Park Labrea Will Fence 156-Acre Community

The management of Park Labrea has announced plans to fence in the 156-acre community of apartment towers and townhouses for the first time since it was opened in the mid-1940s.

“It will in general restrict vehicular traffic and parking, thus preserving parking and access for the residents and guests,” said Joan Kraden, a spokeswoman for Forest City Enterprises.

Kraden said Tuesday that Forest City, which owns much of the complex, is working out the details of the $1-million-plus fencing project but that construction would start soon. Completion is expected in August.

The plan calls for closing all of the streets in Park Labrea to outside traffic, except for Hauser Boulevard, a busy north-south thoroughfare.

“Most of the other streets were being used for internal circulation and this should not create much of an impact for the public,” said Richard Jaramillo, the city’s transportation engineer for the Hollywood-Wilshire district.

Residents who put down a refundable deposit will be equipped with electronic devices to open any of 11 automatic gates for their cars, a statement issued by Forest City said. In addition, there will be three posts where security guards will clear visitors.

Residents to Get Keys

Residents will be issued keys to open pedestrian gates at street intersections.

“It’s a trend in general to have enclosed communities,” Kraden said. “The goal is to improve the quality of life in Park Labrea for the benefit of the residents there.”

The move was welcomed by City Councilman John Ferraro, who represents the Park Labrea area and who took part in a ground-breaking ceremony for the fence-and-gate project.

“In the last five, six or seven years we’ve received continuous requests from residents in Park Labrea that there be some kind of fencing and gating to make it secure,” said Sharon Keyser, Ferraro’s planning deputy.

“There are a lot of elderly people in the area, and they’re concerned about outside people coming in. We endorsed it because of the community concern,” she said.

Capt. Glenn Ackerman, commanding patrol officer for the LAPD’s Wilshire Division, said that police were aware of the residents’ concerns but that statistics do not back them up.

“Wherever there are people, there’s going to be crime. But I’m not aware of any significant violent crime (in Park Labrea) that’s any different from anywhere else in the Wilshire Division,” he said.

Officer Thomas Barnhart, a senior lead officer at the Wilshire Division, said there are so few crime reports from Park Labrea that most officers are not familiar with its maze-like streets.

“I think (residents’) perception of crimes is greater than the reality,” he said.

The installation of fences and gating will probably discourage all but the most determined criminals from trying to enter Park Labrea, Ackerman said.

“It’ll harden the target. No question about it,” he said. “That’s a very effective thing to do to fight crime.”

The cost will be passed on to the tenants under provisions of the city’s rent control law, Kraden said. The law allows landlords to charge renters for capital improvements.

A spokesman for the newly formed Park Labrea Residents Assn. said reaction to the gating project was mixed among the estimated 10,000 residents of Park Labrea.

“There’s a number of folks, principally but not exclusively senior citizens, who are extremely security-conscious, and it’s their view that the fencing and gating process can only enhance the security of the community,” said David Hamlin, chairman of the group’s communications committee.

“At the same time, there are a number of folks, and I happen to be among them, who appreciate the security considerations but have grave reservations about the impact,” he said.

Hamlin said he was concerned about backed-up traffic at the entry and exit points during rush hours, especially if some of the older residents find it difficult to handle the electronic entry devices.

He also said the proposed changes would alienate Park Labrea tenants from the surrounding community.

“At no point in the planning process were any tenants in this community consulted about anything,” he said.

But Kraden said representatives of the association were invited to the ground-breaking ceremony last month.

Although it was inhabited largely by senior citizens in previous decades, Park Labrea has been home to a more eclectic mix of residents in recent years, attracted by hardwood floors, views of the city and garden apartments that look out on grassy lawns.

Laid out in a distinctive pinwheel pattern of squares and traffic circles, the complex contains 4,212 rental units.