Dear Friend of the Chili Bowl,

Thank you for joining more than 725 concerned citizens who have signed the petition urging councilmember Mike Bonin to pause the pending demolition permit and help to move L.A.’s last Chili Bowl from its longtime home at 12244 West Pico Boulevard to a safe location within the city of Los Angeles. This campaign is spreading, and we so appreciate your passion for the big bowl.

Since our last update, a few interesting things have come up that you should know.

On Friday, four days after the negative PLUM landmarking vote, the Los Angeles Conservancy updated their Chili Bowl preservation campaign webpage with a very troubling announcement. Although it appeared during the hearing that the Conservancy was not there to advocate for the building they’re seeking to landmark, in fact they were on the phone waiting for their chance to speak, which never came.

Like members of the community who were on the phone but not called on, the Conservancy was shut out of the democratic process, as major land use decisions were made for the benefit of real estate developers.

The Conservancy says they have filed a Brown Act violation complaint, and is demanding that the PLUM Chili Bowl landmarking vote be voided and rescheduled. And they state that this was not an isolated incident, without saying what other landmark nominations were impacted, and if anything was done to correct the violation.

Another entity that is unhappy with Tuesday’s vote is the West Los Angeles Sawtelle Neighborhood Council. They had filed a Community Impact Statement supporting landmark status for the Chili Bowl, and reasonably expect that Mike Bonin will listen to what the community wants.

On Wednesday 6/23 (NOT 6/26 - the date is wrong on the website) at 7pm, the Chili Bowl matter is on the Neighborhood Council agenda, and interested citizens can attend virtually via Zoom, and will have the opportunity to make public comment. We will say a few words about our petition campaign. This will be at the end of what should be a short meeting, Agenda item #6. Chili Bowl - Proposed demolition - discussion and possible motion.

The agenda describes what they hope to accomplish:

“Chili Bowl located on Pico, east of Bundy, and which the council previously voted to approve as historic site was recently denied historical status. NC requests that the City Council PLUM Committee re-open its hearing of June 15 to allow for public comment from all interested parties, and to re-consider its vote to deny historical-Cultural Monument status for the former Chili Bowl building. Several parties were denied public comment at the hearing, including the Los Angeles Conservancy. The NC further requests that the Building Department deny the application for a Demolition Permit.”

Here’s call-in info and a link to the agenda (again, note that the correct date is Wednesday, 6/23): https://www.westlasawtelle.org/whats-new/2021/6/21/west-los-angeles-sawtelle-neighborhood-council-board-regular-meeting-agenda-june-26-2021-700-pm

This is the Zoom link to watch the meeting online - https://zoom.us/j/92722263585

To make public comment, dial (669) 900-6833, and enter 927-2226-3585 and then press # to join the meeting. Instructions on how to sign up for public comment will be given to listeners at the start of the meeting.

And finally, we learned more about the derelict Glendale Chili Bowl that we visited last week. We’d wondered how the building had fallen into such extreme disrepair in just a few years. It turns out that a fire hydrant was sheared off and flooded the building, resulting in significant water damage that has not been repaired. Water damage can be insidious, and we are very concerned about the building’s fate.

That’s all the news that fits in a giant Chili Bowl. Please continue to share the petition (http://www.change.org/SaveTheChiliBowl) with friends who love the Chili Bowl and want to see it saved. And stay tuned for additional updates as they happen.

Yours for Los Angeles,
Kim Cooper & Richard Schave
Friends of the Chili Bowl