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The massive development around the Red Line in North Hollywood seems to be proceeding at a rapid pace. We went there and walked around the MTA parking lot, which functions as a type of Central Park for the hundreds of apartments under construction.

Architecturally, the styles do not break any new ground. They are typically Southern California, with melon and gold facades, broken up into gated complexes that will one day be patrolled by guards and security cameras. They are conveniently located at the terminus of the Red Line, and are the wave of the forthcoming “transit city” envisioned by Mayor Villaraigosa, in an attempt to create walking zones where the car is not king.

On the west side of Lankershim, a slickly modern hi-rise apartment is incongruously placed among the car dealers. Late night strolls, after lovemaking, will no doubt lure metropolitan minded residents to explore the new autos under the lights.

To the east of the apartments, at 5525 Vineland, is the not yet completed LAUSD East Valley High School #1B, which is much more daring than its residential neighbors. Sharp angles, diverse materials, and aggressive lines are suggestive of the future student body.

PHOTO: Blueberryjam

Yesterday, I wrote about how Starbucks neglects Van Nuys with only one location in an area where perhaps 100,000 people live. The liberal corporate image of the company, which egregiously advertises its social responsibility and environmental sensitivities, cannot find room in its great, big heart to serve the largely Hispanic communities of the NE San Fernando Valley.

Yet Starbucks has undoubtedly changed some lucky areas in our cities for the better by providing a place for people to drink coffee, socialize and surf the internet. Their stores bring a European conversational environment to the “only business” lifestyle of the United States. In addition, they provide a high quality product that has raised both the appreciation and quality of coffee around the world. Yet as they grow and prosper they also are going downhill………….

Curiously, many of the people who work at Starbucks seem not to know how sell or grind beans. I repeatedly have tried to buy coffee in Studio City, Toluca Lake and Encino and when I ask a barista about getting a half pound of Yukon Blend for a cone filter, it elicits a blank stare. There is huge turnover, and lots of fresh, inexperienced people working there, but what does it say for Starbucks that they cannot even competently sell that product which made them what they are today?

Now they are going to be forming a partnership with Lionsgate Entertainment to promote a forthcoming movie, “Akeelah and the Bee” . DVD’s will be in every store. Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment, said, “This is a firm commitment for us to expand the brand into the movies.”

Everyone it seems is happy: Hollywood, Starbucks and all the executives from Lionsgate and their attorneys. Yet the environment of Starbucks, which is now deteriorating as service and standards decline, will further be clouded by the inane and disturbing presence of movie DVDs. What products will Starbucks sell next? Victoria’s Secret coffee scented panties? Where does the coffee and the customer stand now that Starbucks is becoming an “entertainment destination”?

Hollywood has already destroyed the movie going experience with digital effects, surround sound ear blasting audio, product placement and rudeness at the movies. Will Hollywood destroy Starbucks too?

Maybe it is too easy to utter that word “discrimination” but as I try to find a Starbucks located in Van Nuys, the thought enters my mind, “Maybe they really do hate Van Nuys”.

There are seven Starbucks in Sherman Oaks, three in Studio City, and only one in Van Nuys at 15355 Sherman Way. You could walk or drive five miles from Ventura and Sepulveda to Roscoe and Sepulveda and find only one Starbucks on Sherman Way!

By contrast, there are six Starbucks in six miles as you drive from 17308 Ventura in Encino to 15535 Ventura, Sherman Oaks. One every mile.

By my calculations, Starbucks is missing four Starbucks in Van Nuys that should be located at least one every mile along Sepulveda Blvd. To say nothing of the Starbucks that should be located at Van Nuys City Hall (where many attorneys and their wallets congregate).

Don Jose Sepulveda would consider Starbucks’ absence a grave insult.

We went to the open house at 11815 Laurelwood in Studio City yesterday and were pleasantly suprised at the architecture–modern, bright, not too stark or strange, very livable. Units (townhouses and apartments) start at about $760,000.

The strange proliferation of billboards and banners advertising psychic services, which are popping up in residential areas all over the San Fernando Valley, is not a fortuitous sign.

In Sherman Oaks [at 13076 Ventura] and Valley Glen, two examples of this malicious activity. If it is OK to advertise for this type of business, then perhaps screenwriters, plumbers, plastic surgeons and dentists can also erect huge signs on their homes.

Will the city eventually enforce those laws that prohibit illegal commercial signs in residential neighborhoods? Ask your local psychic.

Two examples of an architectural battle fought on the streets of Valley Village.

On the left, a home sensitively remodeled in the Mission style with a nicely scaled porch and a stone base with a historic light. Colors on the windows and the siding are harmonious.

On the right, a synthetic, lowbred, grotesque clod with a three story tall living room and security camera mounted on the side. Nothing is proportioned, everything screams for attention. It is unneighborly, gross and cheap.

The home on the the left, respectful of the street and kind to the passerby. The home on the right, hostile, ostentatious and totally out of place.

Block by block, the older streets of the San Fernando Valley are a war zone where the vulgar, appalling and tasteless are invading what was once the domain of the quiet, well mannered and gracious home.