Vermont Triangle Park: New Rendering, Ground Breaking Party

Proving even the smallest are deserving of a party, a ground-breaking ceremony was held this morning for the , the small patch of cement aka median island at and Hollywood undergoing a transformation.

When finished by October, the $800,000 project will see improvements like landscaping, benches, and . Both and were on hand to talk up the project in front of a crowd of about 15-20 people. In his remarks  Garden Landscaping, Garcetti called the project an instance of “urban acupuncture,” i.e., small efforts made in the city. Yes, more urban acupuncture, please.

Design and construction of streetscape elements along Avenue between the /Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard, and improvement and possible expansion of a landscaped median island at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard, Avenue, and Prospect Avenue.

The Barnsdall Park Transit Oriented District Project was developed based upon extensive planning efforts in the Barnsdall Park and Los Feliz communities resulting in several plans that address community needs and design issues. The Project provides a design concept and includes funds for final design development and implementation.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Friday, May 9th, 2008

Garden Landscaping No Comments

hood and the Quality of Your Life�What to do About It

In LAPD Chief Bill Bratton%26rsquo;s broken-window theory on stopping crime, graffiti is not only sight blight on your neighborhood, it is an invitation to more and bigger crimes.

Graffiti affects the value of your property and the quality of your

life %26hellip; and it is an issue of varying degrees of concern from the Warner

Center (Woodland Hills) to the Warner Grande (San Pedro).

CityWatch offers the following reports from different city council

districts on the way they are attacking LA%26rsquo;s graffiti epidemic.

District 12-Greig Smith-

Sometimes, maintaining the high quality of life in our community is as simple as cutting weeds and painting over graffiti.

When I first ran for office four years ago, I campaigned on the concept of taking back the streets and focusing on the quality of life issues that matter most to our community. That means maintaining the aesthetic appearance of our public places.

Recently, reports of graffiti have shot up 30 percent over last year, and are growing wild on and medians. So this summer, we are declaring war on graffiti and .

We are ramping up our efforts to paint over graffiti and clear with additional funding and an all new program that will also provide job training to youths in our community, to confront these blights.

Graffiti is one of the worst kinds of . It should be aggressively removed and its perpetrators dealt with harshly. Graffiti is often committed by violent gang members and criminals to mark their turf. It is meant to intimidate people and it does.

Removing graffiti is not easy and it is not cheap. One person can paint over 500 locations in one month at a cost of about $37,000 a year. But we will not give up the battle against graffiti. If we do not respond and remove graffiti immediately, vandals only become more emboldened and brazen.

That is why, for the last two years, we have been taking money out of our own discretionary budget to hire our own work crews to remove overgrown in our District, above and beyond what is allocated in the City budget. We spent $15,000 on weed abatement in our District in 2005, $20,000 last year, and we plan to increase that to $30,000 this year.

We have also been working very closely with West Valley Alliance, the contractor that paints over graffiti in our area, to make sure graffiti is removed as quickly as possible - usually within 48 hours of being reported.

Our additional funding, together with donations from Neighborhood Councils in Granada Hills, Canoga Park and Reseda and others, will enable West Valley Alliance to hire another full-time employee and a part-time employee to respond to graffiti removal requests.

West Valley also plans to have a worker available on weekends to paint over graffiti more quickly, purchase additional paint sprayers, have staff work overtime, and identify graffiti %26quot;hot-spots%26quot; in coordination with our local police.

In response, we are launching our Blight Strike Team this summer, a youth work training program in partnership with L.A. Conservation Corps. This new initiative will offer paid jobs to young members of our community who will perform beautification work in our District.

The Blight Strike Team, which will have job training and supervision provided by L.A. Conservation Corp, will clear and remove litter from medians, , streets and other public places in our District. They will also be on call to provide immediate graffiti removal, remove litter after special events such as parades, and clean up illegal dumping sites.

We also organize several large-scale community clean-up efforts a year with volunteers, neighborhood Councils, community-based organizations and our own staff, to remove , paint over graffiti and remove litter from streets, and parks in our community.

Problems like graffiti, and and medians overgrown with are more than just eyesores. They deface the community that we work so hard to keep beautiful and safe, and offend our sense of neighborhood pride.

As a strong believer in the Broken Windows theory, I feel that when we allow a neighborhood to become littered, vandalized or blighted, residents become less engaged and invested in the improvement and maintenance of the neighborhood. That leads to a general decline in the quality of life, lower property values, and ultimately, to higher levels of property crime and .

That is why we are declaring war on graffiti and this summer, and we need your help. The faster graffiti and overgrown are reported, the faster we can eradicate them.

More info at www.CD12.org .

District 13--

President joined with Board of Public Works President Cynthia Ruiz, LAPD Central Area Commander Andrew Smith, and representatives from the L.A. Dodgers and Central City Action Committee to announce that Garcetti%26rsquo;s campaign against graffiti, Uniting Neighborhoods To Abolish Graffiti (UNTAG) has slashed graffiti by two-thirds in Council District 13 during its first three years. Having surpassed its goal of reducing graffiti by half during the first two years of the program in 2006, community members, city paint out crews, and the police department intensified their efforts over the last twelve months to further erode the influence of taggers in Garcetti%26rsquo;s Thirteenth Council District.

Using a consistent methodology during each of the past three years, Garcetti%26rsquo;s staff counted 20,763 tags to establish a baseline in 2004. Two years later, they counted 9,419 tags in the 13.13 square miles of Council District 13, a 55% reduction. This year, that number fell to 6,677, a nearly 68% drop over the three year span.

Garcetti was joined by members of the Dodgers organization who presented a check for $15,000 to the Central City Action Committee (CCAC), one of the city%26rsquo;s graffiti paint out crews. The funds will be used to purchase an equipment truck for CCAC.

%26ldquo;Driving down any street in this area when UNTAG started three years ago, it was clear how much a program like this was needed,%26rdquo; said Cynthia Ruiz, President of the Board of Public Works. %26ldquo;UNTAG is a model for the entire city of Los Angeles.%26rdquo;

%26ldquo;UNTAG utilizes a network of community members who take responsibility for reporting tags to graffiti removal crews. Garcetti has recruited 313 active %26ldquo;block captains%26rdquo; who work to quickly report tags, simultaneously discouraging taggers and reducing their ability to intimidate communities.

Garcetti has continued to find funding for the installation of cameras at graffiti %26ldquo;hot spots.%26rdquo; This gives police 24-hour access to areas that are chronically tagged, and allows them to quickly respond to incidents. Such technology has reduced the frequency of tagging at Lake Street Park, locations along the Corridor, and businesses along Hollywood Boulevard. (%26rsquo;s blog: www.lacityorgcd13)

District 2-Wendy Greuel

See the steps being taken to fight graffiti by Greuel: www.lacity.org/cd2

___

Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

Tuesday, December 25th, 2007

Equipment Landscaping No Comments

Voices from the Hood

The McMansion Dialogues

(On December 7, 2007 CityWatch published by our erstwhile neighborhood issues provocateur, Charles Tarlow, offering his perspective on the Mansionization issue. Here is some of the passionate dialogue that followed.)

I guess Mr. Tarlow does not mind having a house the size of an apartment building looming over his backyard. The sad truth is that most McMansions are square, two story eyesores that are built out to 5 feet of the property lines. Even the %26quot;beautiful Spanish style%26quot; home he depicts appears to push out to the maximum limits.

The proposed City ordnance will require setbacks that will prevent second floors from destroying the privacy and light of their neighbors, yet still allow spacious homes.

As far as value goes, few will be able to afford these palaces. As a result, the price per square foot will drop significantly, pulling down values of smaller homes with them.

If you really want to live in a neighborhood with super-sized homes, then try Santa Clarita.

–Paul Hatfield

NC Valley Village

I would like to know which Neighborhood Council you hold office in or belong to; I am the Parks, OpenSpace and Recreation Representative for Encino Neighborhood Council, having had a business in Encino since 1982. I am also a member of the Planning and Land Use Committee; we are dealing with many issues connected with very large houses built up to the required 5 feet from the property line.

I must take issue with your choice of photographs; an enlarged latrine would look like a House and Garden prize-winner if it had a million dollars thown at it, as is the case with the house in the second photo. However, the welcoming yawn of a monstrous garage cavity which is soon to be filled with two or maybe three new gas- guzzlers is not what I would call inviting.

So please do not tar everyone with your own interpretation of what kind of people prefer smaller houses. Or what is attractive and what is not. At least clearly state that it is YOUR OPINION.

–Rosemarie S. White, Ph.D.

Parks, Open Space and Recreation Representative

Encino Neighborhood Council

Dr. White,

To answer your questions, I am a member of the Mid City West Community Council and also am a member of the Land Use Committee. I will have lived on Colgate Ave since 1947 (60years this week), so I believe I have some experience with my neighborhood.

And, of course, I write my own opinions. I do not speak for the council or the committee. I am just speaking out.

I really do not understand why you take issue with the pictures in my article. What you see is the run down eyesore that was built back in the 1920’s and the beautiful home that replaced it. You are looking at the exact same lot on Colgate Ave. I ask you to answer honestly … which home would you like to live in? Which home adds to the desirability of the neighborhood? There really is only one answer. You can make your argument for size limits, but I seriouslydoubt you would choose to live in the %26quot;dump%26quot; that was labeled %26quot;BEFORE%26quot;.

I realize that there are people who do not like attached garages, andif you are in that camp, you are entitled to your opinion. But consider this: most of the 1920’s older homes have narrow driveways that were not made for modern cars. As a result, few people park cars in their detached garages because their cars barely fit through the driveways. Attached garages allow people to actually park their cars off the crowded streets.

I know from your email that we will probably never agree on theproper size limit for new homes … and that is OK. What I hope we can agree on is that the majority of homeowners in their own neighborhoods should be able to make that decision. And that is what my article was really about.

It is not right for a small vocal minority to make the rules for the majority. If the majority of folks in your neighborhood want to

restrict the size of new homes to 1600sf, then they should be able to do it. If the majority of people in my neighborhood want 3600sf

homes, that is ok too.

The new mansionization ordinance is a one size fits all solution. It will help some neighborhoods and hurt others. A better solution

would be to let each neighborhood control their own destiny.

I hope this better explains my position and I hope the new law benefits your neighborhood. But as I said in my article, beware of

onerous zoning laws. They can do more harm than good.

And by the way, if you are worried that my opinions might adversely affect the city’s decision to implement the new law, you have nothing to worry about. It would take an act of God to stop this ordinance from becoming law. Right or wrong, you are about to get what youwish for. I hope you like it.

–Charles Tarlow

Mid City Los Angeles

Regular CityWatch contributor

The City’s General Plan discourages attached garages, and I think Charles Tarlow’s %26quot;After%26quot; picture illustrates why. With that beautiful, new garage that can probably fit two SUVs, gym equipment, and a workbench, the owners of the property still feel the need to park their car in the driveway illegally (within the 25 foot setback). Are they just eager to show off their car, or is the garage being used for something else?

–Teresa Feldman

Los Angeles

This past June, the City forwarded an anti-mansionization ordinance to the City Council. Our goal was to DO Real Planning. We were led by an unprecedented coalition of homeowners, environmentalists, architects, affordable housing advocates, and civic groups. Inexplicably, our effort has stalled for 6 months at PLUM. If you still believe that this City should take a balanced first step against grossly oversized homes, please read on and circulate this email.

–Jane Usher, President

Los Angeles City

Urgent Need For Action on Mansionization Ordinance

What: Please attend the PLUM Committee meeting at 2 PM on December 18 in City Hall. There is no similarly effective tool quite like your showing up. In addition, you may wish to contact the City Council in advance to express your views.

Why: The December 18 meeting of the PLUM Committee will mark the that this body has heard the Mansionization Ordinance. Currently, the City does not regulate oversized homes that disproportionately impact their neighborhoods and the environment. The proposed Ordinance curtails gross overbuilding while it allows homes of more generous size than are permitted by similar measures in surrounding cities. Work on the proposed Ordinance was sponsored by Councilman , and seconded by Councilmembers Ed Reyes, Wendy Greuel, Janice Hahn, Bill Rosendahl, , and Herb Wesson. The measure was drafted and recommended by City Planning on June 14. The Council has yet to see this work.

PLUM History:

%26bull; At the July 24 PLUM meeting, the Planning Department and the City Attorney%26rsquo;s office were directed to review the proposed Ordinance. In addition, Councilman Jack Weiss directed Planning to offer two changes: a menu of ways for a community to opt out of the Ordinance and a suggestion concerning enclosed .

%26bull; On October 18 the City Attorney%26rsquo;s office released the formal version of the proposed Ordinance. The house size limitations were essentially unchanged. There was no change in the porch provision.

%26bull; On November 20 the Planning Department again appeared before PLUM with a menu of ways for a community to opt out of the Ordinance. Councilman Weiss again asked for an expanded menu, and asked Planning to provide an economic analysis of the effects of the proposed ordinance. No funding is offered for the economic analysis, which would require months of study, and, according to an expert in the field, can be anticipated to find a positive effect on property values.

%26bull; Still another PLUM meeting is scheduled for December 18. Councilman Weiss has spoken publicly in favor of neighborhood-by-neighborhood regulations, rather than a citywide rule. The bureaucracy and time that this new approach envisions is, unfortunately, endless. None of us will live to tell the tale.

Action: The most common criticism of the criticism of the Ordinance is that it is too modest. Indeed, it is not tailored to protect individual neighborhood character, which must come via overlay zones, specific plans, and community plan updates. However, while we fiddle, construction continues on houses that are out of scale for our neighborhoods, that invade the privacy of their neighbors, that overuse scarce resources, and that place home ownership further out of reach for the next generation, including our children.

I was surprised and happy to read in Commissioner Usher%26rsquo;s letter that there are some efforts being made to seed control of individual neighborhoods to the majority of home owners in their own areas. This is something I can get behind. Maybe requiring signatures from two thirds of home owners in a given area before restrictions could be implemented.

–Charles Tarlow

Mid City Los Angeles

CityWatch contributor

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Tuesday, December 25th, 2007

Equipment Landscaping No Comments

An insider look at City Hall News that Was

-Follow Up on Reduced Parking Law

Foreclosure Study Shows LA Neighborhoods Losing Millions

CityWatch staff writers and releases.

Los Angeles City will join the national community group ACORN as it releases %26quot;Foreclosure Exposure 2: The Cost to our Cities and Neighborhoods.%26quot; This report analyzes data from private and federal sources to predict the real economic impact of foreclosures on 96 metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles, if financial institutions and governments do not act immediately to minimize the damage.

As the foreclosure crisis widens, property owners, local governments, lenders and investors alike stand to lose billions of dollars; estimated losses for the Los Angeles area alone exceed $2.6 billion. The report contains a list of the 20 Census tracts in Los Angeles expected to see the greatest number of foreclosures, along with projected losses those tracts.

ACORN will also announce a free Foreclosure Prevention Fair to be held on November 3 featuring HUD-approved loan counselors from ACORN%26rsquo;s Foreclosure Home Equity Loss Prevention (HELP) program, legal service attorneys, and several major lenders that will be prepared to assist homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

Follow Up on Reduced Parking Law

(From Steve Hymon at the LA Times)

The council’s planning committee last week took up a proposed law that would make it easier for developers to get a break from the city’s onerous parking requirements. The idea is to provide an incentive to whose projects are near mass transit or who offer transit alternatives.

The logic goes that people who live near bus or rail lines have less need for a car — and a parking space — and traffic becomes at least fractionally less congested.

Residents from across the city showed up to testify and, to put it mildly, most gave the ordinance a giant thumbs down. Joan Luchs, president of the Federation of Hillside and Canyon Assns., said she understood the intent — to get people out of their cars.

%26quot;The problem is the infrastructure doesn’t exist,%26quot; she said. %26quot;There is no mass transit to get there. This ordinance is putting the cart before the horse.%26quot;

The two present deadlocked on whether to recommend the ordinance to the full council.

Jack Weiss envisioned people having cars anyway and parking them in already congested neighborhoods. Ed Reyes said he believes that easing restrictions on parking in some cases will lead to the construction of housing that is less expensive because parking is often costly to build, particularly when it involves constructing garages.

The council will consider the ordinance in the next few weeks, and the mini-debate in the planning committee will likely grow to an all-out smack down. We look forward to it. _

Tags: , , ,
0

Sunday, December 16th, 2007

Hillside Landscaping No Comments


website counter