Builder, Neighbors to Discuss Carwash

A developer who wants to tear down a popular Studio City carwash and gas station to make way for a mini-mall, setting off a clash with neighbors who want it declared a cultural monument, said Friday he will meet with community leaders in hopes of negotiating a compromise.

Builder Ira Smedra will discuss changes to his proposed $15-million, two-story shopping center with representatives of five community groups, a spokesman for his company said. After the private meeting on Tuesday afternoon, local residents will gather to discuss Smedra’s offer, neighborhood leaders said.

Smedra’s proposal to demolish the carwash and gas station at Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards, which dates back to 1929, has prompted Studio City residents, who oppose construction of the mini-mall, to demand that Los Angeles officials declare the site a cultural landmark.

In addition to honoring the role of the automobile in the development of the San Fernando Valley, such a designation would preserve a unique 1950s-era structure topped by a tower of 55-foot-tall boomerang-shaped steel beams, residents contend.