DANCE STUDIO 84 OWNER EXPECTS TO REOPEN SOON.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

VALENCIA - A day after dozens of supporters crammed a Santa Clarita City Hall chamber to protest the closing of a popular dance studio, owner Carla Hunt Smallwood said she expected her business would reopen soon.

Hunt said Wednesday that architects were working on plans to expedite corrections required by the city to bring the studio in compliance with building and safety codes.

According to the city and the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the 9,000-square-foot Dance Studio 84 on Smyth Drive was operating for a year without Fire Department permits and a city Certificate of Occupancy.

Code violations included not having the right number of emergency exits, inappropriate hardware on exit doors that could hamper quick evacuation in emergencies, lack of fire sprinklers, operating a dance studio in a building designed specifically as a warehouse and not having enough toilets.

Hunt said she had been working with architects prior to the closure last Thursday but could not come up with solutions. She had been operating under a minor-use permit from October 2002 to January 2004. Hunt, who has run the dance studio for 18 years, said she moved to the Smyth Drive location from her previous site because she needed more space.

``I was portrayed as ignoring the issues,'' she said Wednesday. ``Our previous architects couldn't find a way to make it work for us.''

Inside the building, which includes six separate studios that no more than 12 students use at a time, many of the repairs already had been done, Hunt said, including the lighted exit signs and doors with panic hardware devices.

City officials said Hunt had received planning approval but never submitted plans to receive building permits.

``We found out about it through code enforcement,'' said Vince Bertoni, the city's interim director of planning. ``It took (the dance studio's owners) a long time to come in. The city didn't shut them down. They received a notice to stop use.''

``We've done everything we can do to accommodate her,'' he said. ``Our goal is to have her become compliant.''

According to city officials, the state law is that dance studios fall under the same safety codes as facilities used as classrooms.

Hunt said a dance studio is not comparable to a classroom because its use is different.

Christie Hayes, the president of a similar studio called Anti-Gravity - also on Smyth Drive - where karate, gymnastics and other activities are taught, fell under the same state laws. She said she spent $130,000 to come into compliance with all the safety code regulations, including those under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

``As far as state law (is concerned), our kinds of businesses don't exist,'' Hayes said. ``They won't even look at us as a warehouse. I feel for what she's going through.''

During Tuesday night's meeting attended by impassioned community parents, students and teachers wearing ``We just wanna dance'' shirt logos, City Council members were asked to consider reopening the studio immediately.

The studio, which also contracts with the William S. Hart Union High School District, is a valuable resource for children and teens who want to learn jazz, ballet, and hip-hop, among other forms of dance, they said.

But council members offered their own concerns, saying they understood the dance studio plays an integral role in the community but the health and safety of Santa Clarita's residents should come first.

County Fire Battalion Chief E. Matt Gil said the city could be liable if a fire were to break out and children were hurt.

Councilman Frank Ferry said that though he knew many of the children and parents in the audience, he had to side with what fire officials had reported.

``I have to support the Fire Department who for a year said here's the issue and we have to do something about it,'' Ferry said.

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Dance Studio 84's owner, Carla Hunt Smallwood, stands with an emergency exit in the background. She says architects are working on expediting compliance with regulations.

(2) Dance Studio 84 in Valencia had to close because of code problems. The owner says she expects to reopen soon.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer