure permit expires.

The organizers of the market would not comment on the proposed film school building, other than to say it would not affect negotiations.

Robb said that at this point it looks as if the market will be able to stay in its current location. “We got involved because we want the farmers market right where it is,” Robb said. “We’re pretty optimistic that things will be the same.”

kate.linthicum@latimes.com