NEIGHBORS THINK NOTHING'S BETTER THAN BIGGER STORAGE LOT.

Byline: GREGORY J. WILCOX

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - The election is over but Phil Manson and some of his neighbors are still campaigning, as evidenced by signs that decorate yards in this East Valley neighborhood of middle-class castles.

``Stop the car dump,'' they implore in somewhat of a semantic stretch.

They're worried their neighbor to the south, Stephen Botsford's Laurel Canyon Holdings LLC, will expand some type of storage business onto about 18 vacant acres of a 60-acre parcel shaped like an L turned upside down.

It's a classic urban skirmish that will play out in the city bureaucracy.

From the nearby busy thoroughfares of Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the east and Sherman Way to the south, it's hard to glimpse the commerce taking place on the land to which Botsford holds a long-term ground lease.

But if you ever wondered where those used cars on lots scattered across the Valley come from, or where folks with small yards park their RVs, this is one of those places. Two of Botsford's tenants run auctions for vehicle resellers and he also has an indoor storage facility and an area for other stuff, including boats and trailers.

What the some of the neighbors can see - and what passersby can't - if they peek over a concrete block wall or gaze down from second-story windows are hundreds of cars and and trucks parked along the long part of the L.

They don't want that kind of clutter on the short part, which runs roughly along Whitsett Avenue between Sherman Way and Saticoy Street.

There are more than 500 houses and condominiums in the neighborhood and Phil Manson, president of the Briarcliff North Patio Homes Homeowner Association, said that 499 residents have signed petitions protesting Botsford's request.

``It's going to be a commercial enterprise that's going to come into a residential area no matter what he does, whether it be inside storage, outside storage or a junkyard. It's going to devalue the properties here,'' he said.

Residents planned a protest for Saturday.

In this case, Manson thinks nothing is better than something.

``Other than perhaps make a public park out of it ... let it sit,'' he said.

The land currently is zoned for residential development, but there's no chance of that happening even though new housing is needed. It used to be a landfill - methane is still being extracted and burned off - but the city mistakenly zoned it for housing more than 17 years ago.

Botsford now wants the zoning changed to allow light industrial use. A public hearing on the issue is set for Friday afternoon.

Botsford said he's just trying to grow his business and said the vacant land is suitable for storing lots of things like cargo containers, buses, lumber or marble. His plan calls for grading the land and covering it with four inches of asphalt grindings, which will form a dust-proof surface.

And he'll plant trees so the residents won't have to look at what's on the land.

The strong opposition from residents, whose documentation includes satellite photos of the area, was not unexpected.

``I don't think any developer is ever surprised that the local community would like to have the status quo stay the same,'' he said.

City Councilman Tony Cardenas represents the area and he has created an Environmental Justice Improvement Zone for Sun Valley to deal with future uses of land like this.

Botsford's land is not in this kind of zone but Cardenas is aware of the concerns. He hasn't take a position yet, either.

``He will use the same sensitivity in reviewing this case,'' aide Stacy Bellew said in an e-mail.

Botsford also has a point to make.

``I think land owners and leaseholders have the same rights as everybody else,'' he said.

Gregory J. Wilcox, [phone]

greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com