LITTLE TOKYO : Police Substation Plans Approved

City building officials last week approved the long-awaited plans for Little Tokyo’s first police substation after several delays, but construction may not be completed until January, officials said.

Though the start of construction hasn’t been scheduled, “it’s going to be done in a hurry,” said Doc Nghiem, a city structural engineer. “We have the support of the mayor’s office.”

Mayor Richard Riordan’s staff agreed in May to renovate the 5,000-square-foot city-owned property at 303-307 East 1st St. and turn nearly half that space into a police substation for the Greater Little Tokyo Anti-Crime Assn. The building permit obtained Wednesday finally allowed work to begin.

The building at 307 East 1st St. will house the koban, similar to the small police booths found on street corners in Japan, Nghiem said. Two other small brick buildings at 303 and 305 East 1st St. will be remodeled for a retail store and restaurant, he said. All three lots, which are in a nationally recognized historic block, sustained damage in the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake and have been closed for seismic upgrading.

Though city officials originally told the anti-crime association that construction on the koban could begin by June, problems with county health and city building codes arose, Nghiem said.

For example, the kitchen in the restaurant space needed to be wider, and bathrooms to accommodate the disabled and 500 square feet of storage space had to be added to the plans, he said.

Architects also successfully obtained a variance for a five-foot-wide back-door exit in the koban because city building and safety codes require a 10-foot exit for offices with 50 or more people.

The setbacks have frustrated some members of the Little Tokyo Anti-Crime Assn., which comprises merchants and residents.

“We didn’t think it was that big of a problem,” said Brian Kito, vice president of the public safety group. “We were originally looking at a September or October opening.”

Kito said merchants have asked city officials for more than a decade for a place where Japanese tourists and Little Tokyo residents would feel less intimidated to report crimes. “We’re being neglected as far as this project is concerned,” Kito said. “But we haven’t given up.”

Mayoral spokeswoman Tanya Mishell said Riordan’s office intends to keep its promise. “We’re doing all we can to move this process forward and helping out in any way,” Mishell said.