'SWINGING CLUB' SHUT DOWN BY CITY OWNERS RUNNING BUSINESS WITHIN RESIDENTIAL ZONE.Byline: James Nash Staff Writer LA TUNA CANYON - The party's over for Hidden Mansion, a La Tuna Canyon Road home that's drawn complaints from neighbors over its regular ``erotic house parties'' on weekends. After Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. city inspectors cited the property as a commercial business operating in a residential neighborhood, the 18-acre spread hosted its last summer party for partner-swapping couples Saturday night. But Steve Wagner For the ice hockey player, see: Steven Wagner Steven ("Steve") Wagner (born November 5, 1967 in Philadelphia) is a former field hockey goalkeeper from the United States, who finished twelfth with the men's national team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, , one of the co-hosts of the ``lifestyle parties,'' said the Hidden Mansion would be operating again later this year after remodeling remodeling /re·mod·el·ing/ (re-mod´el-ing) reorganization or renovation of an old structure. bone remodeling the house and changing its Web site to delete references to business transactions. Wagner said Hidden Mansion was never intended as a business, and the $60-per-party donation requested of ``swingers'' who attend was purely voluntary. ``It's not related to business or profit at all,'' Wagner said. ``It was nothing more than you inviting me to your home and saying, 'Steve, can you bring the hotdogs, and I'll supply the barbecue?''' To some neighbors in the semirural sem·i·ru·ral adj. Having both rural and urban characteristics: a semirural town; a semirural environment; a semirural way of life. La Tuna Canyon, however, the Hidden Mansion was more than an innocent neighborhood barbecue. In anonymous e-mail messages to the Daily News and to the office of Councilwoman Wendy Greuel Wendy Greuel is President Pro Tempore of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 2nd District. Greuel was elected in 2002 to fill the remainder of the term of Councilman Joel Wachs. She was elected in her own right in 2003 and reelected in 2007. , they said the quiet canyon was no place for raucous rau·cous adj. 1. Rough-sounding and harsh: raucous laughter. 2. Boisterous and disorderly: "the raucous give and take of American democracy" sex parties featuring alcohol and loud music. Beyond the more lurid lu·rid adj. 1. Causing shock or horror; gruesome. 2. Marked by sensationalism: a lurid account of the crime. See Synonyms at ghastly. 3. aspects of the parties, the neighbors said, the city shouldn't allow a commercial business to operate in an area not zoned for one and expressed concerns about traffic and safety involving dozens of party-goers driving on a narrow canyon road. Claire Bartels, Greuel's chief of staff, said Monday that the council office forwarded the neighbors' complaints to the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . and the city's Department of Building and
Safety. On Aug. 9, the Department of Building and Safety cited the
Hidden Mansion for operating as a commercial business and told the
owners they couldn't hold any parties after Aug. 16 until complying
with city codes, Bartels said.
Officials from the Department of Building and Safety did not return phone calls Monday afternoon. Wagner said he was confident the Hidden Mansion would comply with all city codes after the home was renovated and references to a swingers ``club'' are stricken from its Web site. The hosts will then resume the parties that typically attract about 20 couples, Wagner said, adding that he has taken measures to shield neighbors from the impact of the gatherings. James Nash, (818) 713-3722 james.nash(at)dailynews.com |
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