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MINUTES FOR MARCH 12th 2015
Voting Members in Attendance: Chris Spitz, Andrew Wolfberg, Jennifer Malaret, Richard Cohen, Barbara Kohn, Sue Kohl, Haldis Toppel, Richard Wulliger, Brenda Theveny, Maryam Zar, Janet Anderson, Paul Glasgall, Stuart Muller, Rick Lemmo, Rick Mills, Amy Kalp, Reza Akef, George Wolfberg, Janet Anderson and Gil Dembo.
Voting Alternates: Steve Boyers, Doug McCormick and Brian Deming,
Non-voting Advisors and Alternates: Flo Elfant, Bruce Schwartz, Diane Bleak, Kevin Niles, Peter Culhane, Ron Dean, David Kaplan, Barbara Marinacci and Laura Mack.
Start of Business Meeting
1. Reading of Community Council’s Mission. Reza Akef read the Mission Statement.
2. Call to Order and Introduction of the Board and Audience. Chris Spitz called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. Introduction of the Board and audience.
3. Certification of Quorum. Chris certified that a quorum was present at 7:06 pm.
4. Adoption of Minutes/Upcoming Meetings. Chris announced the February 26, 2015 minutes were adopted as corrected. Upcoming meetings were announced as: March 2015 is PPCC Public Safety Month. March 26: presentation by Neighborhood Prosecutor Veronica de la Cruz-Robles and LAPD Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore on crime and related legal issues (additional discussion: CUB permit application for mini-mart/beer & wine sales at the Shell Station on Sunset Blvd. & Via de la Paz, whereby the existing Village Mobil sales activities would relocate due to a change in ownership). April 9: presentation by Civic League President Richard Blumenberg and CD11 Land Use & Planning Director Tricia Keane (invited) on proposed amendments to the Baseline Mansionization Ordinance.
5. Consideration of Agenda. The President considered the agenda.
6. Treasurer’s Report. Richard Cohen reported the financial status as of March 12, 2015. The total account balances equal $34,536.61. Richard reported that there were no significant transactions since the last meeting.
7. Reports, Announcements and Concerns.
7.1. Announcements from the President, Chris Spitz.
7.1.1. Meeting Ground Rules. Chris reminded the board that 1) Due to library rules, meeting must end promptly at 9pm; as needed, the President will stay after the meeting to answer questions. 2) The President conducts meeting order and may rearrange order of discussion at her discretion. 3) Board members and audience shall only speak when called upon by the President; there shall be no interruptions except to make a point of order. 4) The President’s role in maintaining meeting order shall be honored. 5) All discussion shall be civil, respectful and courteous. (PPCC Bylaws, http://www.pp90272.org/Bylaws22Feb15.pdf.)
7.1.2. New PPCC Organizational Representatives.
Chris announced that new PPCC representatives have been appointed as follows: (a) Business Category, Chamber of Commerce: Rick Lemmo, Primary; Susan Payne, Alternate. (b) Recreation Category: AYSO/Janet Anderson, Primary; PPBA/Rick McGeagh, Alternate. We thank and congratulate former YMCA representative Carol Pfannkuche, who is leaving to become Director of the Ketchum Downtown Los Angeles YMCA. Chris announced that the Chamber of Commerce representative, being employed by Caruso Affiliated will recuse himself from discussion or voting on the Village project and Susan Payne will represent the Chamber interests. Chris congratulated Carol Pfannkuche on her new appointment as the Ketchum Downtown YMCA director and thanked her for her services to PPCC and on behalf of the community.
7.1.3. March 4, 2015 Hillside Fire Safety and Preparedness Community Meeting, co-sponsored by PPCC and Brentwood Community Council (BCC).
Chris announced that for useful information, including videos of lectures about fire ecology and behavior, landscaping, home “hardening” measures and evacuation route/safety enhancement, go to www.ntcfsc.org (website of the North Topanga Canyon Fire Safe Council). Chris announced that the meeting went well though public attendance was low. Chris referred interested individuals to the article in the March 12, 2015 Palisadian Post.
7.1.4. Baseline Mansionization Ordinance/Letter to Editor. See attached.
7.1.5. Resources – Governmental Representatives. Chris announced there is a new link on pacpalicc.org home page (scroll to bottom of page). That link provides contact information for the council’s agendas contacts and other public officials relevant to the Palisades. Chris thanked Ted Mackie for putting this information on the council’s website.
7.2. Announcements from Governmental Representatives.
7.2.1. Los Angeles Police Department (“LAPD”) – SLO Officer Moore. Email:
27995@lapd.lacity.org — Not in attendance.
7.2.2. Los Angeles City Council, District 11; Councilmember Mike Bonin’s Office. Website: www.11thdistrict.com. Norman Kulla, Senior Counsel. Email: norman.kulla@lacity.org. Anna Kozma, Constituent Advocate. Email: anna.kozma@lacity.org. (310) 575-8461. Norman announced that on March 28th there will be a Hike with Mike 9am – 12 noon at Temescal Canyon Gateway Park.
7.2.3. Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Daniel Tamm Westside Area Representative, Mayor’s Interfaith Liaison (*attending on the 4th Thursday of each month). Mayor’s website: www.lamayor.org. City Services webpage: http://www.lacity.org/CitywideServices/index.htm. MyLA Phone App: http://www.lacity.org//MyLA311/index.htm — Not in attendance.
7.2.4. California State Assembly, Office of Assemblymember Richard Bloom. Stephanie Cohen, Field Representative. Website: http://www.asmdc.org/bloom. Email: Stephanie.Cohen@asm.ca.gov. Tim Harter, Case Worker and Field Representative. Email: Tim.Harter@asm.ca.gov. (310) 450-0041.
Stephanie announced that: (1) The AM introduced his legislative package several weeks ago. Topics this year include arts districts, youth homelessness, environment, animals, water and the AM is the Chair of Budget Committee No. 3 on Transportation and Resources. More information on bill language will be coming in the upcoming weeks. (2) The AM’s office is moving within the same building to Suite 105 as of March 15, 2015. The old Suite was 150 so the new office will be Suite 105. 2800 28th Street, Suite 105, Santa Monica, CA 90405.
7.2.5. California State Senate, Office of State Senator Ben Allen. Fernando R. Morales, District Representative. Website: http://sd26.senate.ca.gov. Email: Fernando.morales@sen.ca.gov. (310) 318-6994 — Not in attendance.
7.2.6. United States Congress, Office of Congressman Ted Lieu. Janet Turner District Representative. Website: https://lieu.house.gov. Email: janet.turner@mail.house.gov. (310) 652-3095.
Janet reported that (1) there will be a meeting with USPS Postmasters and directors from the district. Anyone with postal problems should contact Janet. (2) VA Town Hall Meeting – will be upcoming and the date is to be announced. (3) High School Arts Competition – flyers are available. (4) she has been assigned to focus on national parks and wildlife. If anyone has something on the federal level having to do with parks and wildlife please contact Janet. Maryam Zar asked about the office’s FB feed and how to get information.
7.3. Announcements from Board Members and Advisors.
7.3.1. Officers/Area Representatives – Report on Behalf of Areas — None.
7.3.2. Organizational Representatives – Report on Behalf of Organizations. (1) Amy Kalp introduced Sandy Eddy who does marketing for the Friends of the Library. Sandy reported that the next parking lot book sale will be on March 21, 2015 and asked the community to please come and help support the library.
7.3.3. PPCC Advisors.
(1) Laura Mack reported that the Palisades has the highest water usage in the city despite the Mayor’s directive to cut water use. March 29 (Mar Vista) and Brentwood (April 12) are having sustainability events (see PPCC FB page for details. Long term the City has a plan to integrate potable water, recycled water, etc. and recently there was a stakeholder meeting attended by Laura and George Wolfberg. People interested in seeing related documents should contact Laura; comments are due by March 17, 2015.
7.3.4. Board Members, Other Reports — None.
8. Reports from Committees.
8.1. Bylaws Committee – Jennifer Malaret (Chair).
Jennifer reported that the committee held its regularly scheduled March 2015 meeting. Suggestions from the public and the board were reviewed. It was agreed by the committee to report at this public meeting and seek “sense of the board” directional advice (not a discussion item) as to possible structural changes for PPCC on the following topics. If there is no overwhelming support for or against a proposal, the item will be placed on the agenda for a full board discussion at a later meeting; items may also be placed on the agenda for discussion at a future meeting at the request of a board member (Bylaws Art. (IX.5.A); moreover, any bylaws changes ultimately recommended by the committee will be subject to full board discussion and vote after two public readings (Bylaws Art. XII.2). Discussion: Stuart Muller stated that he was disturbed by the bylaws committee meeting process because it was not open. Jennifer Malaret responded that the prior bylaws committee on which Stuart Muller served for two years had meetings that were closed, however he and all other board members and the public have been told that currently the meetings are open to those who submit comments and suggested bylaws changes on the relevant date that those topics are discussed should they wish to attend. Jennifer also reminded Stuart and the board that this “sense of the board vote” was something new that was being tried in an effort to bring in more views to the bylaws committee as was the current method of topical amendments rather than the multi-year process that prior Chairs and committee members including Stuart have engaged in. Stuart stated that he had a problem with how the bylaws committee was appointed. Jennifer replied that pursuant to the bylaws, this committee and all committees serve at the direction of the Chair. Jennifer invited Stuart to submit his redlined comments to the bylaws document and that these comments along with comments from any other person would be considered and discussed in due course. Action: sense of the board votes were as follows:
(1) Organizational Members:
*Should organizational members be eliminated altogether? NO.
*If organizations remain on the board should they become NON-VOTING members? NO.
*If organizations remain on the board, should the organizational membership list and categories be re-evaluated? YES
*If organizations remain on the board, should “standing seats” be eliminated such that all seats within a category rotate at least once? YES (to be determined/was included in the question above).
*If organizations remain on the board should membership become open to faith-based churches, temples and organizations? YES
*If organizations stay on the board should the bylaws contain an application process for interested organizations to seek membership on PPCC? YES
(2) Term Limits:
*Currently the position of Chair is limited to two consecutive terms in office. Should that be reduced to a single one-year term? NO.
*Should all board members be subject to a personal limit of four consecutive one-year terms? NO.
*Should the bylaws committee explore term limits of any kind different than what are contained in the bylaws presently? SPLIT. TO BE AGENDIZED.
(3) Election of Area and At-Large Representatives; How Should The Selection Process be Accomplished:
*Should election results determine, i.e., the recipient with the most votes is the elected representative AND the candidate with the second most votes becomes the first alternate? NO
*Should the position of second alternate be eliminated? SPLIT: TO BE AGENDIZED.
*IF NO, should the second alternate position be elected, i.e., the candidate with the third most number of votes? Moot per prior question. Split/to be agendized.
*IF NO, should the second alternate position be appointed (mechanism TBD)? Moot per prior question. Split/to be agendized.
(4) “Primary Residence”: should the bylaws include the term “primary residence” as it may apply to certain provisions? YES
Jennifer reported that the bylaws committee determined that comments received and related to election of officers will not be re-evaluated given that, in sum: (1) the full board quite recently voted unanimously to support this committee’s work and recommended changes on that subject after full compliance with the bylaws and organizational process, (2) the Article XII language approved unanimously by the board is consistent with officer election procedures of other NCs, CCs and non-profit boards, and (3) the process for electing the council’s 2015/2016 officers begins next month making further imminent changes impractical. PPCC continues to invite members of the board and the public to submit suggestions for proposed bylaws changes. Additionally, PPCC invites the board and members of the public to submit any concerns and/or suggestions that may go beyond technical bylaws changes (i.e., broader suggestions/concerns about direction, policy, status, mission, outreach and the like). Submit suggestions via email to info@pacpalicc.org, or send to PPCC at P.O. Box 1131, Pacific Palisades, and CA 90272. Suggestions may also be made during public comment at any PPCC board meetings. Board members may also request that the President agendize topics for discussion (see Bylaws Art. IX.5.A for requirements in connection with board member agenda requests).
8.2. Outreach Committee – Andrew Wolfberg (Chair). Like Us on Facebook –
facebook.com/pacpalicc. To receive future PPCC meeting agendas and notices, send a request to info@pacpalicc.org. Andrew reported the council has 299 likes. Please like the council and encourage your friends to like the council’s FB page.
8.3. PP Homeless Task Force – Maryam Zar (Chair).
For more information go to the PPCC website (pacpalicc.org) and click on link to the Task Force; email pacpalihtf@gmail.com; or visit the Task Force’s FB page: Facebook.com/pacpalihtf. Maryam reported that the task force met on March 12th and there is a broader task force meeting coming up on March 24th. Current efforts related to clean-ups, surveys (March 22 – 2 pm to 4 pm is training), email list, FB page and connecting to service providers such as OPCC. Maryam thanked Marge Gold for her efforts to beautify the Village Green.
8.4. Village Project Land Use Committee – David Kaplan (Chair). No meetings scheduled and no updates.
9. Old Business — None.
10. New Business.
10.1. Public Safety, Disaster Relief and Emergency Preparedness.
Presentation/Q&A. Featured speaker: Julie Thomas, CEO, Santa Monica Bay Chapter American Red Cross. Presentation: The Red Cross mission is to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. The Red Cross does disaster services, blood services, preparedness/health & safety, international services (such as 95% of the recent Ebola burials) and service to the armed forces. On a daily basis in LA the Red Cross responds to house fires (on average 5 per day). The Red Cross collects about 40 percent of America’s blood. In Los Angeles during 2014 there were 1,694 disasters, 2,284 home fires, 1,479 volunteers respond for disaster response, and $340,246 was given in relief aid. For preparedness: get a disaster kit (by the bed have shoes/flashlight/glasses; water/food/first aid for 3 days and a backpack to grab and go), make a plan (out of state contact, two evacuation routes, two places to meet) and be informed (radio stations KNX1070 and KFI 640; reverse 911 www.alert.lacounty.gov allow registration of cell phones and email; redcross.org/safeandwell allows people to register if they can get on line to let others know they are safe; download apps from the RedCross at the App Store or Google). The Red Cross’s resources are used to help get families and people more prepared through programs such as PrepareU, PrepareKIDS, PrepareYOUTH, PrepareTEENS, and Preparedness Apps. To prepare the community the Red Cross offers programs including CERT and Teen CERT, Map your Neighborhood and Health and Safety Classes. To prepare organizations the Red Cross offers programs including Ready when the Time Comes, Ready Rating, PrepareBiz, Business Simulation, Ready Certified (fee based), and In-School Youth Clubs. The Red Cross is looking at building community resiliency so communities can come back as quickly as possible after a disaster. Programs for this include Community Event, Community Ambassador, Faith Based Initiative, Blood Drives/Rare Blood Initiative, Job Training & Placement. Questions: Gil asked about the location of stockpiles. Most supplies are in a central location and there are some small containers and vehicles in decentralized locations. Preparesocal.org is the website for the public to go to for updated information and videos. Doug McCormick asked about the life of plastic bottles. Julie said generally one year. Tablets to get rid of bacteria in water are available at REI. Donna Vaccarino asked about the budget and sources of funds. Julie said around $18 million in Los Angeles and most of that comes from individual and corporate donations. Kathleen Jensen asked about testing shelter construction here in Pacific Palisades similar to that in Malibu. Julie stated there are different kinds of testing available. Steve Boyers expressed the concern that the Palisades is very geographically isolated and asked if the Red Cross has thought ahead to pre-positioning its vehicles to ensure that help could get to the Palisades within three days. Haldis Toppel suggested putting emergency bags in vehicles. Rick Mills suggested reviewing Topanga’s information not only for earthquake risk but also the likelihood of wildfires. Flo Elfant began her disaster preparedness efforts more than twenty years ago and she encouraged members of interested groups and neighborhoods to act as a team during a disaster. People need to get trained and be prepared but as importantly the neighborhood around everyone need to be prepared. Flo reminded everyone that her Disaster Preparedness packet is on the website.
11. General Public Comment – None.
12. Adjournment. Chris Spitz adjourned the meeting at 8:45 PM.
ATTACHMENT: ITEM 7.1.4: BASELINE MANSIONIZATION ORDINANCE/LETTER TO EDITOR
March 7, 2015
Letter to Editor, Palisadian Post:
I did not attend the Feb. 23 meeting of the Civic League and cannot comment on what was expressed there. I am concerned that the March 5 Post article may be misleading in terms of the actual status of proposed amendments to the existing Baseline Mansionization Ordinance (BMO).
As reflected in the Council File related to this matter (CF 14-0656 – accessible at www.lacity.org), on November 4, 2014, the City Council unanimously voted to amend the BMO to address certain bonuses and exemptions as outlined in the motion brought by Councilmember Koretz (seconded by Councilmember Bonin) in May 2014. At the same time, the City Council voted to establish an Interim Control Ordinance (ICO) that would temporarily restrict the issuance of building and/or demolition permits in specific neighborhoods of the City; no Palisades neighborhoods are included in the ICO. It is widely reported that the process of drafting and enacting amendments to the BMO – frequently referred to as “closing loopholes” in order to preserve neighborhood integrity – will take at least 12 to 18 months. In the meantime, it is my understanding that the current provisions will continue to govern those neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades that are subject to the BMO (primarily non-hillside, Alphabet Streets north of Sunset).
As PPCC President, I have attended numerous meetings of community leaders Citywide in which the proposed BMO amendments and ICO have been discussed (generally with favorable and/or supportive reactions). The leadership of the Westside Regional Alliance of Councils (WRAC) has recommended to all member councils (including PPCC) that they support a WRAC motion to approve the BMO amendments and essentially “fast track” the ICO process. Understanding that public opinion in the Palisades may be quite different, I have not yet agendized this motion for consideration by our board. Civic League President Richard Blumenberg will give a presentation on the BMO amendments at the PPCC public board meeting on April 9. All interested are invited. In the meantime, letters in opposition to or support of the amendments should be submitted to Council File 14-0656. For more information contact info@pacpalicc.org.
Sincerely,
Chris Spitz
President, Pacific Palisades Community Council
310-721-0532