West of Westwood Homeowners' Association

West of Westwood News

Jul 07, 2005

MISSION STATEMENT: The West of Westwood HOA seeks to improve the quality of life for its members and the community.

SAVE THE DATE: The next Annual Meeting will be held October 6, 2005, Westside Pavilion Side Too (Barnes and Noble side), Meeting Room C, 7:00pm.
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Councilman Jack Weiss and West LAPD Captain Carol Aborn will be guest speakers. Our business meeting will be 7:00pm to 7:30pm followed by the speakers. A large turnout shows our officials we care about our community. This is your opportunity to have your concerns addressed.

EXPOSITION RIGHT OF WAY: We want to thank all the volunteers that came out for our last Weed Work Day. We realize that we will never be able set a day that will work for everyone. We encourage you to spend whatever time you can to help beautify the Greenway. We reimburse for Round-Up. Please put your receipt with your name and address in an envelope and either drop off or mail to: Terri Tippit, 10967 Ayres Ave. LA 90064.

NEW ZONING CATEGORY ?“RAS?” (residential/accessory): RAS is intended for the ?“underutilized commercial and transportation corridors?”. The incentives for a developer to seek a zone change to RAS are many and include added density, added project height and reduced parking requirements.
There are those who believe the Pico/Westwood Corridor and the Exposition ROW are underutilized. Nine years ago the Pico/Westwood Neighborhood Overlay District (NOD) ordinance was passed by the City to protect our area from development that would change the characteristic of our community. It appears the RAS may take precedent over the NOD.
We are concerned that no buffer zone or required setbacks exist for RAS projects adjacent to residential properties at this time.
While RAS is well intentioned, in areas such as ours where traffic is at gridlock and our major transportation corridors resemble used car parking lots, RAS will overburden our already overtaxed infrastructure and have serious negative impacts on adjacent residential properties.




Proposed Projects

LANDMARK THEATERS, WESTSIDE TOO: The proposed Landmark Theatre project should begin construction late fall. The building would retain its footprint and height, but be roofed and remodeled (except Barnes and Noble). The present 4-screen, 803-seat theaters on Side One will relocate to Side Too. There will be between 12 and 14 screens with 2,200-seats located on levels 2 and 3 with retail, including a few restaurants, on level 1. Seats for the theaters will range from 60 to 299. A wine and beer lounge will be accessible to the public as well as movie patrons.

TWO PROPOSED RAS PROJECTS: The proposed project on Westwood Blvd. north of Santa Monica Blvd. is a 60-foot high structure (same height as Westside Pavilion) containing 7,000 sq ft of street level commercial and 111 apartment/guest room units, approximately 350 sq ft each. There is another project proposed for the SE corner of National/Overland. The original proposal was for a 45-foot high structure containing 2,620 sq ft of street level retail and 21 loft style condos. Since our meeting the developer has purchased the adjacent property and the project will be larger but at this time we do not have the specifics.

FBI REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS 11000 Wilshire Blvd.: The United States General Services Administration (GSA), which has a major say in the project, is proposing to build nearly one million square feet of space alongside the existing Federal Building, with over 500,000 square feet of office space for the FBI Regional Headquarters. The plan is to build sub-terrain parking on the present parking lot with the building above it. However the FBI would like to demolish the Federal Building and replace it with two new buildings. In August they will decide which plan will work best.
Even though the project would increase the number of employees they say it will not increase the traffic. The post office would remain on site but the postal distribution facility would be moved to another site.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2007 with completion in 2012.

WESTFIELDS SHOPPINGTTOWN, CENTURY CITY: The current phase of remodeling at the Century City Shopping Mall is nearing completion. A new food court is scheduled to open in November and will be followed in December by the opening of the new 15-screen AMC theatres featuring stadium seating and state-of-the-art screening equipment including digital projection.

EXPOSITION LINE: The MTA has approved a budget to fund the first phase of the Exposition light rail line from Downtown to Culver City/Robertson Blvd. Right now funds are not available to continue the line to the beach.

ST. REGIS HOTEL (next to Century Plaza Hotel): Project will replace existing 297 hotel rooms with 145 high-end condominiums. The existing building will probably be demolished and replaced with a new structure. A condo building will generate less traffic than a hotel.
Get Involved

THE WESTSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL (WNC) meets the second Thursday of each month, 7:00 pm in Community Room ?“A?” at the Westside Pavilion. Everyone is invited to come to the meetings and speak to issues or bring your concerns to its 17 members. For more information call 310.474.2326 , email westsidenc@earthlink.net, or visit the website www.wncla.org.

WEST LAPD: Captain Carol Aborn Khoury became the new Commanding Officer (C/O) of WLA Division in June following the death of Captain Proctor. She served as Watch Commander at WLA 8 years ago. She strongly supports a partnership with the LAPD and Community. The WLA Station has many volunteer programs:
?§ The West LA Community-Police Advisory Board (C-PAB) meets the fourth Tuesday of each month, 6:30 pm at the WLA Station, 1663 Butler Ave. The board represents the diverse communities within the station?’s 64 square miles. For more information please contact Officer Anderson at the Community Relations Office, 310 575.8431.
?§ The WLA Volunteer Surveillance Team (VST) is a team of civilians who, after their application has been approved and completed a training program, work with the police to address problems that affect our community. Have civilians work surveillance enables the police to address more serious crime issues. For more information contact Officer Anderson at the Community Relations Office, 310.575.8431.
?§ Neighborhood Watch Block Captain: Being a block captain does not require much time but is crucial to a successful Neighborhood Watch Program. They are the liaison with our Senior Lead Officer (SLO) who will notify you with crime alerts and you will notify him with problems on your block.
?§ Community Police Academy: This 10-week course will meet on Wednesday nights from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. It will be held at Operation West Bureau Community Room, 4849 W. Venice Blvd. 90019. It will be give you a better understanding of the LAPD and how the department functions. There will be a graduation ceremony on November 9, 2005. For more information contact the West LA Community Relations Office at 310.575.8431.
?§ West LAPD Volunteer Program: Similar to the Reserve Officer Program, you would be trained to do different tasks in the station that normally would be done by an officer. You must complete the Community Police Academy to be eligible for this program.
Currently the Station is being renovated. There will be an Open House in the Fall.
Although we live in a very safe area you still need to be aware of your environment. The highest crime rate we have is theft of and from vehicles. The police remind us not to leave items in public view in our car, doors unlocked or windows open. Leaving an outdoor light on discourages illegal activity at night. Contact number to report a problem in our area 310 575.8423, reporting a crime 310 575.8402 and non-Emergency Police Response, 1.877.284.7328.



Reminders

DIAL 311 for City Hall Operator to get city department phone numbers at no charge.

STREET OR ALLEY NEED REPAVING, POT HOLES, TREE TRIMMING, STREET LIGHTING? Call Street Services at 213 473.8420

COMPLAINTS regarding illegal signs, problem properties, and code violations call Building and Safety at 888 524.2845. Please remember to remove ?“Garage/Estate Sale?” signs.

DUMPING ON EXPOSITION ROW is illegal. Report suspicious activity to the police 310 575.8402. If you see items that need to be removed from the ROW leave a message with the location (i.e. between Kelton and Veteran/southside) and description of the item(s) 310 474.2326.

NOISY BLOWERS are prohibited. City Ordinance #171,440 ?“?…no gas powered blower shall be used within 500 feet of a residence. With the exception of leaf vacuum devices which operate at such a sound level not to exceed 45 db(A).?” Both the user of the blower as well as the employer can be cited! It is the homeowner or resident?’s responsibility to make sure that the use of a blower on his or her property is in compliance with this ordinance?—remind your gardeners.

FIRE STATION 92 wants to remind you that when you hear sirens to move to the right and stop!! More and more vehicles are not yielding to emergency vehicles. Someday you or a loved one may need their quick response. A Memorial Torch Relay to benefit the LAFD Fallen Firefighters Memorial Fund began May 14th and will end October 1st. The Torch will pass in front of our station July 16th at 11 am. If you would like to contribute to this worthy cause please call 213 978.3810 and tell them you are sponsoring Fire Station 92. For a $25 contribution you?’ll receive a Firefighter Memorial Pin, a T-Shirt for $50, Brick Paver for $125, Medallion and Brick Paver for $250, ?“Wall of Flame?” Inscription and Brick Paver for $500, and for $1,000 & up Fire Chief?’s Reception Dinner for Two, ?“Wall of Flame?” Inscription and Brick Paver.

PAN HANDLING is an increasing problem. You are encouraged you to give to the agencies that work with the homeless and not to the homeless directly. It is better to give them a hand up not a hand out.

UCLA SAFE COLLECTION CENTER is where you can drop off chemicals, used motor oil, batteries, computers etc. Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 8am-2pm, 550 Charles Young Drive. For more information call 1.800.988.6942

COMMUNITY RESOURCES:
Councilman Jack Weiss District Office: 310 289.0353, weiss@council.lacity.org
Graffiti Removal: 310 204.2749 (no charge)
Bureau of Traffic and Parking Enforcement: 213 847.1380