Burgers, fries and Coke may become a thing of the past as
Westwood Village tries to shed its image as a haven for fast food
restaurants.
On Dec. 12, 2002, the Los Angeles City Wide Planning Commission
voted unanimously, 7-0, to adopt the National Restaurant
Association’s definitions of full-service and fast food
restaurants to the Westwood Village Specific Plan. These
definitions decrease the amount of restaurants that can pass as
full-service, thus reducing the amount of fast food restaurants
allowed in the Village.
Led by the president of the Westwood Chamber of Commerce, Jay
Handal, every Westwood homeowners association and several Village
business owners appeared before the commission of seven. They were
in opposition to the Restaurant Interpretation written by deputy
director of the Los Angeles City Planning Department, Bob Sutton,
in late September.
Protesters, such as Handal, said they believed Sutton’s
definitions contained loopholes that would allow business owners to
open fast food restaurants on streets that already far exceeded
their limit as specified in the Westwood Specific Plan. Sutton,
gone until Jan. 13, was unavailable to comment about his Restaurant
Interpretation.
Despite the passage of this new law, business owners and
residents point out that one fast food restaurant is still managing
to slip in on a street already overburdened with fast food.
When Sutton’s Restaurant Interpretation first became known
to the public, many business owners and homeowners accused Madison
Marquette, the largest retail owner in Westwood currently selling
its entire Westwood Village portfolio, and Brinker
International’s Corner Bakery, of being the cause of the
change in legislation.
Under the previous definitions of restaurant and fast food,
Corner Bakery would have been considered a fast food establishment
and would not have been allowed to open in the Village since the
limit for fast food was exceeded.
Business owners and residents of Westwood believe Sutton and
Councilman Jack Weiss were lobbied to create a definition that
would allow Corner Bakery to come in as a full-service restaurant,
said Handal and Sandy Brown, president of Holmby-Westwood Property
Owners Association.
Now, under the newly adopted National Restaurant
Association’s definitions, Corner Bakery is considered fast
food again, but it has still received permission to open on a
street that is illegally over its limit of fast food establishments
already. Corner Bakery received a building permit from the city
before the new law was imposed. But Handal argues that a building
permit can only be issued after getting permission from the City
Planning Department, which Corner Bakery did not, he said.
Now with one victory under their belts, Handal and others are
appealing the decision to allow Corner Bakery to open in
Westwood.
Though residents and business owners alike are happy with the
outcome of the appeal to Sutton’s Restaurant Interpretation,
many see a continued problem in enforcing the change made to the
Specific Plan.
City officials have a history of not enforcing the laws of the
Specific Plan, said Handal and Brown, who point out that most
streets in Westwood are already far above their limit of fast food
restaurants. They said they worry this lack of enforcement will
carry over to the new legislation.
“We will be watching Westwood very carefully, because it
is critical that the Specific Plan not be ignored,” Handal
said.
Sutton said, “Everyone must go by the rules in the book
… We all have to play by the rules, not just those with political
connections,” he added.
The National Restaurant Association’s definitions, which
were adopted in addition to those created by Sutton, state that to
be considered a restaurant, the customer’s order must be
taken by a waiter while the customer is sitting at a table, and the
food must be brought by the waiter and paid for at the end of the
meal. A fast food restaurant, on the other hand, is one in which
the customer orders and pays at the counter, and there are runners
instead of waiters.
“There is no longer a gray area with these
definitions,” said Handal. “Hopefully this will be the
beginning of bringing in a better mix of businesses into Westwood,
not just fast food.”
Handal said his goal is to bring Westwood back to the hub and
retail center of the community, where people can “walk, shop,
and taste the area.”
Brown agreed that the council was “right on target”
with their decision.
“Sanity prevailed,” Brown said.