RESEDA : Coalition Seeks to Revitalize Region

Contending that the earthquake has left Reseda at a critical point in its history, a group of government and business representatives has formed a coalition to try to renew the community.

The group, which has yet to name itself, met for the first time Tuesday. Its members include representatives from police, the Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick’s office and a business watch group.

Tom Hilborn, president of the Reseda chamber, said members believe that if things are going to change in Reseda, they had better change now.

Hilborn and other local business owners have long complained that Reseda has been sliding into slow decline. Many say the neighborhood’s heyday was in the 1950s; since then, it has lost much of its former glory as a middle-class retail shopping center.

“We are at a pivotal point,” Hilborn said. “We will either go straight uphill or straight downhill.”

Small businesses still thrive in Reseda’s central business areas around Sherman Way and Reseda Boulevard, but over the years, longtime residents have become increasingly edgy about the number of pawnshops, repair shops and liquor outlets that have crept in.

“Citizens in the area aren’t shopping in Reseda,” Los Angeles Police Officer Stephanie Tisdale said. “They are going to where they feel safer.”

“I don’t think the crime rate is higher in Reseda,” she said. “It’s the look.”

Now that look has worsened. The Jan. 17 quake wiped out buildings in some of the area’s oldest retail sections, including a flower store and upholstery shop at Reseda Boulevard and Sherman Way.

Hilborn said many absentee landlords who have let their properties deteriorate now must renovate or abandon them.

Hilborn said business owners in Reseda will soon receive a survey from the coalition asking basic questions about what improvements are needed to upgrade the area.

The coalition plans to contact landlords of empty buildings to find out their plans for improvements. Tisdale said a theme for development, a window decorating program and a neighborhood fair are also in the works.