Politics & Government

Debate Over Little Dom's Eatery Ends Without Decisive Vote

Studio City Neighborhood Council meeting brings out a politician, a filmmaker and others to speak out about a proposed restaurant in Tujunga Village.

After dramatic speeches for and against a proposed Little Dom’s family restaurant in the Tujunga Village area, the ended up taking no position on the issue.

Those opposed to bringing the 96-seat restaurant to the area were mainly concerned about parking, in addition to other issues. Those in favor said the eatery would be an asset to the neighborhood.

Ultimately, the council voted 6-5 against the proposal, with one abstention. Seven votes were required for the council to give a solid yes or no to the project when it goes to city zoning and other committees for approval.

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“I am a little disappointed, because this is my Neighborhood Council,” said Warner Ebbink, who wanted to bring the third of his Little Dom’s restaurants closer to his Studio City home. “I want to have a good relationship with the community and I thought I answered all of the concerns that they raised.”

The Little Dom’s proposal had 27 agreed-upon conditions, such as no adult entertainment of any kind, no pool or billards and no dancing at the club.

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As for concerns about parking, Ebbink said, “We have 25 percent more parking spaces than are required by the city, and the other businesses in the neighborhood never had to provide such a lot of parking spaces.”

Five members of the Neighborhood Council said they live in the area of the proposed restaurant. Council member Lana Shackelford, who has rented a place there for 14 years, said, “I think the destination locations like this have made the neighborhood charming, but I think we need to find a way to deal with parking in a big way.” She voted in favor of the restaurant.

Rita Villa, the  council secretary, voted against the project. “People with businesses in the area are against it, and at some point you have to say enough is enough,” she said.

Council President John Walker, who said he lives four blocks away from the site, said it was a tough decision. He was the one abstention.

who recently ran against for Los Angeles City Council, spoke in support of the restaurant, even though he was against it at first when it was moving around the corner from him in Los Feliz.

“I have to tell you, at first I was against it because it was too close to my house,” O’Grady said. ”But I could not have been more wrong. I hope this restaurant is as much an asset to Studio City as it was to the Los Feliz community.”

Recent Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lisa Cholodenko, who wrote and directed The Kids Are All Right, said she supported the idea of the restaurant moving into the former site of a pharmacy at Moorpark Street and Kraft Avenue.

Cholodenko said she has been friends for 10 years with the owner, and added, “He is the most cooperative guy around, and he will come up with solutions and take care of their needs.”

Another proponent, Marc Marrie, who has lived in Studio City for 21 years and has a 10-month-old child, said he looks forward to walking his family to the neighborhood Dom's. “Tujunga Village needs this,” he said.

Sabrina Lee saw it differently. She said getting home with her 21-month-old daughter is already difficult in the neighborhood. “I have to fight for a parking [space] in front of my house with people who are workers or strangers from other parts of the city.”

Reality show producer Bobby Logan, who has his offices across Moorpark Street from the proposed restaurant, said he was against it. “This project is 40 feet from any residence, that’s all, and that’s too close. And it’s going to go on from 8 in the morning until midnight every day.”

Kimber Kline, an actress, expressed qualms about the project on safety grounds. “I walk my dog in the neighborhood and it is charming and quaint," she said. "I would not want it somehow to get ruined if someone had a few drinks and hit someone.” However, she had no problems with Little Dom's itself: “This seems like a really great restaurant—I know because I had to work at a lot of restaurants waiting tables in between acting jobs.”

Ebbink said that although he would have liked the Neighborhood Council's approval, he said that if he is allowed to open the restaurant he will eventually please the community and allay their concerns.

“I am not a ,” he said. “I wouldn’t need all the extra parking for that, or even get the council’s approval.”

The proposal will next be taken up by the city's zoning department.

The Neighborhood Council also held a question-and-answer session with City Councilman Tom LaBonge; changed its grievance procedure by-laws; and approved other items. Check for follow-up stories later Thursday.


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