VAN NUYS : Motel Owners Split on Prostitution Issue

The issue of how to weed out customers who may be prostitutes divided Sepulveda Boulevard motel owners who attended a meeting Tuesday at the Carriage Inn in Van Nuys.

“I don’t think we can operate a motel if we have to get a driver’s license for everybody who rents a room,” said Lloyd Levine, owner of the Cabana Motel, “because, unfortunately, people who aren’t married to each other want to use a motel now and then. That’s been part of the innkeeper business for years.”

“All I can say is that we have been checking IDs forever,” said Harold Peskin, manager of the Carriage Inn. “We’ve been in business 30 years. They can’t say it’s going to put the motel out of business.”

Four of the motels present at the meeting have been ordered to check identification and hire security as part of 27 conditions imposed by the Los Angees city Zoning Department to alleviate prostitution and other illegal activities.

The motels include the El Cortez, the Cinema, the Town House and the Bali Hi.

Owners also were concerned about stopping men who sneak in with a prostitute and then leave, allowing the prostitute to use the room to turn more tricks.

“If there is a problem, you can call us and we can come out there and take care of it,” said Los Angeles Police Officer Joe Losorelli. “If they are not registered, they can be evicted from the room.”

Also, Losorelli said, police are working on a list of known convicted prostitutes that could soon be circulated among local motels, allowing them to tell if their customers are prostitutes simply by checking their identification.

And because of a new mapping program initiated by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office in April, motel management could call police to arrest these prostitutes simply for being on Sepulveda Boulevard.

Although some motels bemoaned having to take more responsibility for the problem, most of the 10 motel owners attending Tuesday’s meeting realized it will take more than complaining to ease the problem of crime near their locations.

“What we can do is just be a little more careful of who we rent to,” said Levine.