Youth Hostels

Your article (“L.A. On a Shoestring,” Metro, June 26) on the growing success of hostels in Los Angeles referred to and was accompanied by a photo of the Share-Tel International Hostel on Brooks Avenue in Venice. The article also noted the Los Angeles City Building and Safety Department’s comment that such hostels are permitted in both commercial and multifamily residential zones.

Ironically, on June 29, the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals issued a ruling that the Share-Tel facility in Venice constitutes a zoning violation in the RD1.5 zone and is thus operating illegally. It remains to be seen whether the facility will voluntarily abide by the ruling or whether the city’s inspectors and enforcement personnel will have to play a protracted cat-and-mouse game with the operators.

While hostels do provide affordable accommodations for travelers, when the facilities operate illegally in the more restrictive residential zones (as do several in Venice), the dormitory/party atmosphere and all-hours flow of traffic, including airport buses, can be a real nuisance to neighbors. That is why I have called for revisions to the zoning code so the city can better regulate the siting of hostels and avoid such conflicts and enforcement problems in the future.

RUTH GALANTER

Councilwoman, Sixth District