The ongoing and contentious battle between the Hollywood Farmers’ Market and the Los Angeles Film School continues, as the market’s street closure city permit is set to expire on April 12, leaving the future of the popular market in question.

Thousands of people patronize the Hollywood Farmers’ Market, which is involved in negotiations with the L.A. Film School over the Market’s use of a portion of Ivar Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Hollywood Farmers’ Market)

“Right now we are still waiting to hear from Councilman Garcetti’s office and the Public Works office about the six-month extension on our street closure permit, which is about to expire,” chief operating officer and market manager Pompea Smith said. “We still haven’t made any progress.”

According to Albert Villalta, vice president of marketing for the L.A. Film School, a scheduled meeting last week between both parties and city officials was cancelled at the last minute, further delaying a possible resolution.

Yusef Robb, spokesperson for Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, 13th District, pointed out that both parties agreed to cancel the meeting and are planning on having less structured communications moving forward.

“We’re waiting to see what firm steps are involved and what the terms of any extension will include,” Villalta said.

Last month, it was reported that the film school was considering building a major development at the intersection of Ivar and Selma Avenues, which caught city officials and market representatives off guard, but Villalta said that plan was “taken out of context.”

“We’re planning for future growth,” Villalta said. “An example is a possible building. There’s nothing solid planned right now; just grand ideas.”

A local institution for 20 years, the Hollywood Farmers’ Market is home to approximately 150 vendors and an estimated 10,000 customers who flock to the corner of Selma and Ivar Avenues every Sunday to sell and buy fruits and vegetables, generating nearly $130,000 in profits while allegedly taking coveted parking spaces away from students and faculty of the L.A. Film School.

When the Hollywood Farmers’ Market first debuted at its present location in May 1991, Smith chose the site because she deemed it to be, as she said, “the least disruptive to the community.” But last June, the L.A. Film School, which owns the property at 6363 Sunset Blvd, complained that the market cut off one of its garage entrances.

Since then, the market has shifted some of its booths to appease the film school, but that has not solved all the issues. City officials and the Hollywood Farmers’ Market have mentioned the possibility of relocating to a new site on Vine Street between Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, or possibly to Hollywood Boulevard between Cahuenga and Vine Street.

“We’ve looked at alternate layouts and worked with the Department of Transportation,” said Jared Call, operations assistant at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market.

With the market’s street closure permit expiring in roughly two weeks, some city officials are hopeful that the dispute will be worked out.

“We’re hoping to meet that deadline,” Robb said. “We’re working with both parties to ensure the Hollywood Farmers’ Market continues to be the wonderful institution it has been. We want both sides to continue as is, if not better.”

But the L.A. Film School is hesitant to withdraw its protest to the market’s street closure permit extension until the parties can meet and discuss specifics.

“We haven’t learned of any terms of a deal,” Villalta said. “We’re willing to work with the city with the long term vision that both parties can continue to operate. We’re both working for a solution, one that allows us to work twenty-four-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.”