Ongoing Police Barricade OKd for Sepulveda Neighborhood

The Los Angeles City Council, told that temporary barricades have all but wiped out drug trafficking in a crime-ridden 12-square-block area of Sepulveda, voted Wednesday to allow police to continue blocking off the neighborhood as long as they deem necessary.

The action came after Councilman Joel Wachs told council members that the barricades were needed until residents of the targeted area could take control of access to the neighborhood.

Wachs predicted it would take at least a month before owners of 60 apartment buildings in the area could establish a guard station at Sepulveda Boulevard and Rayen Street, the point at which police now regulate traffic into the barricaded zone.

At a Tuesday night meeting, apartment owners formed a steering committee to study

whether to establish a guard station and how to pay for it.

At least one apartment house owner has expressed opposition to funding the station. A key issue is whether the city’s rent control law would allow them to pass the cost on to tenants.

Until two weeks ago, the area, bounded by Sepulveda Boulevard, Burnet Avenue, Nordhoff Street and Parthenia Street, was a “veritable drive-through drugstore,” said Wachs, who represents the area.

But since police cordoned off the neighborhood, using their emergency power to halt rampant crime, the area has been liberated, he said.

Police spokesmen said the barricades--similar to those erected five weeks ago in the Pico-Union neighborhood near downtown--also have proved to be cost-effective in drug-infested areas, since they require less manpower than intensive street patrols.

Capt. Mark Stevens said he has received calls from other major cities across the nation asking about the effectiveness of the barricades.

Councilwoman Gloria Molina said the Pico-Union barricades, which are in her district, have driven away drug dealers and “brought the streets back to life. Children now come out to play.”

Police have conceded that narcotics activity in neighboring areas has increased since the barricades were erected.

Molina said that when dealers move, the barricades should follow.

“Wherever these cockroaches go, we’re going to be there to stamp them out,” she said.