November 2007 Archives

The Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association will hold a toy drive from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2, outside the Ralph's store at Ventura Boulevard and Hazeltine Avenue in Sherman Oaks.

The donated items will be given to abused and foster children in Los Angeles Country during a holiday party.

Please bring unwrapped toys only.

At the event, there will be firefighting equipment and police vehicles on display and officers will be available to answer questions. Also, you can play the REMO World Drums.

The Valley VOTE Board of Directors opposes the Las Lomas Development Project, which will be about twice the size of the Ahmanson Ranch on about one quarter of the land it is planned for an unincorporated portion of Los Angeles County located north of the San Fernando Valley, east of the 5 freeway and north of the 14 freeway.
The impact of this massive development will have a detrimental impact on business and the quality of life for the residents of the Valley, particularly the communities of Granada Hills and Sylmar.
The traffic congestion, the proposed unsafe Metrolink station, the lack of water and sewer capacity, and the overwhelming negative environmental impact in this seismically active region are some of the key issues contributing to the opposition of this development.

California Assemblyman Cameron Smyth (38th Dist.) will be the guest speaker at the Valley Vote meeting at 6:45 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, in the second-floor meeting room of Galpin Ford, 15505 Roscoe Blvd., North Hills.

He will speak at 7:30 p.m.

Smyth is vice chair of the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, which oversees issues pertaining to the public health and environment. He seeks to direct the committee toward scientically sound policies that promote a healthy environment and a strong economy and opposes those that needlessly burden the business community and drive our workforce to other states.

He will discuss legislative matters of importance to the residents of Los Angeles.

Valley Vote's mission statement says it is a diverse coalition of San Fernando Valley residents, business people, educators, community activists and organizations. It is committed to exploring and fostering the implementation of programs that empower the citizens of the San Fernando Valley and the city of Los Angeles, to improve governance, education and public participation on policy matters.

Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council's beautification committee is launching a Graffiti Watch program and needs your help! When you see graffiti, contact your local Graffiti Watchers to have the graffiti removed in 48 hours.

You can do any of the following:

• Call 311


• Call your County Supervisor at (818) 993-5170


• Call Councilman Greig Smith's Office at (818) 756-850


• Or submit a graffiti removal request online at www.lacity.org/bpw/OCS/grsr.htm

The Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council will host the 23rd Annual Holiday Parade, with the theme “A Cowboy Holiday,” at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2.

The parade will start at Chatsworth Street and Petit Park Avenue, head west on Chatsworth Street, turn on Zelzah Street, and end at Zelzah and Kingsbury streets, in front of Granada Hills High School.

With more than 4,000 youth participants and 150 different entries, this is the largest holiday youth celebration parade in the San Fernando Valley. It features celebrities, marching bands, youth groups, drill teams and fancy floats.

For more information, go to www.granadachamber.com/par_detail.htm or call at (877) 233-5753.

The City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning will host a training event from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 3, to help people learn how to use the various informational systems available to them on the Internet.

The training session will be held in Room 1B of the Marvin Bradue Building, 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys.

The purpose of this is to train the public so they can contribute to the planning process. Some topics covered will be:

• How to use Zoning Information and Map Access System (ZIMAS) to view property information and make maps, reports, and mailing labels


• Using the neighborhood council Web site to view community plans, historic preservation resources, planning entitlement process, hearings, meetings and agendas


• Downloading departmental forms for the public's development projects

For more information, e-mail the City of L.A. Department of City Planning at zimas@lacity.org or call at (323) 978-1393.

The Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council's beautification committee has identified abandoned shopping carts as a significant neighborhood nuisance and has proposed a resolution to Councilman Greig Smith's office to take action.

• The resolution to reduce abandoned shopping carts includes:
• Requiring stores to install systems to lock wheels upon removal from the store
• Requiring carts to have store phone numbers on them
• Impound all abandoned carts
• Make it illegal to take a cart from a store

North Hills resident Fran Potaski e-mailed the following to the Daily News about the North Hills West Neighborhood Council:

I am a stakeholder of the North Hills West Neighborhood Council I'm actually hesitant starting off with this statement, as I know you believe there are problems within our neighborhood council.

I want to share with you my views on this whole situation. Again I am a stakeholder who is involved in neighborhood council which has become very efficient and effective in fighting off undesirable development. This is one of my issues that I feel very strongly about. It's not that I am against development, I just feel it has to be controlled and reasonable. As do many of my neighbors who have signed partitions to that effect.

The NHWNC is not doing this for their own benefit, it is the stakeholders who come to the meetings and ask for guidance and support when something is about to occur in their neighborhood. I was one of those stakeholders who showed up at a meeting looking for guidance and support. I have learned a great deal from our neighborhood council.

North Hills resident Fran Potaski e-mailed the following to the Daily News about the North Hills West Neighborhood Council:

I am a stakeholder of the North Hills West Neighborhood Council I'm actually hesitant starting off with this statement, as I know you believe there are problems within our neighborhood council.

I want to share with you my views on this whole situation. Again I am a stakeholder who is involved in neighborhood council which has become very efficient and effective in fighting off undesirable development. This is one of my issues that I feel very strongly about. It's not that I am against development, I just feel it has to be controlled and reasonable. As do many of my neighbors who have signed partitions to that effect.

The NHWNC is not doing this for their own benefit, it is the stakeholders who come to the meetings and ask for guidance and support when something is about to occur in their neighborhood. I was one of those stakeholders who showed up at a meeting looking for guidance and support. I have learned a great deal from our neighborhood council.

The Reseda Neighborhood Council has been asked by L.A. Councilman Dennis Zine to identify the worst streets in Reseda so pressure can be put on the city to get them repaired.

Almost 100 blocks have been identified as sorely needing repair. However, only 10 of those blocks have been identified by multiple people. Do your part and identify for streets that you think are the worst.

Contact your neighbors and tell them to vote by e-mail at rnc@resedacouncil.org, phone at (818) 832-7540 or by mail to: Reseda Neighborhood Council, 7324 Reseda Blvd., #118, Reseda, CA 91335.

Rita Robinson , the new general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, will speak about traffic problems in the city at the next community meeting of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association.

The meeting will be held at 7:15 p.m. On Wednesday, Nov. 14, in the Sunkist Building, located at 14130 Riverside Drive, Sherman Oaks.

With a booming population, traffic has increased at a dramatic rate and local streets are becoming clogged.

Robinson is in charge of traffic solutions that are being considered – and implemented – both short-term and long-term.

The last manager was fired by Mayor Villaraigosa because of delayed progress, clearly indicating how important the job is.

You can explain to Robinson some traffic problems you've encountered in Sherman Oaks. What are your ideas for traffic relief, such as one-way streets. What steps should the Department of Transportation take to protect residential neighborhoods from becoming “cut-through highways?”

Please note that this meeting is on the 2nd Wednesday of Novemeber, not the 3rd Wednesday like other dates.

The new North Hills West Neighborhood Council Board will be sworn at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, by L.A. Councilman Greig Smith.
The swearing-in ceremony will take place in Building 22 on the Sepulveda campus of the VA of Greater Los Angeles, 16111 Plummer St., North Hills. The campus is located between Woodley and Haskell avenues.
Follow the signs up the hill.
For information, go to www.northhillswestnc.org or call (818) 893-8613.

The Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, in the first-floor conference room of Sherman Oaks Hospital, 4929 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Dave Rand, land use chair of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, will present the background and nuances of state measure SB1818, which was passed in 2005 and allows local jurisdictions to grant density bonuses that let developers build more than allowed under existing zoning laws if they also build more affordable housing. Now the city is struggling to achieve a balance between development and more affordable housing.

Another topic will be a telephone users' tax that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is trying to retain.

Validated parking is available in the structure north of the hospital.

The Los Angeles Congress of Neighborhoods brought together all the neighborhood council members and stakeholders on Oct. 27 to participate in workshops, discussions on current issues and networking to plan for the new year.

The theme of this year's Congress event was “Building on Success,” which was chosen by council leaders to indicate that neighborhood councils are making major improvements in the 90 communities they serve, according to Jon Lieberman, a member of the Congress of Neighborhood Planning Committee.

The event featured one workshop, the first of its kind on L.A., where city department managers and neighborhood council representatives and stakeholders spoke face-to-face about current issues that impact the city.

It was an interactive dialogue where city department managers discussed city challenges that the neighborhood councils face. This was an open discussion so that council leaders could suggest better ways of communication and improve the progress of various projects.