Zoning Board Upholds Conditions for Motel

Siding with residents who contend the business is a magnet for crime, a Los Angeles zoning board on Tuesday upheld rules imposed on a $22.95-a-night North Hills motel, including a requirement that its owners hire 24-hour guards.

After a 2 1/2-hour hearing, the five-member Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously denied the appeal by the Allstar Inn against requirements placed on the establishment in June by Associate Zoning Administrator Andrew Sincosky.

Board members modified some of the 24 requirements somewhat, but added two conditions of their own.

“Actually, I think they came away worse off than they were,” said Sincosky, who also declared the motel a public nuisance.

Residents and an aide to Councilman Joel Wachs, who represents the area, declared victory after the hearing.

“We’re very happy. The neighborhood watch won the battle,” resident Janet Young said.

The motel’s attorney, former City Atty. Burt Pines, said the owners--Allstar Inns Inc. of Santa Barbara--already had agreed to some of the conditions. “There were just a few we took issue with,” he said. “Our client is sympathetic to community concerns and has voluntarily initiated many of these measures.”

But Pines said hiring additional guards is too costly. His client has not decided whether to appeal the board’s decision to the City Council, Pines said.

Complaints about the motel at 15711 Roscoe Blvd. were brought before the area’s Neighborhood Watch group earlier this year. The complaints included alleged drug dealing, prostitution, noise, fights and other disturbances.

Residents cited police statistics showing that patrol cars were called to the Allstar Inn 138 times in 1991.

The city’s zoning ordinance required the motel to obtain a conditional use permit to operate when it was established. Sincosky found that the businesses had not complied with some requirements of that permit, including construction of a wall at the rear of the property to prevent motel residents from entering neighboring yards.

Pines said the motel owners appealed Sincosky’s recommendations because some would be too costly for a business that is losing money, especially a requirement for 24-hour guards, which Pines said will cost $100,000 a year.

Pines said the motel operators were pleased with modifications to some of Sincosky’s recommendations, including a reduction from 10 feet to 8 in the height of the concrete wall the owners are required to build.

The board also set a 15-day limit on motel stays, rather than the seven days suggested by Sincosky. It changed a requirement for a screen to be installed on the building’s second floor to the planting of large trees around the motel.

The zoning appeals board added two conditions of its own. The motel’s manager will be required to attend neighborhood watch meetings at least once every three months, Sincosky said. Also, the conditions must be recorded with the county recorder’s office, so they will be spelled out if the business is sold.