Larchmont Bungalow Guilty of Fire-Code Violations: Pleads No Contest, Sentenced to Three Years’ Probation
April 3, 2013
Wednesday was a hectic day for Larchmont Bungalow‘s criminal defense team. In the morning, they were at the Criminal Courts Building on Temple Street in downtown Los Angeles for a pre-trial hearing on the three charges stemming from the restaurant’s illegal operation. In the afternoon, there was another hearing at the Central Arraignment Court on Bauchet concerning the regular overcrowding conditions that the L.A. Fire Department discovered were endangering the lives of unwitting individuals entering the building.
Larchmont Bungalow pleaded no-contest to the case presented by the fire department, and was sentenced to three years’ probation. The primary criminal case against Bungalow’s illegal operation is still ongoing and has been continued to November 7, 2013.
September 2nd (Sunday), 2012
The Los Angeles Fire Department, accompanied by Los Angeles Police Department resources, appeared at 107 North Larchmont Boulevard at midday Sunday and shut the establishment down for operating beyond the stated occupancy on their legal papers.
For those unfamiliar with the most galling issue confronting our community, Bungalow has been operating without the most basic city permit required of restaurants or any kind of food-service business. The last permit issued for that space (formerly an office building) was for food-retail and it was declared void in October 2009. After several administrative appeals and hearings, that food-retail permit, which is in the same category as the one used by Starbucks and other coffee takeout places, was revoked for good in December 2009.
There is no record of any other food facility in the City of Los Angeles that has been able to get away with such blatant disregard of the law for such a long time and with the patronage of high-ranking government officials. Whether they can reopen will depend on their continued willingness to pour money into extending the processes of lobbying, litigation, and PR.
NOTE: Without a Certificate of Occupancy, the building occupied by Bungalow can accommodate only 49 people according to LAFD calculations specified in the Municipal Code. The fire marshal counted a total of 98 people on September 2nd, thus requiring the closure.
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107 N. Larchmont Boulevard
2110 W. Sunset Boulevard, Suite N
(323) 505-6700