Public’s Input Is Key to Development Issues

* As reported in The Times on July 12, the Los Angeles Board of Building and Safety Commissioners voted 5 to 0 that the city Department of Building and Safety “erred and abused its discretion” when it granted a building permit for a proposed In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Studio City. Our question is, how did this occur?

Since there are numerous agencies within the city government (i.e. community safety, city planning, Department of Traffic, etc.,) whose job it is to review a site before approval by Building and Safety, why didn’t they do their respective jobs and why wasn’t City Hall aware of this?

Studio City lost one of its fire stations in the Northridge earthquake and it still has not been rebuilt because proposed sites couldn’t satisfy the city’s environmental impact studies. One such site was across the street from a gas station and was rejected because of soil contamination. Yet no such study was required to get a building permit for a drive-through restaurant whose kitchen would be situated directly on a site that had contained gas storage tanks for many years, and whose driveways would be within 10 feet of freeway entrance ramps. Could it be that in the city’s enthusiasm to rebuild our communities, it has somehow overlooked the importance of these preliminary agencies that were created to protect the health and safety of its citizens?

As participants in the community-based policing program and Neighborhood Watch, we have learned that the first step to a better community is when the citizens accept responsibility for their own area. This includes not only things such as graffiti removal, crime awareness and prevention, but also a willingness to impact the planning and development of their city.

Another step must be that our politicians and city officials communicate with us before projects like the In-N-Out Burger and the proposed multimillion-dollar expansion of Universal Studios get approved and started. To fulfill our new city slogan, “Together We’re the Best,” we must have opportunities like public hearing and planning forums so that our input can be heard. We are not the silent partners in Mayor Riordan’s New Los Angeles Marketing Partnership.

PAMELA and RALPH VENTURA

Studio City