A 100-year-old Westlake theater that had its last live performance over 50 years ago may soon be Los Angeles' newest live-music theater.

A veteran New York-based independent concert promoter submitted plans with the Planning Department to revert what was once the Playhouse Theater at 1234 West 7th  St. back into an entertainment mecca for central city residents. Bowerly Left LLC will present their project at tonight's Westlake South Neighborhood Council Board Meeting.

Bowery Left LLC's backers know the live music venue business.  The applicant - through its parent company, Bowery Presents - owns and operates several venues in New York City, most notably the Bowery Ballroom (a 550 capacity venue voted the "Best Venue in America" by Rolling Stone Magazine on several occasions, according to the applicant). The company owns theaters in other East Coast states; the Playhouse Theater site would be its first site outside the Eastern time zone.

The developer's Conditional Use Permit request is to rehabilitate the 9,453 square foot theater and restaurant so it can accommodate a total of 440 seats or 708 patrons, allow alcohol sales from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, and allow live entertainment and incidental patron dancing. The developer also is requesting a Project Permit Compliance to allow the change of use from print shop back to theater and restaurant and to allow a new marquee on its facade. The project is located within the Central City West Specific Plan area.

The Playhouse Theater operated from its opening in the early 1910s to 1960. It was a print shop for about 50 years and is currently a violin repair store.

The applicant's representative said that the print shop conversion didn't hurt the integrity of the theater. The marquee is gone, but the existing domed ceiling, the original lobby area, and the stage are intact, which the rep says will make the conversion back to a live music venue easier and less impactful on the 100-year-old building.

The applicants submitted a petition with several signatures of support with their packet to the Westlake South Neighborhood Council. Tonight's WSNC meeting at the Royal Palms Recovery Center (360 S. Westlake Ave.) starts at 6 p.m.

The project's draft Mitigating Negative Declaration was published last month and the Zoning Administrator's hearing for the Conditional Use requests was held earlier this month. A decision letter has not been issued yet, however.

Westlake South Neighborhood Council agenda:
http://ens.lacity.org/ensnc/southwestlakenc/ensncsouthwestlakenc321885172_11252013.pdf

Planning Department case:
http://planning.lacity.org/cts_internet/index.cfm?urlCaseId=193294&caseNumber=ZA-2013-2868-CUB-CUX-SPP&fuseaction=case.summary

Bowery Presents Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bowery_Presents

Murals will be allowed on single-family dwellings in east and central Los Angeles under a draft ordinance to be considered Tuesday by the City Council's Planning and Land Use Committee.

The City Council approved a citywide Mural Ordinance just a few months  ago after years of discussion and debate. The Mural Ordinance specifically prohibited murals on houses, an issue which divided the city's neighborhoods. Many of the suburban and affluent neighborhood councils opposed the original Mural Ordinance until its backers agreed to include language that specifically prohibited murals on single-family dwellings.

But even as the Mural Ordinance was being revised and approved, the council instructed the Planning Department - with assistance from the City Attorney's Office and Office of Cultural Affairs - to prepare an amendment that would allow murals on single-family lots in council districts 1 and 14. Councilman Curren D. Price recently asked that his 9th district be included too.

The three districts represent the eastern-most portions of Los Angeles and central L.A. along the Harbor Freeway corridor.

The PLUM committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in City Hall, Room 350. The draft ordinance also needs approval from the full City Council.


PLUM Agenda:
http://ens.lacity.org/clk/committeeagend/clkcommitteeagend2685047_11192013.pdf

City Council Case file:
http://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=11-0923-S2

The City Council unanimously approved Friday a six-month extension for the head of the Department of Building & Safety, endorsing Mayor Eric Garcett's requesti.

Raymond Chan will remain as interim boss despite vocal opposition to his re-appointment during Friday's meeting. Chan's critics say he had financial ties to a Hollywood developer, a charge which he denied. The City Ethic Commission investigated the allegations and found no wrong-doing.

LA Times: LA's Top Building Official to Sta on Six Months

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-garcetti-building-department-chan-ethics-20131108,0,970139.story?track=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=649324

LandUseLA: Mayor Wants LADBS Interim Chief for 6 More Months

http://www.landusela.com/blog.html

Mayor Eric Garcetti is seeking a 6-month extension on the appointment of Raymond Chan as interim director of the Department of Building & Safety, one of the few department heads that hasn't either been re-appointed or removed since Garcetti was elected this summer.

The City Council is scheduled to vote Friday on Garcetti's recommendation. Chan's first temporary appointment expires Sunday.

Chan has brought stability to a department that was rocked by scandal both in the field and at the top. Earlier this year, a veteran building inspector plead guilty to federal charges of taking $30,000 in bribes for projects around Koreatown. He was the third building inspector charged with taking bribes since 2011.

And in 2009, former LADBS General Manager Andrew Adelman was forced out amidst accusations of rape and sexual abuse.

Chan is a 29-year veteran of the LADBS who has been in the department's executive offices since 2003.

"I am confident that Mr. Chan will continue to do an outstanding job as the Interim General Manager for the LADBS," Garcetti wrote in his recommendation letter to the City Council.

For most of the other 30-plus city departments, Garcetti has already either re-hired the department head or released them. The heads of the Planning, Animal Services and Sanitation - among others - will keep their jobs under the new city administration. But the departments of Fire, Cultural Affairs, Housing and Harbor - among others - will get new chiefs.

The Villaraigosa administration wanted to merge the departments of Planning and Building & Safety, but the plan ran into community and City Council opposition. Earlier this fall, Garcetti vowed to stop the merger. “I think that’s just rearranging the bureaucracy and not the systems,” Garcetti said.

Mayor Garcetti's Letter to the City Council Nominating Raymond Chan
http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2013/13-0754_rpt_mayor_10-31-2013.pdf

FBI: Former L.A. City Building Inspector Agrees to Plead Guilty to Federal Charges
http://www.fbi.gov/losangeles/press-releases/2013/former-l.a.-city-building-inspector-agrees-to-plead-guilty-to-federal-charges-of-taking-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars-in-bribe-payments

LA Weekly: Corrupton at LADBS
http://www.laweekly.com/2012-02-16/news/LA-building-and-safety-corruption/full/

LA Times: Garcetti keeping at least 5 Los Angeles department heads
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct/01/local/la-me-mayor-managers-20131001

LA Weekly: Mayor Garcetti to replace Cultural Affairs chief
http://ourweekly.com/news/2013/nov/04/mayor-garcetti-replace-cultural-affairs-chief/

LandUseLA: Garcetti vows to stop Planning, LADBS merger
http://www.landusela.com/1/post/2013/10/update-garcetti-vows-to-stop-planning-ladbs-merger.html