ENCINO : Proposed Move of Park Food Stand Opposed

Julian Montoya just wants to move the concession stand at Balboa Park 500 yards to a better location, but he’s run up against the wrath of neighbors who say the stand will bring unwanted traffic and trash near their homes.

Montoya, concessionaire for Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area, said the Balboa Park Food Service food stand near the corner of Balboa and Burbank boulevards “is not a money-making proposition” and must be moved to a busier spot.

On an average weekday, the stand pulls in only about $45 to $75 per day, hardly enough to cover labor costs, he said.

Montoya wants to move to what he hopes will be a more profitable location near the soccer fields and baseball diamonds, next to the maintenance building at the end of the parking lot, about 100 yards from homes on Wish Avenue.

Neighbors and police oppose the move. The parks office has received a petition signed by more than 100 neighbors, and Denise Binder, planning deputy for City Councilwoman Laura Chick, who is against the move, said Chick’s office has received about two dozen phone calls from concerned residents.

“I mean, the place is enormous,” neighbor Esther Schwartz said. “It seems to me there must be some place to put it without putting it up against the houses.”

Los Angeles Police Capt. Val Paniccia said police disapprove of the proposed new location because “it’s out of public view. People might stand around and loiter in the park . . . it doesn’t seem like a real good idea to hide a business in the back of a park.”

But Montoya said the concession stand actually helps prevent crime. The food stand workers are connected to park rangers by radio and are always watching for trouble, he said. Montoya has even hired extra park rangers out of his own pocket to keep drunks and illegal vendors out of the area, he said.

“We came and, with the cooperation of rangers, we cleaned the park. And people object to that?” Montoya said.

Tom Petrique, management analyst for the San Fernando Valley region of the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department, said the parks department wants to help Montoya, who may leave the park if he doesn’t find a new spot for the food stand.

“He is not providing a service if he’s not at the right location,” Petrique said.

Park officials are looking into completing an environmental impact study of the new site and plan to hold a public hearing once the study is complete.