Studio Can’t Make a Deal on Parking

If life near the giant Paramount Studios in Hollywood were a television game show, it most assuredly would have more in common with “Family Feud” than “Love Connection.”

Hundreds of employees, game show contestants and spectators, unable to find parking on the Melrose Avenue studio lot, grapple with residents in neighborhoods west of the studio for highly prized strips of vacant curb side.

Some park their cars in front of driveways. Others intrude on private property. Still others ignore posted parking restrictions.

‘A Sore Issue’

“It is a very congested area,” said Winnie Hershewe, who lives in the 700 block of Gower Street near the studio. “I have four spaces behind my house, but a lot of (other) people can’t find parking. There are a lot of apartment buildings.”

Added Bill Chandler, an aide to Los Angeles Councilman Michael Woo, who represents Hollywood: “It has created a lot of tension between residents and Paramount. It is a sore issue for the community.”

Aware of both its parking and community relations problems, Paramount came up with a solution last year: build a 5-level, 953-space garage on a parking lot it owns at the corner of Gower and Waring Avenue. The garage would accommodate nearly four times as many cars as the lot, which is zoned for apartments but has been used for parking for more than 50 years.

What Paramount did not count on, however, was that some of its neighbors--including people who have bemoaned the local parking crunch--would oppose the new garage. Although many in the neighborhood welcome the garage, several residents and property owners closest to the parking lot have complained that it would attract crime, hurt property values and encourage even more motorists to park in the area.

“The height is going to be unsightly and an eyesore,” said Charles T. Mathews, an attorney representing Joan Temple, who owns a 2-story apartment building next to the site of the proposed garage. “They have the option of building below ground. . . . What they are saying is they don’t want to spend the money.”

In March, a Los Angeles zoning administrator, considering Paramount’s request for a variance to build the garage, agreed with the opponents. Associate Zoning Administrator Jack C. Sedwick said the garage would “dramatically change” Waring Avenue, and “the design and bulk of the structure will detrimentally affect” nearby residential properties. Sedwick suggested that Paramount build an underground garage or find additional surface parking.

Revitalization of Industry

One of the goals of planning in Hollywood is “to encourage the revitalization of the motion picture industry,” Sedwick wrote. “However, it appears that the proposed parking structure will have a negative economic impact on the adjacent properties. . . .”

But Paramount has not given up. On Tuesday, it will present its case to five members of the City Council, who will be acting as the Board of Referred Powers. Normally, appeals of zoning decisions are considered by the Board of Zoning Appeals. The city attorney ruled in May, however, that the appeals board could not hear the case because one of its members has ties to Paramount.

Paramount officials will be joined by representatives from Woo’s office, who say the garage is desperately needed. Chandler said Paramount has agreed to set the garage several feet back from the street to address complaints about its bulk. The design also includes trees and other landscaping to make the building seem less intrusive, he said.

“Many in the community are pleased because it will solve a longstanding problem,” Chandler said. “Paramount is not buying property they didn’t already own, and they are not taking any housing away to build the garage.”

In documents filed with the city’s zoning department, Paramount argues that it cannot build a subterranean garage because the water table is between 10 and 20 feet below ground level. The company also argues that the garage would return the neighborhood “to a quieter, more residential area” by removing traffic from residential streets.

90 Signed Petitions

Ann Mullaney, director of design and development at Paramount, said studio officials have met with nearby residents over the last several months in an effort to resolve their differences. About 90 residents have signed petitions supporting the garage, she said.

Mullaney said Paramount plans to build a garage similar to one it recently constructed east of the studio on Van Ness Avenue, which she said won a neighborhood beautification award.

“I think we have made a real positive, genuine effort to work this out,” she said.

Hershewe, whose husband spoke against the garage at a hearing in February, said the couple are most concerned about the hundreds of visitors who line up outside their home waiting to see game shows and other tapings. She said many of them have urinated in their back yard and have left trash. The couple are concerned the garage would bring more problems to the neighborhood unless Paramount provides security, she said.

“I have not seen that happen lately, so I assume they have taken care of it,” she said last week of her problems with visitors. “I don’t want the garage to become a hangout for gang members and that sort of thing. I personally don’t have any objections so long as it is properly supervised.”

Mullaney said she is hopeful that council members will overrule Sedwick, but in a letter responding to Paramount’s appeal, Sedwick wrote that the company has provided no compelling reason to allow the commercial development in a residential zone.