NORTH HOLLYWOOD : Zoning Dept. Rejects Bar’s Dance Permit

Saying that yet another dance hall would exacerbate problems in a crime-plagued section of North Hollywood, a city zoning official Friday denied a bar’s request to offer dancing.

Associate zoning administrator William Lillenberg said that although he appreciates how difficult it is for bars to stay in business these days, he could not approve Ikmet Zero’s request to put in a dance floor at Captain’s Cabin, on Victory Boulevard east of Lankershim Boulevard.

“This is a sensitive area--there are a lot of problem locations nearby,” Lillenberg said, explaining his decision.

Mergim Zero, representing his father, said that the bar had previously owned a permit to provide musical entertainment and dancing, but the previous manager, his older brother, had allowed the permit to lapse about 18 months ago.

“We’re not asking for anything that wasn’t there before,” he said.

But nearby property owners, police and Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs’ office appealed to Lillenberg to reject the bar’s application for a conditional-use permit to have dancing in a “neighborhood commercial” zone.

Tom Henry, a planning deputy for Wachs, called the area a magnet for gangs and prostitution, and said another late-night dance establishment would only create more problems.

Los Angeles Police Sgt. Glynn Martin, the officer in charge of North Hollywood’s vice unit, said that on Thursday night he noticed people dancing at Captain’s Cabin and loud music emanating from the open front door. But Mergim Zero said the zoning hearing was the first he had heard about the unauthorized dancing.

Homeowners applauded Lillenberg’s decision, and Ikmet Zero, who has been in business since 1967, said he was disappointed. Zero said he has not yet decided whether to appeal Lillenberg’s decision to a higher authority.