STUDIO CITY : Permit Parking Starts Near Intersection

A permit-parking district, long sought by residents concerned about business parking on neighborhood streets, has been created near the intersection of Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards.

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council established the seven-block district, located southwest of the intersection.

“It’s a great victory after a long fight, and it will help Studio City residents get some relief,” said Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn.

The permit-parking district will include the residential area bounded by Ventura Boulevard, Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Viewcrest Road and Laurel Terrace Drive. In the district, non-permit holders will be allowed to park for two hours at a time between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. six or seven days a week, depending on the street.

City transportation engineer Rafael Prepena said it takes about three months to get the signs made and as long as a month to put them up. By that calculation, the signs would be posted in mid-July.

Lucente said last October that his residents group had been trying to get permit parking for more than two years. Residents complained that, in addition to creating parking shortages, customers and workers who park on residential streets make it difficult for them to see oncoming traffic as they back out of their driveways.

Also last fall, neighbors expressed concern about the city’s decision to allow Art’s Deli to reopen with only six parking spaces. Harold Ginsburg, a co-owner of the eatery, said his business is sensitive to its neighbors’ needs and feels that it is up to the city to build a public parking structure in the area.

The city is in negotiations to buy land for a public parking lot across the street from the restaurant.