Sherman Oaks : Activists Want Public Parking Near Eatery

Community activists are concerned that a new Taco Bell restaurant proposed for Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks will eliminate the possibility of a public parking structure that they hoped would be built nearby.

Taco Bell franchise owner Nader Ashoori already has the right to build a restaurant on Ventura west of Hazeltine Avenue. Ashoori has asked the city to clarify its policy toward land behind the restaurant that he hopes to lease and use for restaurant parking.

The hitch is that city zoning codes say that the land can be used only for general parking, not parking that is required as a condition of project approval. Community activists have their hearts set on the land being used for a future parking structure that would alleviate the acute parking shortage along Ventura.

Local residents are also worried that the restaurant would become a hangout for rambunctious youths, according to Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.

The city Planning Department is expected to decide the parking issue within the next week, according to Sharon Mayer, chief field deputy for City Councilman Michael Feuer.

At a meeting Monday that included Mayer, community activists, Ashoori and city officials, the franchise operator said that he is willing to work with the city should it try to develop a public parking structure on the site in the future, Mayer said.

Ashoori said he will meet with the Ventura Boulevard Streetscape Committee next week to explain his landscaping plans.

“We don’t have a position on this at the moment,” Mayer said. “We want to come up with a solution that the community is happy with and that doesn’t impinge on the rights of Taco Bell.”