So many important community issues were aired at the January 2012 Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce Board meeting, that it may well be a preview of what the new year has in store for the community of Eagle Rock.
On the latest work of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council Land Use Committee, we learned that Cacao Mexicatessen will be taking over the entire building to expand their restaurant and serve a complete line of alcoholic beverages. The Eufloria flower shop owned and run by the same family that occupies the other half of the building will be leaving the premises.
A new development is in the works for the 4900 block of Eagle Rock Boulevard, across from the SuperA/ CVS shopping center. A 7500 foot retail development would occupy the ground floor from Yosemite Drive to Fair Park, with 35 units of apartments above in the three story proposed buildup. Low income units would be included. Hubert’s barber shop sets within the footprint of the proposed building, and has a separate owner from the Nazarene Church which sold the rest of the block there. The Hubert’s property owner does not want to sell, and developers of the proposed project say they’ll build around it if they can’t make a deal to purchase it.
A possible mixed use development on the next block north is also delayed for the same reason. Plans are on hold there until adjacent property owners between Fairpark and Chickasaw decide it is time to sell.
Another mixed use property, the big ugly orange senior and low income building on Colorado and College View lost a tenant recently, when the Glenrock Pharmacy found a better deal in the mini-mall across from Bank of America, where the La Fuentes and OK Chinese food is. This leaves the building without any visible ground floor business tenant.
The Kurken building, as it is known for the owner/developer Kurken Alanakian, was the subject of continued discussion as business neighbors adjacent to that property allege that tenants who live in that building must pay extra to rent a parking space if they own a car and want to park it in the lot. They claim that this includes the disabled who have official parking placards, and that those vehicles are using up all of the available boulevard and side street parking while the parking lot remains empty. CD14 deputy Kai Newkirk found this interesting enough to promise to look into it and others wondered out loud if Mr. Alanakian would have been allowed to build if the community knew that future tenants would not be allowed to park there without paying an extra fee.
He has responded before that he thought it unfair to include garage parking in the rent when not all the tenants drive and would not want to pay for something they do not use. Calls for comment from Kurken building representatives were not returned by press time.
All were glad to hear in a report from the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan Design review board (DRB) that the vacancy of the former Security Bank turned Blockbuster Video was being filled by the local branch of the Chase Bank, which now is at the Super A/ CVS center. The Design Review Board had frowned upon their plan for a giant neon “NOW OPEN” sign that would sit behind the front windows for the first few months before being changed to some other ad message later.
Trader Joe’s Market was asked by the DRB to retain the mural on the front of their Eagle Rock Store, and to do some landscaping in front of the newly built retaining walls that bound the recently enlarged parking lot. The DRB meets the 1st and 3rd Thursdays and will meet next on February 2 at the Eagle Rock Library, 6:30 p.m.
Next, CD14 Rep. Newkirk reported on the Take Back the Blvd. meeting about possible changes to Colorado Boulevard. He said 60 to 70 attended, and there was pretty clear consensus on three ideas. They were reducing the traffic lanes from three each way to two, creating bicycle lanes and creating curb “bumpouts” that shorten the crosswalks by bringing the curbs and sidewalks out toward the center divider at intersections. The office of Jose Huizar, the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council and TERA had provided funding for the consultants hired to facilitate this public process.
Chamber treasurer Robert DiPietro pushed for the process to include increased parking through the use of angled and perhaps reverse angled parking, which is being tried in other cities. Newkirk said that the width of the Boulevard would not allow that if the grassy medians are to be retained.
A short report on the Yosemite Park task force was heard, where many handball players had showed up at the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council meeting to protest possible new rules about requiring players to wear shirts and a change in the configuration of the court walls, where the sides might be removed to remove a possible hiding space for criminal activity. Newkirk encouraged all to look at and comment on the City Council re-districting when it comes out. The next meeting is January 25, 2012, 4p.m. at the Van Nuys City Hall.
Finally, the recent issues of medical marijuana dispensaries and happy-ending massage parlors again came up. Newkirk mentioned that a motion by his boss, Jose Huizar, would ban the marijuana shops completely until the California Supreme Court rules on municipalities’ ability to regulate such shops. Others wondered aloud if the highly touted recent reduction in crime was due to the de-facto legalization of prostitution and marijuana.
A fire that may have started in a carport and spread to the attic of a home at 2133 Yosemite Drive started around noontime on Wednesday January 4, 2012. There were no injuries, but about a dozen units responded because of the fire’s proximity to the neighboring apartment building to the rear of the property.