March 2008 Archives

At its next meeting, the Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council will discuss hiring a security company in an effort to reduce graffiti in the community.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, April 10, at First Baptist Church of Granada Hills, 11011 Hayvenhurst Ave., Granada Hills.

Input from residents is welcome.

Also, everyone who attends the meeting will receive a free Graffiti Watch magnet with information on how to erase graffiti from their community.

Everyone who comes to the meeting can also get a free Granada Hills tote bag in an effort to keep the community green and clean.

For more information , go to www.ghsnc.org.

At the March meeting of the Woodland Hills Neighborhood Council, board member Sean McCarthy spoke out against the number "grass-roots" advertising signs cropping up in the community, selling everything from handyman services to paternity testing to copper repiping.

He brought in several signs to the meeting, signs he personally had taken down, according to the council's Web site, www.whcouncil.org.

"How do we expect kids to respect the law and our community when they are surrounded by illegal and ugly signs that clutter our streets?" he asked. "It sends a message that our public space is also a bulletin board! It's no wonder then that we end up with graffiti."

Residents spoke in support of McCarthy's battle to clean up what is basically manufactured graffiti and cited other examples such as the "New Homes" signs that litter the landscape.

Residents said they are frustrated trying to stop this underground advertising and are having difficulty getting support from officials who are responsible for dealing with muncipal code violations.

Sherman Oaks residents can find out how they can "go green" at the next meeting of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, in the Sunkist Building, 14130 Riverside Drive, Sherman Oaks.

David Nahai, general manager of the L.A. Department of Water and Power, will talk about ways to reduce power and water usage as well as provide information about rebate programs for new appliances, solar rebates and free trees.

For more information, call 818-377-4590 or visit www.sohainfo.com.

Dennis DeYoung, a member of the Northridge West Neighborhood Council, recently posted the following to valleynews.com. While his headline says, "Kudos to Greig Smith for killing Las Lomas," he starts off by ripping into Richard Alarcon and the other four L.A. Councilmembers who did not approve striking down the controversial - and massive - Las Lomas development.

DeYoung's posting follows:

Shame on Richard Alarcon and his four other City Council buddies for voting for the horrible and ill-conceived Las Lomas housing project.

Alarcon is completely out of touch with the community and has sold out to the developer and labor unions that championed this disastrous project. Alarcon turned his back on all of the neighborhood councils and other groups that had already weighed against Las Lomas.

If 5,550 homes and 2.3 million feet of commercial space were proposed in Griffith Park (similar terrain and traffic issues), then I'm sure that Alarcon, Jose Huizar, Bernard Parks, Ed Reyes and Herb Wesson would have been appalled and aghast.

This project isn't even located within the city limits, yet Alarcon is afraid of the mere prospect of an unwinnable lawsuit to justify the development.

Perhaps those disgraceful five should have glanced at a map. The project is less than a mile away from the Sunshine Canyon Landfill that the City Council agreed to triple last year and just yards away from the very freeways that collapsed in the 1971 and 1994 earthquakes.

Add to that the scarring of the mountains, adding traffic to an area already choking in congestion, lack of water and electricity and you have a recipe for disaster. This project should have been nipped in the bud a long time ago.

Fortunately, we will never know how many millions of dollars and thousands of lives were saved this week by Greig Smith and the other nine Councilmen who voted to terminate Las Lomas.

We do know that a majority of the City Council had the cajones and smarts to do the right thing for our community. Hooray !

What we lack in our City Council chambers is accountability. I would hope that the few folks who bother to vote will remember how their Councilmen stood on this important issue.

If Alarcon is unwilling to act like a man, then he should find another occupation. Our beloved city needs decisive leaders, not labor union sellouts.

Whoever it was in the planning department that permitted this tragic development to get as far as it did showed the same lack of backbone as Alarcon and both deserve to be relieved of their duties.

Three upcoming events will give residents a chance to meet the candidates running for the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council.

There will be a candidates' forum from 7-8 p.m. tonight.

A candidate mixer will be held from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, March 29.

Another candidates' forum will be held from 7-8 p.m. Thursday, April 3.

All events will be held in the office of L.A. Councilmember Wendy Greuel at the North Valley City Hall, 7747 Foothill Blvd., Tujunga.

Elections will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 5, also at North Valley City Hall.

Several neighborhood councils have spoken out against it. Now the L.A. City Council has weighed in.

The council voted Wednesday to stop the processing of an application for the controversial Las Lomas development that would bring 5,500 homes to an area near where the 5 and 14 freeways meet, according to a Daily News story by reporter Kerry Cavanaugh.

Who voted against the block, which was proposed by Councilman Greig Smith and supported by nine other councilmembers? Read the whole story.

In the only contested race in this year's Studio City Neighborhood Council elections held March 11, David Burg won soundly for the residential homeowner's seat on the board.

Burg received 114 votes. The other residential homeowner running for the seat, Erich Klain, received 29 votes.

All the other seats had only one candidate running for them, except the business property owner seat, which had no candidates.

The Studio City Neighborhood Council meets at 7 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month at the CBS Studio Center in the Annex 1 meeting room.

All council meetings are open to the public.

Meeting agendas are posted at least 72 hours before each meeting on the Web site www.scnc.info. They're also posted at the Studio City Public Library, Carpenter Elementary School, Studio City Recreational Center and outside the gate of CBS Studio Center.

The proposed Las Lomas development policy decision is scheduled to come before the L.A. City Council at 10 .m. Wednesday in Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles.

Residents are encouraged to attend the meeting and make their voices heard.

The controversial development by Las Lomas Land Co. would include construction of more than 5,500 houses where the 5 and 14 freeways meet and continue north along the 5 Freeway to the Calgrove exit.

The property is currenty zoned for 200 to 250 buildings.

The development would also include leveling a mountain and construction of 2.3 million square feet of commercial space.

Several neighborhood councils, Congressmen Brad Sherman and Buck McKeon, Assemblyman Cameron Smythe, Councilman Greig Smith, the city of Santa Clarita and the Sierra Club oppose the project.

According to a recent article in the Daily News by reporter Kerry Cavanaugh, a top L.A. planning official has let community avtivists know that a a new ordinance allowing developers to construct taller, bulkier buildings is "ripe for immediate litigation."

Planning Commission President Jane Ellison Usher, who was selected by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to sit on the commission, sent e-mails May 10 to activists and offered a strategy they can use to sue the city over the controversial new density-bonus rule.

According to the policy, developers may construct the larger buildings - with fewer parking spaces - as long as they include affordable housing.

Usher has been an outspoken critic of the ordinance. She told told the Daily News, "At the end of the day, the loser is the neighborhood and the winner is the developer - and the affording housing that the community receives is peanuts."

She also pointed out that if there are residents who want to sue over the new rule, there are statutes of limitations that are short.

According to a recent article in the Daily News by reporter Kerry Cavanaugh, a top L.A. planning official has let community avtivists know that a a new ordinance allowing developers to construct taller, bulkier buildings is "ripe for immediate litigation."

Planning Commission President Jane Ellison Usher, who was selected by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to sit on the commission, sent e-mails May 10 to activists and offered a strategy they can use to sue the city over the controversial new density-bonus rule.

According to the policy, developers may construct the larger buildings - with fewer parking spaces - as long as they include affordable housing.

Usher has been an outspoken critic of the ordinance. She told told the Daily News, "At the end of the day, the loser is the neighborhood and the winner is the developer - and the affording housing that the community receives is peanuts."

She also pointed out that if there are residents who want to sue over the new rule, there are statutes of limitations that are short.

On the Tarzana Neighborhood Council Web site, there's a new link to the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Stakeholder Survey.

It asks questions such as how did you find out about your neighborhood council meeting, did neighborhood council board members pay attention to you if you spoke, what issues concern you and was your neighborhood council meeting run well?

There are also some basic demographic questions and a place you can check if you're interested in serving on a board or simply as a volunteer.

Check out the Tarzana Neighborhood Council's Web site, tarzananc.org, and click on the icon in the left column (on top of the photo).

Once it's completed, return it to your neighborhood council or the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, 334-B East Second St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.

L.A.Councilmember Dennis Zine and Board of Works Commissioner Ernesto Cardenas will be the speakers at the next Valley Vote meeting at 6:45 p.m. Monday in the second-floor meeting room of Galpin Ford, 15555 Roscoe Blvd., near the 405 Freeway.

Zine, who has been on the City Council since 2001, said his priorities as an elected official include improving quality of life, reducing crime and increasing public safety, and addressing transportation issues using common sense and practical solutions.

Since his first election, Zine has contributed over $150,000 from his council salary to nonprofit organizations.

Cardenas has been on the board of public works since 2007.

The commissioners are the chief administrators of the Department of Public Works, a department consisting of more than 5,400 employees who are responsible for design, construction, renovation and operation of public projects ranging from bridges to wastewater treatment plants and libraries; curbside collection and graffiti removal; and maintenance of streets, sidewalks, sewers, streetlights and street trees.

There is free parking in the Galpin lot on the west side of Orion Avenue. Please do not park in the customer service areas.

For more information, visit www.valleyvote.org.

The Chatsworth Neighborhood Council's equestrian commitee will present the fifth annual "Day of the Horse" celebration from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at Ride-On Therapeutic Riding Center, 21126 Chatsworth St., Chatsworth.

Admission is free.

There will be crafts for kids, various demonstrations, free lunch and a chance to see the world's largest horse. Plus, there will be Ari's Safety Poster Contest.

For more information, cal Mary Kaufman at 818-326-5772.

The Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council's safety commitee will sponsor a series on emergency preparedness next month.

Each weekly program will be held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Sunland Recreation Center's "clubhouse" building, 8701 Foothill Blvd., Sunland.

According to the council's Web site, the schedule will be:
Saturday, April 5 - "Emergncy Preparedness Training, Key to Your Survival in a Disaster"
Saturday, April 12 - "What You Should Know Before Disaster Strikes"
Saturday, April 19 - "Taking Care Is to Prepare"

There are only 25 seats available. To sign up, call the council's office at 818-951-7411.

David Brewer, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Tamar Galatzan, LAUSD school board member, are scheduled to speak at the next meeting of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, in the Sunkist Building, 14130 Riverside Drive, Sherman Oaks.

They will discuss a variey of topics including what improvements are being made in area schools, what are the goals of the new leadership and how good are the public schools in Sherman Oaks?

For more information, call 818-377-4590 or visit www.sohainfo.com

Joe Vetti, vice chair of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Congress, recently sent out the following in an e-mail:

Obviously, it is not possible to include in a column all the "minutes" of a meeting (of the LANCC). However, a few items of significance that were not included in the City Watch Report are briefly reported on here.

1] Janice Hahn praised the attendees for their continuing volunteering effort to have the voice of the neighborhood councils from across the city be heard by the city's political leaders.

She went on to strongly endorse the charter revisions being proposed by LANCC to help achieve this goal. Specifically, she said that the substitution of the term "Coalition" in place of "Congress," and "Board of Delegates" in place of "Senate" will help the neighborhood councils throughout the city better understand a core principle of LANCC i.e. "The LANCC is intended to enhance the ability of certified neighborhood councils have their voices heard on issues affecting their neighborhoods and the city, and is not intended to usurp or interfere with the role of individual neighborhood councils to voice opinions or positions on issues."

The proposed name revision for the organization is:
LANCC - Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition

Joe Vetti, vice chair of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Congress, recently sent out the following in an e-mail:

Obviously, it is not possible to include in a column all the "minutes" of a meeting (of the LANCC). However, a few items of significance that were not included in the City Watch Report are briefly reported on here.

1] Janice Hahn praised the attendees for their continuing volunteering effort to have the voice of the neighborhood councils from across the city be heard by the city's political leaders.

She went on to strongly endorse the charter revisions being proposed by LANCC to help achieve this goal. Specifically, she said that the substitution of the term "Coalition" in place of "Congress," and "Board of Delegates" in place of "Senate" will help the neighborhood councils throughout the city better understand a core principle of LANCC i.e. "The LANCC is intended to enhance the ability of certified neighborhood councils have their voices heard on issues affecting their neighborhoods and the city, and is not intended to usurp or interfere with the role of individual neighborhood councils to voice opinions or positions on issues."

The proposed name revision for the organization is:
LANCC - Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition

The Los Angeles Unified School District held a community meeting on Feb. 20 to discuss a new K-8 school planned on the southeast corner of Bledsoe Street and Dronfield Avenue in Sylmar.

At the meeting, LAUSD officials went over the California Environmental Quality Air requirements for the project and the types of environmental issues to be considered.

The school is planned to serve 750 elementary students in 30 classrooms and 297 middle school students in 11 classrooms.

The preferred location currenty has eight houses on it.

At the next meeting, LAUSD officials will provide initial drawings of the school layout and overall appearance for communtiy feedback.

See the project information on the LAUSD Facilities Web site. To get more information, you may also call Rodolfo Cancinos, with LAUSD, at 213-276-7414.

Dr. Daniel Wiseman, secretary of the Van Nuys Neighboorhood Council, recently suggested, through an e-mail, ways neighborhood councils could use their unspent funds. Several councils have money that they've not spent yet and the end of the fiscal year is June 30.

His suggestions are:

1. Buy books for your local library. Wiseman says the L.A. City Council recently took away all the money that local libraries had to buy books.

2. Buy equipment for your local park or the fire or police departments. A call to your local park, fire station or police station will help identify items they can't buy at this time because of budget restrictions.

3. Put on a health fair, job fair, concert or some other community event.

4. Support local charities, service clubs or fraternal organizations with their programs, projects and activities.

Any of these expenitures should produce benefits that you can see in your neighborhood, Wiseman said.