New parking approved for Magnolia Park
Paul Clinton
MAGNOLIA PARK -- The final stage of street improvements to Magnolia
Park got the approval of the City Council Tuesday in a move one merchant
said was a long time coming.
“They’ve promised it for years,” said Mary Christensen, the owner of
Bell Cottage on Magnolia Boulevard. “It’s about time they did it.”
With a unanimous vote, the council agreed to move forward Tuesday with
plans to install a 17-space parking lot at the corner of Magnolia
Boulevard and Kenwood Street.
The lot will add much-needed spaces to an area fraught with parking
problems, said Redevelopment Project Manager Bill Emmett.
“The big issue is parking,” Emmett said. “So we wanted to do as much
as we could.”
The lot will complete approximately $1.3 million in work to “spruce
up” the district, Emmett said.
The city has also put in angled parking on Cordova, Avon and Lima
streets, which added nine additional spaces. Decorative sidewalks and
landscaping were also installed along the two blocks of Magnolia
Boulevard east of Hollywood Way.
The property where the lot will be built is currently owned by the Los
Angeles Department of Water and Power. Burbank will pay the Los Angeles
utility $33,000 to lease the land for 10 years. Construction on the lot,
which is situated under power lines, is scheduled to begin in early next
year.
Residents and merchants in the district, which is mostly comprised of
small businesses such as antique shops and recording studios, have long
complained that the city has ignored Magnolia Park to fund improvements
in Burbank Village and other areas of the city.