What do the neighbors want?

A year ago I predicted that Mermaids Cabaret, quaintly nicknamed the “Encino Gentleman’s Club” by Encino Neighborhood Council, would last for about a year if the neighbors waited it out instead of harassing it to death. Sure enough, it seems to be gone. But did the harassment really work? I never saw many people going in there; it always seemed rather forlorn, like an outpost at the edge of the desert.

As bars and pubs proliferate along Ventura Blvd. - the next one appears to be “Prohibition” (photo) - and the marijuana dispensaries fight back with lawsuits, the real issue is: has NIMBY-ism gone too far?

Some neighbors vow to boycott the new CVS, others resent the sight of Legado Encino, the parking structure at VBS, etc etc. To what degree should the City and the business community consult with residents? And which residents? The ones who live adjacent to any new retail establishment or high rise, or the community at large who may benefit more than the immediate neighbors? Should residents have any say at all if their reaction 100% of the time is STOP IT NOW? Have they disqualified themselves? Their view, of course, is that nobody ever consults them anyway (and they are right about that, but why would anyone want to?), so it’s a vicious circle.

This system doesn’t work.

I would like to think that if Encino Community Center (in conjunction with the Neighborhood Council and Chamber of Commerce) offered a speakers evening when 5-10 people – and not just Encino residents - would present their visions of where Encino is going, that several hundred people would show up. But they won’t show up, will they? The sad truth is that it is easier to be reactive (Nyet, Nah, לֹא) and shut things down than show a real vision for where things should go in the next 20 years. Sure, include Gerry Silver, but let us have a few fresh perspectives too. In the absence of leadership, the business community and the City will forge ahead and ignore Encino residents.

I am not reflexively pro-development. One of the joys of Encino is its quiet streets. It is easy to preserve this if we have a debate in which all parties feel consulted. But the trouble is: residents really do not know what they want and until they do, the changes will occur anyway.