Proponents of a plan to designate the Fairfax Avenue building once home to Tom Bergin’s Public House as a historic-cultural monument will make their case again on May 21, this time in front of the Los Angeles City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

Ken Hixon, senior vice president of the Miracle Mile Residential Association, said he is optimistic the PLUM committee will agree with the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission, which unanimously recommended the 70-year-old building for landmark status on March 7. If PLUM approves, the historic-cultural monument designation will go before the full City Council for a final vote.

“We’re two stops away from reaching our goal,” Hixon said.

Hixon said he and the supporters of the push for landmark designation, which is being led by the MMRA and the Los Angeles Conservancy, will come out in large numbers to City Hall for this meeting as they did for the Cultural Heritage Commission meeting. In addition to the in-person support, more than 1,200 emails in support of the preservation of Bergin’s have been sent to City Hall from across the city and Angelenos who have moved across the country, Hixon said.

“Tom Bergin’s is a touchstone for everyone in Los Angeles,” he said.

Support for the designation is not unanimous. Derek Schreck, the building’s owner, declined to comment for this story, but in March, he told the Park Labrea News and Beverly Press that a historic-cultural monument designation won’t bring the restaurant and bar back. Bergin’s closed after St. Patrick’s Day 2018.

Instead, it will derail Schreck’s plans to sell the building for another use, he said, which would likely be a challenge because significant changes to the exterior and interior of historic-cultural landmarks have to be approved by the heritage commission. Schreck, who wanted to sell the building for office space, said he will likely have trouble finding a buyer who’s willing to purchase a business that loses money because it only draws customers on St. Patrick’s Day.

To supporters of the historic-cultural monument designation, however, Bergin’s is part of Los Angeles’ collective memory and is worth saving.

“Bergin’s has always been a landmark in everyone’s mind. Our task is to make it officially one,” Hixon said.

The PLUM meeting will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, in the John Ferraro Council Chambers, Room 340, at Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring St. For anyone who’s unable to attend, comments can be mailed to the city clerk at Room 395, City Hall, 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, or submitted at lacouncilcomment.com