In the 1990s, the Country Club Park Neighborhood Association, a private group representing homeowners to the north of the gate, worked with Councilman Nate Holden to install gates on public streets. Holden approved the gates using a “temporary” permit under 21101.4 of the California Vehicle Code. This permit only allowed the gates to be in place for up to 18 months. Over 20 years later, the “temporary” gates are still standing.

When the gates went up, many residents who live right next to the gates were surprised because they were never notified or consulted about the project. In fact, the petition included in the permit application only includes signatures from residents in the wealthier area to the north of the gate.

Country Club Park cited cut-through traffic and crime as the justification in their application for gates. However, one 40-year resident of the area tells us crime in Country Club Park was no worse than average for Mid-City in 1999. Even the police report used to justify the closure admits the area had “similar crime and traffic problems to the surrounding area.”

The purported justification for the gates has also changed over time. When Country Club originally applied to close the streets in 1985 it cited a desire to “improve the residential character of their neighborhood by minimizing traffic and parking problems from the adjacent business area.”

What these gates represent to us is a group of entitled homeowners using their influence over local government to keep us out, and a city councilperson who is more than happy to divide our neighborhood to please a small group of wealthy neighbors who donate to their election campaign. The community wants access to public streets and that's why neighbors are organizing to take the gates down.