VAN NUYS : 4 Motels Again Told to Hire Security

A city zoning panel Tuesday denied the appeals of four Van Nuys motel owners who were ordered to hire security to curb prostitution, but the panel amended some of the conditions it imposed.

The Board of Zoning Appeals decision was a mixed victory for the owners and managers of the motels, which include the Bali Hi, the Town House, the El Cortez and the Cinema.

Police had accused the four motels plus a fifth--the Chateau Motel--with being magnets for prostitution and other crimes. That resulted in a city zoning decision last month to impose 27 conditions on each motel. All but the Chateau, which is closed, filed an appeal.

The key conditions appealed were a $4,052 payment to cover the cost of the city’s investigation into the motels’ activities, and the security provision, which ordered each motel to have a security guard on site for eight hours a day and to have 24-hour on-call security service.

Estimates for the security service ranged between $45,000 and $60,000 a year, a cost each motel said it could not afford.

“I just want to stay in business,” said Richard Cohen, the owner of the Cinema Motel, who said the cost of on-site security would drive his nine-unit motel, which he has owned for 19 years, out of business.

But residents, such as Van Nuys Homeowner’s Assn. President Don Schultz, who complained about prostitution along Sepulveda Boulevard cautioned the board to take the owners’ plight with a grain of salt.

“I don’t want you being snookered,” Schultz told the board.

Other residents, like Neighborhood Watch activist Romana Catton, supported the 24-hour security patrol plan. It was also endorsed by City Councilman Marvin Braude, who initiated the actions against the motels.

In trying to reach a compromise between the residents and motel owners, the board denied the appeal but amended several of the conditions.

“Prostitution is an age-old problem,” said board member James Acevedo. “It’s not the fault of business owners who happen to be in a particular area, and it’s not the fault of people who live in the area.”

The Cinema, El Cortez and the Town House were told to adopt either the original security condition or the 24-hour patrol, which would cost about $10,000 a month and would be shared by the motels.

A patrol car would make periodic stops at the motels along a 2.9-mile stretch of Sepulveda Boulevard, from Camarillo Street to Sherman Way.

The board suggested that the affected motels ask other motels along the boulevard to share the cost.

Lloyd Levine, owner of the Cabana Motel, said he would be inclined to join the security effort, even though his motel was not targeted by the city as a problem spot.

The Bali Hi was ordered to retain an eight-hour daily security guard.

The board excused both the El Cortez and the Town House from the $4,052 fee. The Bali Hi was ordered to pay the full fee, and the Cinema was ordered to pay half.

If no other appeals are filed, the four motels would have up to 100 days to implement the security patrol, pay the fees and comply with the other conditions, including not renting rooms for less than 24 hours.