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

A mixed-use project with 411 residential units and 43,800 square feet of retail space will cover both sides of half a city block in the Wilshire area if plans filed this week with the City Planning Department ultimately get approved by the City Council.

The project is the latest lare-scale Koreatown development from Christopher Pak, a Koreatown-born architect and developer described by the Los Angeles Times as " turning Koreatown into a testing ground for a vision of a dense, taller L.A."

The project is proposed for both sides of James M. Wood Boulevard east of Vermont Avenue. On the north side, the developer proposes 187 residential units and 18,000 square-feet of retail. On the south side of the street would be 224 units and 25,800 square-feet of retail.

The project is located within the Wilshire Center/Koreatown Redevelopment Project Area and a Los Angeles State Enterprise Zone, important designations which could allow for more dense development and a faster approval process. It is located in the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council area, on the eastern flank of Koreatown. The project is located primarily in Council President Herb Wesson's 10th District but its eastern edge is in Councilman Gilbert Cedillo's 1st District.

The project requires a General Plan Amendment, Zone Change and new Height District designation, which are entitlement requests that ultimately require approval from the City Council.

Pak is a "prominent campaign fundraiser," according to the Los Angeles Times, whose wife was appointed to the City Ethics Commission in December 2012 by Wesson. Pak raised money for Wesson, Cedillo and Mayor Eric Garcetti, among others, before the recent citywide elections, according to the Times.

The Planning and environmental cases were filed on Tuesday so it could be several months or more before the draft Mitigated Negative Declaration is published and the first hearing date is set for the entitlement requests.

Planning Department case:
http://planning.lacity.org/cts_internet/index.cfm?urlCaseId=192244&caseNumber=CPC-2013-1996-GPA-ZC-HD-SPR&fuseaction=case.summary

LA Times: A taller L.A.? He's making it happen
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/aug/23/local/me-pak23

LA Times: Wesson's choice of fundraiser's wife for ethics panel criticized
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/20/local/la-me-wesson-ethics-20121220