More Battle Over a 7-Eleven on Glendale Boulevard

The battle over a possible 7-Eleven location at 1550 N. Glendale Blvd. continues.

On Tuesday night the full Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council (GEPENC) voted 6 to 3—with two abstentions—to support the opening of a store at Glendale Boulevard and Berkeley Avenue.

The store had been hotly contested by nearby residents, who were bothered by the security, noise and traffic issues that a 24-hour establishment selling beer and wine might raise.

That support will be formalized in a letter to the city Zoning Commissioner that Neighborhood Council president Jose Sigala told Echo Park Patch Thursday that he plans to write in the next few weeks. 

The letter would incorporate a number of so-called "voluntary" restrictions on the owner of the site and 7-Eleven, developed in response to community concerns aired at neigbborhood council planning committee meetings over the last six momths.

According to representatives of 7-Eleven, these would be requested of any franchisee selected by 7-Eleven and would become part of any “conditional use permit” issued by the city.

These restrictions include creating extra parking spaces in the lot in front of the store and limiting beer and wine sales at the location to the hours between 10 a.m. and midnight.

According to neighborhood council president Jose Sigala, other key conditions address loitering and public safety.

Most were outlined in a September 14 letter from the 7-Eleven team to the neighborhood council’s planning committee, which heard from the 7-Eleven team six times before the full council vote this week.

The development company representing 7-Eleven, along with local consultant Tara Devine, made a lengthy presentation of these so-called “voluntary conditions” Tuesday night before the vote.

Community members and council members were also asked to weigh in.

Neighbors repeatedly expressed concerns about what a busy location would do to already clogged Glendale Boulevard, especially during peak commute hours.

In attendance were Jason Cozens and Cynthia Larimore who live across from the proposed 7-Eleven location on Berkeley Avenue.

The pair were disappointed about the outcome--they'd hoped to see a school or community center there--and they worry about the noise and also the bright lights of any location.

They also were concerned that the 105 signatures gathered from nearby residents on a petition didn’t seem to prevail.

Said Larimore in an email to Echo Park Patch:

I take personal offense at their point that putting 7 Eleven in there is better than letting the place fall apart even more than it is currently. Why isn't another option to force the owner of the space to clean it up? The city forces tenants to keep their yards clean and safe, so why can't that be extended to slum lords?? I don't understand that logic.

Larimore also expressed concern about voluntary restrictions and their ability to be enforced, referring specifically to one struck with AM-PM on the other side of Glendale Boulevard:

One member of the council told me last night that they had an agreement with AMPM that they would fix the place up (also in writing as they now have with 7-Eleven) and  AMPM never did any of what they promised.

The EastsiderLA reports that Larimore plans to present the petition to Council member Eric Garcetti’s office, which has yet to take a formal position on the 7-11.

The LAPD and the Echo Park Chamber of Commerce are also said to oppose the store.

The next step for 7-11 is to present its case to the city Zoning Commissioner. No date has been set yet for that hearing.

Meantime, many in Echo Park worry about the traffic, noise and nuisance that the store will create.