Fire Station Plan Is Cut Back

Residents who waged a months-long fight against a new fire station in Hollywood scored a victory when city officials released plans for a scaled-back station that will preserve more than 40 units of housing.

The decision announced by Los Angeles Councilman Tom LaBonge means that several residents who had faced forced relocation will remain in their homes.

“I was very concerned about the housing,” said LaBonge, whose district includes Hollywood. “The Fire Department needs to be there to serve the community better, but that large regional facility could be scaled down to a community fire station so it doesn’t impact housing.”

Under the original plan, as many as 47 units of housing -- including four apartment buildings -- would have been destroyed to make way for a large regional fire station. The new station, made possible by a $533-million bond measure approved by voters in 2001, would have replaced Fire Station 82 on Bronson Avenue near the Hollywood Freeway. Regional stations include amenities such as classrooms, practice space and storage areas.

LaBonge initially supported the plan for a regional station but last fall residents began protesting, arguing that the city should search for a site that would not require the loss of housing.

Under the scaled-back plan, announced Jan. 28, the city will build a standard-sized station on about half as much space -- an acre at Hollywood Boulevard and Garfield Avenue. Four apartment units will be demolished, officials said.

The decision to scale back the station “should set an example that important needs such as affordable housing, a fire station or new schools don’t have to be pitted against each other,” said Larry Gross of the Coalition for Economic Survival, which assisted residents.

LaBonge said it was important to “listen and respond to the concerns of residents who felt passionately about reducing the size of the station in an effort to maintain the character of this residential neighborhood.”

Mayor James K. Hahn and Councilman Eric Garcetti had also expressed concern about the loss of housing, LaBonge said.

The current plan will still mean a move for the Velaslavasay Panorama Gallery, but LaBonge said he was committed to helping the art gallery’s owner find a new location. Construction could begin as early as fall 2004.

Not all residents are celebrating. Some still do not want a fire station in a neighborhood they view as finally on an upswing, said Katherine Etzel, a Hollywood resident and organizer.

“It’s going to be detrimental to the neighborhood,” Etzel said. “It’s going to make it more of a municipal vibe and not a commercial vibe.”

Fran Reichenbach, founder of the Franklin-Hollywood Hills Community Council, said residents there are concerned that the proposed site will increase the Fire Department’s response time for residents of the Hollywood Hills. They are pushing for a new site closer to the hills or for an expansion of the existing Bronson Avenue location. She said the response time for the Hollywood Hills is already significantly longer than for other areas of the district.

“Proposition F says clearly that the purpose for relocating and replacing fire stations is to reduce response time,” she said. “They might have a legal battle at this point, in that people in the Hollywood Hills are looking at the possibility of challenging Prop. F.”

But LaBonge said residents should not be concerned. The proposed site is 72 seconds from the existing station, he said.

“Not for one second, if I felt it would harm anybody, would I say, ‘Move this one 4 1/2 blocks east of its present location,’ ” he said. “I don’t believe it’s going to harm anybody.”