Displaying the Positive Side

A recent flap over merchants displaying their goods on the sidewalks of Ventura Boulevard illustrates the difficulty in keeping the San Fernando Valley’s premiere commercial strip the kind of place that serves the economic needs of shopkeepers and the aesthetic desires of nearby residents.

Neighbors want Los Angeles city inspectors to crack down on store owners who put racks of clothes or chairs or even decorative planters on the sidewalks outside their shops, complaining that they impede pedestrian traffic and junk up the neighborhood by creating the look of a swap meet. City law is on their side: It prohibits almost everything on public sidewalks. Even seating for a sidewalk cafe requires a costly permit calculated on a per-chair basis. But small shopkeepers argue that pretty potted plants or a few tasteful pieces of merchandise do wonders for their business and actually improve the ambience of a district.

Seeking common ground, City Councilman Michael Feuer wants the Public Works Department to take a look at the laws to see if there’s a way to grant merchants some much-needed wiggle room. For instance, shopkeepers might be granted minor encroachments to put flower boxes or small shrubs outside their stores. Tougher, though, is what to do about merchandise displays, which raise the ire of neighbors most.

We find little harm in allowing small displays outside shops. They encourage people to get out of their cars and walk--one of the ostensible goals of the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan. They provide small merchants the opportunity to lure shoppers without costly advertising. In Culver City, for instance, the City Council rescinded its prohibition on sidewalk displays in an effort to drum up foot traffic in commercial districts. Such a proposal along Ventura Boulevard would require revisions not only to citywide laws, but also to the Specific Plan--a move critics would no doubt fight on aesthetic grounds. Limits and guidelines must, of course, be imposed to prevent safety hazards and abuse. But the current absolutism is strangling.

Beauty, the old saying goes, is in the eye of the beholder. Though it’s easy to debate the curb appeal of a rack of clothes or a few antique end tables, few would argue the beauty of a row of empty, boarded-up shops. Ventura Boulevard is home to an eclectic mix of mom-and-pop storefronts and national retail chains, all existing cozily along one of the few places in the Valley where people get out of their cars and walk for the sake of walking. Flexibility is critical to keeping that ambience alive.