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Reader Rant: Venice Gates Make For A Land of Fortresses

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A mini Bel-Air is being created in Venice, according to a reader upset at the number of gates going up in front of homes.

He writes: "These gates really get the dander up of community members, especially because the city keeps granting variance after variance. My neighbor and my landlord - both live close to me on San Juan Ave.--put 6 ft./ 7 ft. walls up, knowing that it wasn't permitted, and then just got a variance after the fact because it was already built, and it would be a hardship to tear them down, and everyone else is doing it, la de dah, la de dah..... So, what happens when you have SFD's on small lots in a bad neighborhood with no parking? = We now live in the land of fortresses. The sad thing is that some of these homes are gorgeous inside, but you'd never know because climbing a hedge to peek in is hard to do. One classic gentrification scenario: my neighbor built her 6 ft. wall, which she really didn't need to do, and it got tagged by the Shoreline Crips a week after it was finished. Do they target new development as a form of protest? I wonder." Photos of some Venice gates follow, and if you've got a rant, email us.