The November meeting of the GWNC Land Use Committee focused largely on just one project – a proposed new restaurant and sports bar at 5901 Melrose Ave.
Project Details
According to developer Diego Torres-Palma, of Ventana Ventures, the new Pawn Shop LA (the name is a nod to the old Brothers Collateral business, which occupied the location for several decades) would restore the two-story 1930s Art Deco building and turn it into a 275-seat sports-themed restaurant/pub.
In his presentation to the committee on November 28, Torres-Palma said the 5,800 square-foot main floor of the establishment will have 218 seats…
…and there will be an additional 57 seats in the second-story spaces, including a loft lounge and seven private viewing suites.
Additionally, Torres-Palma said, there will be “museum-quality decor” by design firm Omnigivning throughout the building.
And there will be a full (Type 47) liquor license, with a menu featuring burgers, pizza, soups, salads, and snacks created by James Beard Award-winning chef Tony Messina.
Torres-Palmas said parking for the business will be on a separate parcel adjacent to the lot where the building sits, which is currently being used as parking for the Wagon Wheel preschool. And when the pub opens, it will hire a valet service, which should be able to stack 30-40 cars on site (similar to the parking systems used by the nearby Providence and Marino restaurants).
Torres-Palma said the pub may also lease additional parking space from other nearby businesses after their normal operating hours. This could include space at a new 4-story parking structure now being built just to the north on Cahuenga, and/or possibly at the car wash next door.
Finally, Torres-Palma said Ventana Ventures has applied for operating hours from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, though he also told the committee that his intended business hours are Monday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to midnight, and Friday-Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Full food service would end at 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 11 p.m. Friday-Sunday, with last call half an hour before closing each night.
Also, in addition to those regular operating hours, Torres-Palma said he’s requesting a condition that would allow the business to be open for the full 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. span a maximum of 10 times per year, to facilitate live viewing of international sporting events such as World Cup soccer matches and the Olympics, wherever they’re being held.
In short, Torres-Palma said, he’s hoping to create a comfortable, affordable gathering place where “people can have a good time for $40 or less.”
Committee Discussion
One of the major issues raised by Land Use Committee members after Torres-Palma’s presentation was whether or not an Environmental Impact Report and/or a traffic study for the project would be done, especially since the new business would represent a change of use from the retail business that preceded it. Torres-Palma said he’s been told that an EIR is not necessary, and that he didn’t know whether or not a traffic study would be required, but that he would ask his expediter about it. [Editor’s note: the Buzz contacted the Department of City Planning about the EIR and traffic study, and was told that “conditional use applications for alcohol [which is what Torres-Palma has applied for] do not require a traffic report or EIR.” We also checked on the change of use issue, and found this checklist from the LA Department of Building & Safety, which also does not seem to require EIRs or traffic studies for an official change of use.]Â
Another issue raised by Land Use Committee members was the private viewing suites proposed for the upper level of Pawn Shop LA. Several members said the plan sounds similar to private karaoke suites at other kinds of bars, some of which in our area in the past were noted for various kinds of illicit behavior. Torres-Palma said, however, that these spaces would be for group sports viewing, very different from private karaoke suites, and there will be no bottle service to the rooms, as some karaoke bars offer.
Committee members also asked about the possibility of live entertainment – such as music and/or DJs – and Torres-Palma said that while he has included live entertainment in his permit request, it would not include music or DJs, only occasional live appearances and possible interviews of major sports stars. Those kinds of events do technically qualify as “live entertainment” in the city’s permitting system, Torres-Palma said, even though he plans no music or other live entertainment. But that may be a moot point anyway, Torres-Palma added, saying he just recently met with LAPD, and was told that it could write a special condition for the business to allow just the live interviews, so he wouldn’t need a full live entertainment permit.
Another question raised during the committee discussion was the location of entrances to and exits from the property. Torres-Palma said there will be no entrances for either cars or people on Melrose, because the street is so busy and the sidewalk is so narrow. Instead, he said, cars will enter the parking lot from Cahuenga, and the only pedestrian door will be on the side of the building facing the parking lot.
Committee members also told Torres-Palma that because alcohol permits “run with the land,” and not a specific business operator, the conditions of those permits need to be “a good fit for the community” before they can support an application. They also noted that all other restaurants in the area close at 10 or 11 p.m., not 2 a.m., and questioned how hours that late could be a good fit with existing business patterns. But Torres-Palma said the hours he is proposing are a starting point only, and if they’re not supported by customers after the business opens, he’s happy to make adjustments. That didn’t satisfy some committee members, though, who said they need to see firmer commitments, consistency, and reliability up front.
Also regarding hours and the current application, committee member Jane Usher asked Torres-Palma why he chose to submit a standard Conditional Use Permit application instead of going through the city’s newer and simpler Restaurant Beverage Program, but Torres-Palma said that the program requires a 10 or 11 p.m. closing time, and is also specifically for restaurants with a maximum of 150 seats, which is much smaller than his proposed business.
Finally, among committee questions, committee member Rory Cunningham generally praised Torres-Palmas’ restoration goals for the building but mourned the loss of the decorative ceiling inside, which has already been removed. Cunningham also asked if there are any plans to replace the original parapet wall on the structure’s exterior (see photo below), and Torres-Palma replied that he is “in discussions” about that possibility.
Public Comments
After the committee discussion, several members of the public spoke in strong opposition to the project.
David Trainer, a resident of the adjacent Hancock Park neighborhood and former member of the GWNC Land Use Committee, urged the committee to recommend that the GWNC board oppose the Pawn Shop LA application, saying that while Torres-Palma claims to have more than 70 letters from members of the community who support the project, he is confusing “customers” with “community.” Trainer said Torres-Palma’s good intentions are “beside the point” because the combination of late-night hours, alcohol, and sports viewing is simply a guarantee for lots of late-night noise and disruptions. Trainer said the nearby neighbors do not support the project, which should be located somewhere like Hollywood and Highland instead of near a residential neighborhood.
Next, Cindy Chvatal-Keane, the president of the Hancock Park Homeowners Association, which held a meeting about the Pawn Shop LA project the night before the Land Use Committee meeting, said the more than 40 neighbors who attended the neighborhood meeting “vehemently opposed” the project, especially the proposed late-night hours, alcohol sales until 2 a.m., and traffic issues. Also, Chvatal-Keane pointed out that for a restaurant to open at 6 a.m., staff has to arrive at 4 or 5 a.m….and with a 2 a.m. closing, staff members don’t leave until 3 or 4 a.m., which means an establishment open from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. will generate activity – and potential neighborhood disruptions – pretty close to 24 hours per day. Chvatal-Keane said the HPHA voted to oppose the project as currently presented, but would be happy to continue discussions with Torres-Palma, and to review any changes he might be willing to make to his plans.
Finally among the neighbors speaking in detailed opposition, Larchmont Village resident Sam Uretsky, who has led fights against other several other restaurants requesting late-night hours in the area, as well as neighbors working to close down two notorious party houses, added his voice to the chorus saying there’s no reason to break the neighborhood’s existing pattern of 10 or 11 p.m. restaurant closures.
Uretsky said he’s also concerned that under Torres-Palma’s current plan, food service at the restaurant would end at 10 p.m., but alcohol service would continue until 2 a.m. Uretsky said neighbors definitely do not want a huge discharge of people who have been drinking for hours into the neighborhood at 2 a.m. And the later it gets, he said, the worse it gets, with no way to mitigate the noise of drunken people on neighborhood streets.
Overall, Uretsky said he does like Torres-Palma’s concept for the business, but thinks it belongs further north on Vine St., and not in a residential area. And he, like Trainer, said he doesn’t believe Torres-Palmas’ claims of neighborhood support, especially since neighbors recently voted strongly against a proposed restaurant at 5750 Melrose, which also requested late-night hours and was much smaller than the one Torres-Palma is proposing. Uretsky said in that case, the neighbors said being open until 11 p.m. would be OK with them, but after that, too much door slamming and other noise “creates havoc,” with little difference from the kinds of party house disruptions they’ve also been fighting recently.
“There is nothing about this idea – which I like – that belongs in this neighborhood,” said Uretsky. And he added that he could collect 132 letters from neighbors opposed to the project, if that’s what it takes to defeat the proposal.
During a short discussion among committee members before a vote, committee member Daniella Prowizor-Lacayo said the neighborhood does need a gathering place for young adults…but she agrees that the lengthy hours Torres-Palma is requesting are concerning.
Committee member Mark Alpers reiterated concerns he expressed earlier in the meeting that Torres-Palmas’ plans are still not fully solidified – “it’s a moving target, all maybes” – and said it’s important to him that the plans get firmed up, and that all activity for the business be kept north of Melrose.
Finally, committee member Jane Usher moved that the committee recommend that the GWNC board oppose the project as presented because the applicant was “unable to address the concerns of the Committee regarding hours of operation, security, public safety, traffic, parking, historic preservation, noise, and CEQA compliance.” She also further recommended that Torres-Palma return to a future committee meeting for further discussion, consideration, and answers to these issues.
In the end, the committee members voted unanimously in favor of Usher’s motion, which will be on the agenda for a vote by the full GWNC board at its next meeting on Wednesday, December 13, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Ebell of Los Angeles (743 S. Lucerne Blvd.)
Other Business
In other business at the November meeting, Land Use Committee members voted to cancel their December 26 meeting, and adopted the same pattern as the GWNC board recently set for its future meetings – holding the first meeting of each quarter in person, starting in January, 2024, and then next two meetings each quarter via Zoom. The next Land Use Committee meeting will be held in person, at 6:30 p.m. on January 23, in the Board Room at Marlborough School.
