Los Angeles city leaders on Tuesday declared Valley Plaza, a once-thriving shopping center in the San Fernando Valley, a public nuisance after years of disrepair.
The decision was unanimously approved by the city’s Board of Commissioners of Building and Safety after they heard remarks from City Councilman Adrin Nazarian, who represents the area.
He spoke on Tuesday, stating that the site, located at Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Victory Boulevard, has been a magnet for crime and concern in recent years.
“These ruined buildings have cast a pall on the entire community, depressing commerce for our small businesses, degrading the quality of life for an entire neighborhood, and creating a real danger for the community,” said a statement from Nazarian’s office. “Once this shopping center was a source of pride to our community; now it’s become a blight on the neighborhood and a constant danger to the public. The people of North Hollywood have waited too long. Enough is enough.”
Now that the decision has been approved, the city can demolish all six buildings in the 17-acre plaza, which is still owned by the Charles Company after it changed hands about a decade ago.
It has been vacant since, despite requests from city officials to develop the site or sell it.
“Under the Charles Company, the properties have decayed to what you see standing behind me,” Nazarian said during a news conference outside the property. “They’ve been vandalized, covered with graffiti, filled with trash, damaged beyond repair.”
The Valley Plaza opened in 1951 and has housed a series of prominent grocery and retail stores until it became unoccupied.
CBS News Los Angeles has reached out to the Charles Company for comment, but has not yet heard back.
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