> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Fearful of the next big thing - URL: https://www.smdp.com/fearful-of-the-next-big-thing/ - Published: 2007-06-29T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T01:28:21.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Business, Venice, #archive-import *Venice residents hit a snafu in battle to beat back chains* VENICE The movement to block big box stores and grande-sized corporate coffee shops from planting roots here has just taken an urgent turn. The founders of Venice Unchained, a neighborhood organization aimed at keeping the Starbucks and McDonald’s of the world off bohemian Abbot Kinney Boulevard and Windward Avenue, are weighing their options after receiving disappointing news from LA City Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s office on Thursday. Dawn Hollier and Melissa Bechtel, the two neighbors who launched Venice Unchained in 2005, learned that their push for an emergency city ordinance that would place a temporary ban on incoming chain stores was not going forward. Rosendahl filed a motion in February for the adoption of a “Formula Retail Ordinance,” which would regulate the proliferation of chain stores on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, from Venice Boulevard to Main Street, and Ocean Front Walk, north of Washington Boulevard in Venice. When neighborhood activists learned that it could take up to two years for the ordinance to make its way out of City Council Chambers, they requested Rosendahl to push for an emergency ban in addition to the regular ordinance. The emergency ordinance, called an Interim Control Ordinance (ICO), can take just as long as a regular ordinance to be passed by City Council, said Safiya Jones, press deputy for Rosendahl. ICO’s are usually passed to address an existing problem and the situation currently occurring on Abbot Kinney Boulevard and Ocean Front Walk is considered to be potential, not existing, Jones added on Thursday. “Our office would like to expedite the process and move forward in the quickest and most efficient manner. Therefore, we will continue to move forward with the proposed Retail Formula Ordinance,” Jones said. The ordinance was heard by the Planning and Land Use Management Committee on June 5 and was referred to the Office of the City Attorney and Planning Department, where it is currently being reviewed. It could take another year before the ordinance is placed back before City Council for a vote. A formula business is defined as a restaurant, retail, hotel or other establishment where the services offered and methods of operation are standardized, as well as the architecture, uniform and decor. Well-known businesses like McDonald’s and Starbucks would most likely fall under the ordinance. KEEPING IT ‘WEIRD’ For years, the token chain establishment in Venice was Subway Sandwiches, coexisting somewhat peacefully at the corner of Pacific and Windward avenues. But in the past six months, several other corporate businesses have creeped in. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf had set up on the corner of Windward and Pacific, adjacent to Cafe Collage, a long-time independently owned coffee shop. Soon after, Campos, a Mexican eatery with several locations throughout the Westside, opened across from a small restaurant, La Fiesta Mexican Grill. The last straw seems to have been when the popular yogurt shop pinkberry moved in on Abbot Kinney Boulevard a few months ago, shocking boutique and coffee shop owners with its fluorescent green grill facade. Hollier doesn’t understand why Rosendahl will not push an ICO forward, adding that Venice Unchained intends to secure legal assistance to evaluate the terms of an ICO. Business owners along Abbot Kinney Boulevard say they are unhappy with the appearance of pinkberry on the block and rumors that a Starbucks is next. A representative of Starbucks, who asked to remain anonymous, denied there were plans to open up on Abbot Kinney. The co-owner of Abbot’s Habit, an Abbot Kinney mainstay for the past 14 years, said he is concerned with the proliferation of chain stores in Venice. Survivability of the small businesses will come down to rent and the landlord’s willingness to keep them affordable,said Noah Farrell. Venice’s reputation as a charming small neighborhood is also on the line,as it could someday turn into another Third Street Promenade. If Los Angeles City Council adopts the Retail Formula Ordinance, it will join a list of other communities across the country that have adopted similar measures, including the city of Coronado,located in San Diego County. The Coronado City Council passed an ordinance in December 2000 that required potential formula businesses that had more than 15 other locations to be reviewed by the Planning Commission. This was following a furor by the community when a Boston Market and Petco moved into the city’s downtown shopping district, said Tony Pena, director of community development for the city of Coronado. Since the ordinance was passed, four applicants have been reviewed by the Planning Commission and all have been accepted into Downtown Coronado. “Some people expressed concern that such a large national type of business would be located in a small downtown without any discretionary review other than from our Design Review Commission,” Pena said. “Some people expressed concern that this type of business could displace smaller retail businesses selling similar products.” In Austin, a “Keep Austin Weird” movement evolved a few years ago to promote small businesses in the Texas capital. A former resident of Austin, Melissa Henderson, who has lived in Venice for two years, was inspired to form a small “Keep Venice Weird” movement herself, now working to join forces with Venice Unchained. “We want to band together to really get this done,” Henderson said. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 29, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/062907.pdf?ref=smdp.com)