Brentwood Community Council

December 5, 2006 Meeting Highlights

Feb 01, 2007

CRIME UPDATE ?– Senior Lead Officer Phillip Enbody reported that the overall crime rate continues to decline. However, Hillside Burglaries are once again a concern, with four incidents west of the 405 Freeway reported in the last three months. Also, in some cases, burglars are entering the second floor of residences, ransacking bedrooms, pulling up tiles and wooden floors in search of safes. Officer Enbody recommended re-alarming homes to prevent entry through second floor windows. He also warned against the common practice of placing safes in bedroom closets. The Los Angeles Police Department has a Task Force working on Hillside Burglaries.

COUNCIL DISTRICT 11 UPDATE
Barrington Dog Park ?– CD 11 Field Deputy Andrea Epstein reported that Councilman Bill Rosendahl had sent a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs voicing concern on behalf of the community in response to recent news stories about radioactive and biohazardous waste from the Veterans Hospital and UCLA allegedly buried decades ago in the area of the dog park. The Department of Veterans Affairs responded by hiring Millenium Consulting to conduct a study. Michael Noel of Millenium Consulting recently gave a presentation to the community at the Barrington Recreation Center, outlining the phases of his study. He indicated that surface soil would be tested at Westwood Park, to provide a ?“control?” sample, after which surface soil would be tested at the Barrington Dog Park and other surrounding areas, such as the ballfield and arroyo. Results would be reported after the first of the year. In the spring, ?“core?” sampling to a depth of 80-ft. and groundwater testing would take place.

Samantha Greenberg gave an unofficial report, stating that the consultant indicated to her that no significant findings were detected from samples of surface soil at the Barrington Dog Park, from the first phase of the study. Michael Collins, a journalist, spoke briefly about the research he has conducted and the articles he has written on the subject in the weekly newspaper, Los Angeles CityBeat. He said that his in-depth reports could be obtained on the website: www.EnviroReporter.com.

Construction on Sunset Boulevard ?– Ms. Epstein reported on the status of construction of left-turn lanes from Sunset Boulevard onto Mandeville Canyon Road and River Ranch Road. She indicated that a preliminary sewer project would be completed in the next ten days. Then two lanes of traffic will be open in each direction.

DWP Outages ?– The Department of Water and Power?’s Project to replace and update old equipment will take eight months.

NEWSRACK ORDINANCE ?– Jay Handal, President of the Greater West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce reported that the Newsrack Ordinance is being enforced and sixty (60) news racks in five linear blocks of San Vicente have been removed.

BCC OPPOSES BILLBOARD SETTLEMENT PROPOSAL- Jay Handal reported that City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo had proposed a settlement between the billboard industry and the City of Los Angeles. He said that the Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight (CBBB) opposes the settlement, as it would allow hundreds of new or illegal billboards to get permits; allow second billboards on existing structures; and allow high-tech, digital billboards which can display multiple rotating advertisements. Mr. Handal urged the BCC to oppose the proposed settlement. After discussion of the matter, the BCC voted unanimously to ask Councilman Bill Rosendahl to vote against the City Attorney?’s proposed settlement agreement. If the City Council votes to approve a permanent settlement, the BCC voted to ask that the Mayor veto the decision immediately. Mr. Handal also encouraged the public to e-mail both Councilman Rosendahl and the Mayor to oppose the proposed settlement agreement.

ROTARY CLUB PLANS TIME CAPSULE BURIAL ?– Dennis Hinman encouraged the public to attend the Rotary Club?’s time capsule burial to commemorate Brentwood?’s Centennial. The ceremony is planned for January 17, 2007 at 12:00 noon on the San Vicente Boulevard median strip near the Coral Tree Caf?©. Items to be deposited in the time capsule include all issues of the Brentwood News during 2006, the Brentwood Centennial DVD and the Brentwood Historical Society?’s Centennial Stamp Cancellation.

CHAIR ANNOUNCEMENTS ?– Chairwoman Wendy-Sue Rosen reported that she has asked Bill Kamer, Flora Gil Krisiloff, and Nancy Freedman to serve on the Nominating Committee. The Chair also reported that the Brentwood Historical Society will rotate onto the BCC and Jon Byk will rotate off Council.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS IN BRENTWOOD ?– Paula Daniels, Brentwood resident and Commissioner, City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works, gave an overview of the Department of Public Works?– the third largest in the City of Los Angeles. The Department is responsible for the construction, renovation, and operation of public facilities and infrastructure within the City of Los Angeles. The Department is comprised of five bureaus: Contract Administration, Engineering, Sanitation, Street Lighting, and Street Services. The Board of Public Works oversees the Department?’s
$1 billion annual budget and meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in City Hall.

Commissioner Daniels also spoke about the Department?’s Office of Community Beautification, a long-term, citywide, anti-litter, anti-graffiti program to beautify and maintain neighborhoods. She focused on the Mayor?’s Million Trees LA program, and spoke about the benefits city trees provide. She indicated that one million trees save $10 million in energy costs and remove 2.2 million pounds of air pollution, providing 280% return on investment. Quoting data from the University of California, Davis, she reported that Los Angeles has only 18% canopy cover, vs. the national average of 27%, and that a correlation exists between income and canopy cover. Low-income areas have lower canopy cover. Downtown Los Angeles to the harbor has 5% canopy cover vs. Council District 5 (Bel Air, Westwood) with 37% canopy cover. The Million Trees LA program strives to put trees where there are none and add to the urban forest. This is being accomplished through public and private partnerships. The average cost to plant a tree is $125 per Commissioner Daniels, and the Department will plant 300,000 seedlings in the Recreation and Parks Department areas. 120,000 street tree spaces remain. In a call to action she requested participation in the program. Free tree programs are available through DWP?’s Trees for a Green LA program. Commissioner Daniels asked residents to report the trees they plant via the website: www.milliontreesla.org, or by calling 3-1-1.

Flora Gil Krisiloff responded that Tom Safran has been an advocate of the greening of Brentwood and has funded an inventory of Brentwood?’s street trees. He also sponsors a 50/50 matching program. His e-mail address is tom@tsahousing.com.

In response to comments that street trees require proper maintenance, Commissioner Daniels said that the Department is looking at developing maintenance funding.

Commissioner Daniels reported on a new septic policy for the City of Los Angeles created in response to a problem in Mandeville Canyon with homes siting the systems too close to Mandeville Creek. Chairwoman Rosen spoke about Commissioner Daniels help creating a task force that has addressed the protection of water quality not only for Mandeville Canyon, but the entire City of Los Angeles. This task force is now working on a Stream Ordinance to help protect the few miles of remaining streams in the City. Chairwoman Rosen lauded Commissioner Daniels for her knowledge, expertise and aid in speeding these important environmental protections through the system.

HOTEL ANGELENO LANDSCAPE PLAN ?– Wayne Romanek, Landscape Architect and Ellia Thompson, Legal Counsel for the Hotel Angeleno discussed the Hotel?’s landscaping plans to soften the soundscreen wall with tall vertical masses, such as tall timber bamboo (non-invasive), and fill in the gully. The Hotel will install and maintain in perpetuity a landscape buffer.

Landscaping plans have been submitted to Caltrans. Grading plans have been sent to Civil Engineering in Sacramento.

Roy Marshall said that the Brentwood Homeowners Association (BHA) approved the landscape plan in principal.

NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL REVIEW UNDERWAY ?– Tom Ponton, delegate from Neighborhood Council Review Commission said that he is studying and reviewing Neighborhood Councils (NC?’s) citywide. Consideration is being given to changing the system of certifying NC?’s. The Commission will hold a hearing on January 11th at 6:30 p.m. at Mark Twain Middle School on Walgrove. He asked for input via e-mails regarding neighborhood councils. (E-mail: ponton@marvista.org. Website: lacity.org/NCR.)

NO JANUARY MEETING. NEXT BCC MEETING ON FEBRUARY 6TH - The next BCC meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 6, 2007 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Brentwood Kaufman Library. Future agenda items will include: a Public Safety presentation by Police Captain Aborn Khoury, new Director of Planning, Gail Goldberg, and a presentation regarding Public Transportation. The BCC meets regularly on the first Tuesday of each month. Meetings are usually held in the Community Room of the Brentwood Kaufman Library. The BCC agenda is posted at the library one week prior to the meeting date. To receive the BCC?’s monthly agenda by e-mail, contact Chairwoman Wendy-Sue Rosen at RosenFree@aol.com or visit the BCC website: http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/la/brentwoodcc.

(Bette Harris serves as Recording Secretary and Public Safety Representative on the Brentwood Community Council)