Parking Meters, Porn Club Discussed at Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council Meeting

Blue Moon Nights on Lankershim Boulevard will receive a public hearing after being cited for serving alcohol after hours and allegedly creating a nuisance in the surrounding neighborhoods. 

The nightclub has zero conditions, allowing it to stay open past 2 a.m., attracting patrons from Hollywood to the area after other bars close, Sr. Lead Officer Rob Benavidez of the LAPD North Hollywood Division told the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council on Tuesday at the Toluca Lake Elementary School. 

Benavidez spoke to the council about the alleged problems that the nightclub has brought to North Hollywood and the adjacent neighborhoods. The club is just a few blocks from Toluca Lake and West Toluca Lake. A hearing is scheduled for July 8, which will allow residents to voice their opinion on the issue, he said. 

When undercover officers visited the nightclub, they were able to buy ecstasy and a manager gave them water bottles to pour their alcohol in after 2 a.m., he said. 

"They are finding creative ways to sell liquor after hours," said Benavidez. "This could have been squashed from the beginning if we were able to get conditions that LAPD had asked for years ago." 

But illegally serving alcohol after hours isn't the only problem, he said. Patrons also go out to their cars or into the streets after visiting the nightclub in the early morning hours and drink, smoke or do drugs, he said. 

The club hosts frequent all-night dance parties that go until 6 a.m. and is also a popular location for members of the porn industry to host parties. Until recently the club was the location of a regular Thursday night "T-Party," which featured frequent appearances by performers in the transsexual adult video industry. The event was hosted by Buddy Wood, a top director of transsexual pornographic videos.

However, the club put a banner up recently saying it was under new management, and Wood announced via Twitter and his blog several weeks ago that the T-Party was cancelled due to conflicts with the new managers. But the club continues to be popular with the adult industry and as recently as last week hosted a major birthday party for adult performer Tee Reel that was attended by many other adult film stars.

Police have met with the owner of the nightclub three times in the past year, but the issues have not been resolved, said Benavidez. 

Usually, a business will not be shut down in the first hearing, he explained. The Zoning Administrator wants to build a public record with input from the community before they decide whether to shut down the business or restrict its conditions, he said. 

"It’s important that the community cares about this," said Benavidez. "That they show up to the hearing or write letters to the planning department." 

Parking Issues in Toluca Lake

Another issue from the council's Planning and Land Use Committee, the Toluca Lake parking study, was also discussed at the meeting as the council received a presentation from Matt Inman, of the parking consultation company Carl Walker. 

Inman has been working with the council to assess parking solutions in the area before the city installs parking meters along Riverside Drive. 

The company is looking to "maximize existing parking" before building any new structures, said Inman. However, they are still early in the process and are going through ideas and strategies for the neighborhood, he said. 

They don't have much time: the city, armed with funding from an economic stimulus bill, wishes to use the money on the parking meters. They have a small window in which to use that money, which is closing soon, said new GTLNC President Andrew Westall. 

The city recommends installing the parking meters next month, said Westall. The only thing holding that process up is the council's parking study with Carl Walker; they plan to share the results of the study with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and Councilman Tom LaBonge, whose district encompasses the Toluca Lake area, to see if other strategies were available besides installing meters, he said.

With that timeline in mind, the council passed a motion to approve $2,500 for an online survey about parking in Toluca Lake, focusing on Riverside Drive and Lankershim Boulevard. 

Library Manager Visits With Measure L News

The manager of the on Tujunga Avenue, Erik Surber, spoke to the council and residents about the current outcome of Measure L, which was approved by voters in March. 

Starting July 18, the branch will be open on Mondays, adding a sixth day to the library's existing hours. In the next fiscal year, the library will gain back two more nights; currently it is open only on Tuesday and Thursday nights, said Surber. The following year, they hope to secure the funding for new materials and books. In the fourth fiscal year, they hope to reopen on Sundays, he said. The changes will affect libraries across Los Angeles. 

At the beginning of the meeting, the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council approved its new board members. Andrew Westall, formally Acting President, was approved as President; Ryan Altoon, former Secretary, was approved as Vice President; Dylan Conroy was approved as Treasurer and Jessica Miller was approved as Secretary. 

The council also approved its budget for the next fiscal year.