Published in the first issue of NoHo Magazine, Steven Lee Stinnett’s cartoon captures the moment of creation of the NoHo Arts District.

By Frank McDonough

Drunken mixers, blind optimism, Babbit-like middle-aged men engaging in the telling of dirty jokes, gratuitous sycophancy — these are a just few of the preconceived ideas many people have about what a Chamber of Commerce is all about. Not so, says North Hollywood Chamber Executive Vice-President Jim Mahfet. “The Chamber of Commerce here represents 700 businesses and over 2,000 jobs banded together to influence legislation that they may be directly affected by.” Zoning laws, fees, taxes, and other pieces of legislation are addressed by the Chamber.

Many times they run into opposition. Homeowners’ groups, citizen’s committees, and city bureaucracies are often at odds with the Chamber. A planned subway stop that would bring hoped-for business to the community can also bring headaches and fear to the residents adjacent to it. A zoning ordinance that would allow more businesses might not fit into the city’s plan. An office building that would bring more jobs might also offend the aesthetic sense of some residents.

Here in North Hollywood, that antagonism has recently been melting away. The Chamber, the city, and the various special interest groups here have been playing a symphony of cooperation. Though no single conductor seems to be waving the baton, the name of the work is certain: The NoHo Arts District.

In one recent meeting of the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, homeowners, city planners, the Chamber, and those representing the arts came into strong agreement. What they agreed to was an artist-in-residence scheme that would lower the fees for such habitation from $7000 to a few hundred dollars. This was then unanimously approved by the Los Angeles Planning Commission. The ordinance should be in effect by March, according to Fred Bower, who has been a Chamber member instrumental in bringing about the NoHo Arts District.

This symbiosis is effective, according to Bower. “Each time we come to what we think is a major obstacle, it opens up for us.” And momentum is growing. “Landmark Entertainment (a local entertainment company featured in last month’s NoHo Magazine) has opened its
arms to us.” Bower added that the Los Angeles Times has offered to be the major sponsor of next year’s NoHo Performing Arts Festival.

Bower and Mahfet touched on other plans for the NoHo District. They talked of MCA’s offer of a shuttle service from Citywalk to the Arts District, of the boost that would occur when the Redline station opens, of their hope that more theaters would open soon on Lankershim.

Are the Chamber’s motives those of desperation? Looking at the blighted, graffiti-scarred streets of North Hollywood, one is reminded of some of the worse parts of Van Nuys, a town similar in age and layout to North Hollywood. “Art,” said Mahfet, in response to a question about the similarity of the two communities, “is what gives this place a soul. Without it, this place is just a conglomeration of old buildings.”