Westside Village Civic Assn., Inc.

Westside Village News & Views --Jan 2002

Mar 22, 2002

President?’s Report

The Annual Meeting and Dinner of the WVCA will be held on Wednesday, February 20 in the Fellowship Hall of St. John?’s Presbyterian Church, 11000 National Boulevard. As has become customary in recent years, a Mexican Buffet catered by Baja Bud?’s will be served starting at 5:30 p.m., to be followed by the business meeting and program beginning at about 6:45 p.m.. Features of the program include the election of Officers and Directors to the 2002 Board, a short presentation about the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training program by a representative of the Fire Department?’s Disaster Preparedness Unit, and remarks about current topics in City government affecting the Westside by Councilwomen Miscikowski and Galanter or their representatives. More details regarding Annual Meeting arrangements will be found in the enclosed flyer, which also includes a registration form. Please send the registration form and your remittance to our Treasurer, Richard Saltsman, by Saturday, February 9, if possible, to assist us in our planning.

A dues notice is attached to this Newsletter for your use in paying the annual dues of ten dollars per household to WVCA for the year 2002. We would like to equal or surpass the approximately 50% of the Westside Village households who have been dues paying members of the Association in recent years. These dues are the sole means of support for the publication of this newsletter and other activities of the Association. Please complete the attached form and use the attached return envelope for mailing the form and your check to our Treasurer, Richard Saltsman.

A Nominating Committee consisting of Board Members Marion Serra, Greg Severson, Marie Wallace and Charles West is currently seeking nominees to fill the vacancies on the 2002 Board. Their report will be presented at the Annual Meeting. Five current Board Members, who collectively have contributed many years of service to the WVCA, will be stepping down. Ron Meza has served two terms as President and many other years on the Board, and has been an invaluable source of expertise on zoning and related regulatory matters. Austin MacInnis is currently completing four years of service as President and Past President. Joel Hagler has served eight years as our Treasurer and simultaneously assumed major resposibilities in connection with the assembly and distribution of our newsletters. And Paulette Teach and Janet Brown have both served in editorial capacities for the newsletter during their many years of Board service. I am sure I speak for the entire Association in thanking all of them for their valuable community service contributions to the welfare of Westside Village residents.

We are pleased with the prospect of having three members who have not previously served on the Board join us in 2002. We hope that more of you will become involved with activities that benefit the neighborhood. Opportunities to participate as Block Captains or Co-Block Captains are described elsewhere in this newsletter. There is a clear need to have people in the area who have received the CERT disaster preparedness training regularly offered by the Fire Department. And more participation by Westside Village residents in the Neighborhood Watch meetings with our local police officers would also be beneficial. These meetings are held regularly at 6:30 p.m.on the third Tuesday of the month at the Palms Elementary School Community Center. The effectiveness of the Civic Association is a function of the degree to which its members are involved and interested in these types of community activities.

WVCA?’s Block Captain System

A system of Block Captains in Westside Village was established in the early days of our Civic Association. A major function of Block Captains at that time was to maintain and annually update address and phone number lists for block residents to facilitate alerts in cases of criminal activity or other emergencies in the immediate area. Block Captains, also assumed other activities such as delivery of newsletters and occasional special notices to block residents, the welcoming of new block residents, and recruitment of new members for the Civic Association. Everett Wallace was primarily responsible for the development and maintenance of this system. He kept current block list records for many years. A few years ago, Everett found it necessary to discontinue that service. Since then there has been less oversight and guidance for the System.

Many members of the Association have served long, faithfully and well as Block Captains. The Board feels it is once again time to recognize that service. At the same time, we would like to recruit new Block Captains where vacancies exist, and equally importantly, to recruit Co-Block Captains to share in the performance of these functions as needed. To that end the Board is considering having a special diner meeting for current and prospective Block Captains and Co-Block Captains, probably in the late spring or early summer. More specific information will be included in the Spring Newsletter. We hope many of you will consider becoming a Block Captain or Co-Block Captain. It is an excellent way to serve your neighbors as well as to get to know them better.

Revision of City Council Boundaries

It is required every ten years after the Federal Census is released that the boundaries of our City Council Districts be adjusted so that each District has approximately the same number of voters. The City?’s Redistricting commission is currently formulating a draft of proposed new boundaries, which should be ready by the end of January. This draft plan will be presented to the public in a series of public meetings in February, and public comment will be invited. A revised map will then be prepared by the Commission and submitted to the City Council for a vote, and ultimately to the Mayor for approval. The new Districts will become operational on July 1, 2002.

As you are aware, Westside Village is currently divided between Council Districts 6 (Galanter) and 11 (Miscikowski). One proposal, which is likely to be incorporated into the Commission?’s draft plan, calls for amalgamating the coastal parts of Districts 6 and 11 (roughly between LAX and Mulholland and eastward to the 405) into one new coastal District. Westside Village would probably be included in this new District because of our participation in the Mar Vista Community Council. It isn?’t clear at this time whether the new District, if it becomes a reality, would become District 6 or District 11.

This issue is obviously of importance to Westside Village residents. Those interested should try to attend one of the public meetings and send your comments to the Commission. Unfortunately, the schedule and location of those public meetings has not been announced as of the time this is being written. The Commission can be reached as follows: Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission, 250 E. First St., Suite 1005, Los Angeles, CA 90012. E-mail: redistricting@laccrc.lacity.org. FAX: 213/473-6425.

Southern California Earthquakes and Disaster Preparedness

A public panel presentation on the subject of West Los Angeles geology and the associated risks and hazards of living in this area will be presented on Thursday, February 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Mar Vista Elementary School, 3330 Granville Avenue. The school is located between Granville and Stoner, with Indianapolis on the north.. The proposed program will deal with an examination of special features of the geological conditions in West Los Angeles, the condition, location and features of local water, oil and gas fields, and an assessment of ways for mitigating hazards posed by an earthquake in this area. The panel will include speakers from the Southern California Earthquake Center, the Department of Water and Power, the Southern California Gas Company, LAPD and LAFD. A number of CERT teams in this area, and a number of neighborhood associations, including the Westside Village Civic Association, are sponsoring the program.

Tree Planting News

A few months ago several interested parties, including the WVCA, wrote to Albertson?’s, Inc. with the suggestion that the addition of some trees or other greenery might enhance the attractiveness of their market at Sepulveda and Palms . They responded promptly and positively to these suggestions. First a shielding fence was built around their receiving area, and recently ten palms of a variety that does not get very tall have been planted on the periphery of their parking area on the northwest corner of Sepulveda and Palms. They also got Cal-Trans to cut back the brush and trees from the area behind their back fence. There is also a plan to plant additional tress in the grassy area to the west of the entryway from Palms in the near future. The Director of the market, Mr.Todd Broom, has been responsible for the implementation of this project. The WVCA has expressed its appreciation to Albertson?’s and Mr. Broom for being so cooperative and a good neighbor in making these landscaping improvements.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has launched a Trees for a Green L.A. program to provide free shade trees for planting by homeowners. Their goal is ?“adding 100,000 shade trees annually to Los Angeles?’ neighborhoods as part of LADWP?’s commitment to environmental initiatives to reduce energy use, improve air quality and beautify our communities?”. Interested homeowners will be required to attend a tree planting workshop and sign agreements to plant and maintain their trees. The city will deliver the free trees, but the planting and care of the trees will be the responsibility of the homeowners. To learn more or put your name on the Trees for a Green LA mailing list, visit them on the Web at GreenLA.com or call 1-800-GreenLA.

A large scale planting of trees, and vines along the perimeter fences, was carried out on the Charnock Road Elementary School grounds in December. In part, this planting was to replace trees that had been removed earlier. Among the trees planted were six located on the City parkway along Bentley Avenue by the School to replace street trees that had been removed from that location. Two of those newly planted trees have not done well and will need to be replaced. Volunteers, with assistance and supervision by TreePeople personnel, did the planting. The project was supported in part by a grant from TreePeople as a part of their program to encourage the ?“greening?” of school campuses in place of the large expanses of asphalt that have often dominated school grounds.

Mar Vista Community Council Update

The Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) is one of the many Neighborhood Councils specified by the voter approved City Charter to give more community input on local and city issues. The De-partment of Neighborhood Councils (DONE) requires submission of proposed by-laws as well as 200 signatures from local residents in order for a Neighborhood Council to be certified by the City of Los Angeles.

After a year of writing and debating the aforementioned by-laws, the MVCC organizers approved a set of by-laws it will submit to DONE. At the time of writing this article, we are about 25 signatures short of the necessary 200 needed by DONE; however, this should be accomplished by the time this newsletter is published. A number of Westside Village residents have played a significant role in the evolution of MVCC to date; others are encouraged to attend future meetings, which take place on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Mar Vista Park Recreation Center Auditorium. Also, you may log onto the MVCC web site at http://www.n-councils.com/.

Neighborhood Street Parties

Last fall a very successful Street Party was held in the 3200/3300 block of Greenfield Avenue for residents in that area. Other such events have also been held in earlier years at other locations in Westside Village. The Board feels that these ?“Block Parties?” have served a useful purpose and are consistent with one of the stated goals of the WVCA in its Constitution, namely ?“Developing and fostering community spirit and cooperation?”. Neighborhood residents have been responsible for organizing and financing these events. Neighborhoods who decide to stage such an event that requires closing a street to traffic should know that a City permit is required and the City mandates liability insurance. The fee for the street-closing permit may be waived by application to the City Councilperson in whose district the event is being held. In at least some of the cases of Street Parties that have been held in Westside Village, the WVCA Board has reimbursed the organizers for the approximately $100 charge for liability insurance.

Current Status of the Proposed DWP Substation

According to Debbie Dyner, Cindy Miscikowski?’s field deputy, the proposed DWP substation for distribution of electrical power will be put to a vote in either late January or early February. The location of this DWP substation, which is to service the growing electrical demands of Westside Village and adjacent areas, will most likely be on the property currently occupied by the Pet Depot and the adjacent dry cleaners north of National Blvd. near its intersection with Sepulveda. This site was chosen by the DWP over a number of other suggested possibilities because of the size and cost of that
parcel, as well as its immediate proximity to the ?“load center?” of the area which is to be serviced. Once the substation is approved by the DWP, Councilwoman Miscikowski will press for local resident input to the DWP for the development of a design that is esthetically pleasing to the neighborhood.