Zoning Chief Vows Action on Skid Row ‘Crime Magnets’

The city’s chief zoning officer promised Tuesday to begin revocation proceedings within 30 days against several skid row businesses that are alleged to be crime magnets.

The promise came at a meeting of the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee, which had asked Zoning Administrator Robert Janovici to appear and explain why proceedings had not begun.

Besides drawing the promise from Janovici, the committee also agreed to recommend that the entire City Council authorize and fund a special task force to review nuisance complaints in the skid row area.

Downtown residents and business owners have been pressing for more than a year to have the city crack down on hotels, bars, liquor stores and other businesses that they contend are breeding grounds of criminal activity.

Community members have filed formal complaints against 13 businesses that they say are associated with drug sales, prostitution, public urination and harassment of passersby. They want the city to require more security guards and limits on liquor sales among other restrictions.

Last month, a Times story reported on their complaints and on the conditions in the neighborhood.

Janovici told committee members Cindy Miscikowski and Mike Hernandez that his office has been hampered in its investigation while waiting for corroborating evidence from the Police Department.

Janovici and representatives from the LAPD testified that they have limited resources to devote to nuisance enforcement and are overwhelmed with cases. The City Council is considering a proposal to streamline procedures among various city departments and hire additional staff.

Zoning officials said they had identified about 26 skid row businesses, including the 13 targeted by the community, for possible nuisance enforcement. There is enough corroborating information to schedule public hearings--called revocation proceedings--on 12 locations but Janovici said he was advised by the city attorney’s office to proceed against all of the businesses in a comprehensive manner rather than individually.

“Because of the unique circumstances in the area . . . we believe that is the most effective and legally binding way to do it,” he said. “We expect to have all materials from the police in two or three weeks and expect to go to hearings within five weeks.”

Miscikowski and Hernandez accepted Janovici’s plan up to a point: If, within 30 days, he still lacks the corroborating information for all 26 locations he should proceed against the 12 firm cases.

“I’m willing to wait another 30 days but only that,” Miscikowski said.

In public testimony, several community members argued that the zoning office should be compelled to proceed without delay. Ron Paschall, operations manager for the Central City East Assn., which represents nearby business owners, told the committee that one of the targeted locations, an alleged haven for prostitutes, was within 25 feet of a day-care center.

After the meeting, community advocates expressed wary hope that action was near.

“It’s hope that maybe we will get a public hearing on at least some of the cases,” said Zelenne Cardenas, director of an alcohol and drug prevention program. “But I’m afraid we’ll be back here in 30 days with another reason why they can’t move forward.”