Letter was in 2 December issue of Venice Update

Amy Alcon
Danny White writes about those who “oppose new restaurants (and the dreaded alcohol sale- oh the humanity!!!!!).”

Danny, I’m a free-market libertarian who neither opposes new restaurants nor alcohol sales (nor pot sales for that matter…and if only The Brig, which has been a noisy and abusive force in our neighborhood for years were as wonderful a neighbor as the pot-selling Farmacy was).

Gjelina opened by my house and brings in hundreds of customers at lunch and at dinner and has over 100 employees. They are not just in the restaurant business but in the business of parasitism: They provide not a single parking space for their employees or customers, which means that my neighborhood, which was zoned residential and had plenty of parking for residents, is now Gjelina’s free parking lot. This means that I can no longer leave my house by car unless I can allot a half hour to drive around and search for parking on my way home. Also, people parking for Gjelina and The Brig are often loud and rude outside our homes late at night — so it means that I must park defensively, in front of my house, lest I be awakened by drunk jerks at 11, 12, 1, or 2 in the morning.

Parking — providing space for the people you bring to your business to leave their cars is a normal cost of doing business. A normal cost of doing ethical business. Because you can take advantage of antiquated zoning laws doesn’t mean it’s ethical to do so

The late British economist Pigou said that a business must pay its costs out of its profits and not pass their costs on to those around the business.

Let’s cut the pretense, shall we, that everyone who opposes parasitism by business owners is somehow anti-business and anti-alcohol.

Karen Moses
OMG Danny has been inside my head and picking my thoughts right out!!

Yolanda Golzalez
Mr. White BRAVOOOOOO for your comments. You got ahead of me. I think we should request to sign petitions to cancel the Venice Garden Show. Since this is one of the most attended in Los Angeles County due to the amount of people who actually come from all over the State and County to see the unique homes being built and new improvements being made to VERY OLD Cottages that are in great need of having work done. If any of you have ever had a fire on your property you better check and see what is covered under your policy, because if you didn”t know for example, floor heaters are a NO-NO. The gas company won’t even look at them and they will give you a notice to change them. If you have a fire caused by an old heater we will see what a mess you have in your hands. And many old heaters are the cause of carbon mono. When I took all my floor heaters out I was told I had been very lucky of not having had a fire. The elements of the ocean air just eats up metal. Your electric wiring is also a big cause of fire due to the new technology of electric devices we need to count on and connect. I already had a fire due to a tenant connecting more than the allowable that my unit could hold. I see many homes whose roofs are in dying care and these are the NYMBYS that show up to complain about progress. Where do we balance good progress from people with old mentalities? Why do we not complain about lowering our property TAXES? Or request TAX credits for fixing the necessary structural items to our homes in the district that we PAY the highest property taxes to the City and County of Los Angeles. And have we seen any progress in our streets and schools? When you reach a certain age we are only allowed to depreciate so much. But because we leave in an area with so many restrictions our fees are so ridiculous when we try to add something small or fix something on our properties the Venice Specific trumps in many ways from fixing our homes. Or there is a fee that you must pay because of the Coastal Commission. I already put in solar panels so nobody could build higher than my property. I can enjoy my view. I am building a coffee balcony on my building and I have to pay the same dam fee that any one would do if building bigger because we have a Venice Specific Plan and Coastal Commission. Why do we not request Bonin’s office to request to reduce these fees for people who have been leaving in Venice a long time? Then you wonder why people are opting to sell than to fix. Then you no longer have that good neighbor next to you. You have an investor who will leave in a couple a years. But I welcome capitalism. I have been running into so many people at the hardware store that want to fix their homes but the fees are to high for them to meet. We still have a big portion of middle class families being priced out of their means for improvements. I personally have brought in a Non Profit Organization to help them with new heaters and fix the most necessary structural items in their homes. The city is just waiting to tag on a per square footage of TAXES to your property. They coudn’t give a dam about you. Most of us are sitting on properties worth for a single family home $875.00 dollars a square foot. We should appreciate that investment we have made. And live in an area that still holds its value. Lately these are the problems I have been facing and I have had to secure my property with heavy metal doors so the thugs can’t steal from us nor get in. I already had to put up cameras. In the years I have been here this getting worse and no economic security to count on. Mr. Danny White thank you again for you comment. Its people like you that make me be a proud American Naturalize citizen. I am not a dreamer I am a