MINUTES FROM APRIL 11, 2024
1. Call to Order and Reading of Community Council’s Mission. The meeting was called to order at 6:04 PM. The President read the PPCC Mission Statement.
2. Roll Call of Board members and Certification of Quorum.
The President called role and certified quorum.
Voting members present: Maryam Zar, Sue Kohl, Jenny Li, Dave Card, Murray Levy, Steve Cron, Michael Edlen, Daphne Gronich, Kimberly Bloom, Rick McGeagh, Eli Safaie-Kia, Chris Spitz, John Padden, Courtney Macker, Richard Blumenberg, Genevieve Bostic, Ryan Craig [note: Gabrielle Gottlieb also present; see item 8.4.1. below]
Non-voting members present: Alan Goldsmith, Joanna Spak, Cindi Young, James Alexakis
3. Introduction of attendees.
The President introduced Frank Renfro, Palisadian and private security consultant, who provided information about another security option that the community may wish to consider mobile security trailers. See the recording on our YouTube website: https://youtu.be/eg0ueftPp7Q?feature=shared
4. Approval of Minutes. The draft minutes of March 28, 2024, were approved as presented.
5. Consideration of Agenda & Upcoming Meetings.
The President indicated that the agenda was as distributed and provided the following information about upcoming PPCC meetings:
April 25, 2024: Possible presentation by Californians for Safer Communities.
May 23, 2024: Expected in-person (hybrid) meeting with a presentation by Doug McAllister, VP of External Affairs (CA) from Frontier, regarding fiber optic lines and the cycling out of copper land lines in our community.
6. Treasurer’s Report.
The Treasurer reported that PPCC’s account balance is $47,880.85. Expenditures include $448.00 for insurance renewal (a savings from past years) and $1978.25 to Miracle data for our annual expenses related to our website, emails, and web hosting platforms as well as a website fix that had to do with our donation interface (enabled donors to click a button to cover costs) and also repaired the donation link, which went down shortly after our 2023 holiday gala.
7. General Public Comment.
7.1. Valeria Serna (resident and member of Resilient Palisades). Valeria noted that the Resilient Palisades Earth Day Celebration will take place on April 14 from 9am-1pm. She also expressed concern about plans to install synthetic turf on the Palisades baseball fields. Some comments were exchanged. The President asked Valeria to attend the upcoming PAB meeting to express her concerns, since the decision would likely be made there, and in conjunction with the City’s Department of Recreation & Parks.
8. Reports, Announcements and Concerns.
8.1. From the Chair/Presiding Officer.
8.1.1. The President has appointed the Nominating Committee, per PPCC’s bylaws, to nominate candidates for PPCC officer positions. The Committee Chair, for the third time, is Steve Cron. Other members are Quentin Fleming, LeeAnn Sanderson, Andrew Wolfberg and Mary Mueller, with Parliamentarian Danielle Samulon as an advisor to the Committee (non-voting). The President explained that PPCC officers serve one-year terms and are elected each year by the board. The current officers’ terms will end on June 30. The Nominating Committee will announce its nominations at the May 9th meeting; board members will then have the opportunity to nominate either themselves or other candidates until 15 minutes before the scheduled close of the May 23rd meeting. A candidates’ forum will be held if there are multiple candidates for any office and the officers’ election will take place on June 13. The new officers’ term begins on July 1, 2024.
8.1.2. The President deferred her report on a conversation with LAPD Sgt., Scott Alpert
8.1.3. The President deferred her report on a conversation with RAP GM, Jimmy Kim
8.1.4. The President reported that she followed up with the County Supervisor and her westside staff about the Marvin Braude bike path failure, but has heard nothing of substance in return.
8.1.5. The President reported that PPCC is Co-hosting a beach clean-up event with CD11 on 4/20 at Will Rogers Beach, as well as partnering with Resilient Palisades on their Earth Day event at The Village Green – and we need people to sign up and volunteer at our table.
8.1.6. The President reported that BCC and PPCC are discussing a District Attorney candidate forum for late September.
8.2. From the Officers/Chair Emeritus.
8.2.1. Vice-President Sue Kohl announced that she has been informed by leaders at PPTFH that LAPD Officer Adam Margin has been re-assigned to the Pacific Palisades beach detail. She welcomed him back and noted how effective he had been in the past when he was part of the LAPD team in the Palisades.
8.2.2. Treasurer Jenny LI – None (except for Treasurer’s Report, item 6 above).
8.2.3. Secretary Beth Holden-Garden – Not present.
8.2.4. Chair Emeritus David Card – None.
8.3. From At-Large and Area Representatives.
8.3.1. Daphne Gronich, Area Four 2nd Alternate, read a report from Primary Area 4 rep Karen Ridgley on the status of the Asilomar Stabilization project and more. See the report here: https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Area-4-Report-4.11.pdf
8.3.2. Murray Levy, Area One Rep, reported that the homeowners’ associations in Castellammare and Paseo Miramar in Area One wish for their areas to be designated as “Hillside Construction Regulation Supplemental Use Districts” (HCR-SUDs) and are seeking PPCC’s support. He explained that he had discussed this with At-large Rep and PPCC LUC Chair Chris Spitz, who had in turn spoken with CD 11 Planning Deputy Jeff Khau about the process, and that she had learned from Jeff what would be required for the designation to take place. Chris explained further that the LUC had looked into the HCR ordinance briefly in February, in connection with its work to recommend possible solutions to the construction problems being experienced in Area One, and had learned that various amendments are being considered for the ordinance and that HCR designation might be an option to be studied in the future. The LUC had explained this to the board and in the letter that was sent to CM Park in February with recommendations for possible solutions to the construction problems. She also noted that Jeff Khau had advised her that in order for CM Park to consider taking action to designate any areas as HCR SUDs, a sufficient showing would have to be made to CD11 that a substantial majority of homeowners had received notice of the proposal and actually agree with the designation, and also that maps with clearly drawn boundaries of the proposed HCR SUDs must be submitted. Jeff gave as an analogy the process of obtaining street humps (a petition in support must be signed by 2/3 of residents on the street). He indicated that the entity to take the lead on this request should be the HOAs. The President explained that PPCC could then support and advocate for the requests if the required showing was made, and that such requests could also be made by other hillside areas of the Palisades that may wish to be designated as HCR HUDs. This will be discussed again in the future.
8.3.3. Chris Spitz, At-large Rep, reported (in her capacity as WRAC Vice-Chair & PPCC rep to WRAC) that an AT&T representative will speak at the WRAC board meeting on April 29th to explain why AT&T is also seeking to cycle out of maintaining copper land lines on the Westside. The AT&T rep provided informational flyers which Chris will make available to the President to in turn share with the PPCC board as she deems appropriate. As At-large Rep, Chris reported on two additional matters: First, as to unstable geologic conditions on Via de las Olas, Michael Amster advises that he has learned from BOE that the roadway has been examined and BOE sees no cracks or other indications that it is in danger of giving way; Chris has suggested that fencing should be installed along the rim where the landslides had occurred and that warning signs should be put up, in place of the emergency tape in the area. Next, as to Potrero Canyon, Chris has let Recreation and Parks (RAP) know that due to winter storms, cracks and fissures have reappeared in the Friends St. trail and other park trails, and that overgrown brush is crowding the trails and impeding passage. The RAP maintenance supervisor Robert Buenrostro responded immediately that he had also seen these conditions and was concerned; that RAP maintenance would begin work on filling in the cracks; and that he had notified Kristen Ly of BOE to have the landscape contractor cut back the brush along the trails.
8.4. From Organizational Representatives.
8.4.1. Gabrielle Gottlieb, PPWC reported that they are holding their annual birthday celebration for 90 year old (plus) Palisadians, on May 4th from noon to 3PM. There will be a speaker and a surprise guest.
8.4.2. Genevieve Bostic, PPYMCA reported that the YMCA held their Spring Festival the previous weekend and had a great turn out. Simon Meadow has also inaugurated a Butterfly Garden, now on the side of a walking path, a Learning Tree, and soon a movie night. There is also teen programming, which LAPD welcomes for offering activities for teens. Genevieve also said the Y is looking for teen volunteers to be Counselors in Training at summer camp over the summer months, as well as volunteers (young and old) for the Thursday food bag donations.
8.5. From Government Offices / Representatives (as available)
8.5.1. Brian Espin, Senior Lead Officer (SLO), Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), reported that crime is generally up since last year about 55%. Thefts are up, including package thefts and retail item theft. These are not isolated to youth bad acts. LAPD is tracking the trend city wide and working to stem the tide. The South American “ smash and grab” crews have slowed down from a few months ago and that has been welcome news. He reported that more patrol resources have been allocated to the park, and vandalism is down. He reported that the Department is going paperless, so the reports might be harder for him to generate and email until he learns the system better (not efficient right now), and he asked for patience. Officer Bermudez was promoted to SLO in another community. In his stead, LAPD has re-hired Adam Margin for Pacific Palisades’ beach detail. Officer Margin is familiar with the community and has hit the ground running. SLO Espin welcomed him (as did VP, Sue Kohl, in her announcements). The President asked SLO Espin to bring Officer Margin to an upcoming PPCC meeting to meet the community.
8.5.2. Michael Amster, CD11 (CM Traci Park) Field Deputy, Pacific Palisades & Brentwood, reported that slope slippage at Via de las Olas and Via de la Paz, as well as slippage at other locations, are on his radar for monitoring. He is working on getting city engineering crews at Dept of Public Works (DPW) or Dept of Building and Safety (DBS) out to assess.
CD11 recently brought together a beautification team for the district that helps with trash pick-up, brushing sand, and clearing weeds. Palisades Drive might be a location where they visit soon.
He announced the 4/20 Beach Clean-up at Will Rogers, Tower 15 at 9AM. The first few attendees will get free parking.
Michael shared the street slurry map and discussed that he will be pressing the city department of street repairs to prioritize and elevate road repairs along Sunset Blvd. in Pacific Palisades. (See related motion passed, below.)
Rick McGeagh, Area Seven 1st Alternate, brought up the slide at Will Rogers State Park Rd., and asked to make sure Streets LA would clear the road and that the City would make repairs to the road and shore up the slippage of rock and debris onto a road that is the only means of ingress and egress for residents. Michael said the road has been cleared already, and he is working to secure K-Rails as a temporary fix to prevent further slippage.
Rick also brought up the Marvin Braude Bike Path failure. Michael said CM Traci Park is looking for a solution and may have a council motion to secure funding for a repair.
The President also gave a nod to Eli Safaie-Kia, who has worked with City and State agencies to clear Sullivan Canyon Rd., Mulholland, Westridge and Topanga Fire road, which have all been cleared though a city/state collaborative process that he and the President have been nudging along.
8.5.3. Allison Holdoff, Senior Advisor, LAUSD Dist. 4 board Member Nick Melvoin – Not present.
8.5.4. Radmehr Nowroozi, SD 24 (Sen. Ben Allen) Field Representative, Palisades, Brentwood, Westwood and Westside – Not present.
8.5.5. Skylar Payab, AD 42 (Asm. Jacqui Irwin) Field Deputy, Pacific Palisades & Brentwood – Not present.
8.5.6. Marian Ensley, West Area Field Deputy, Mayor Karen Bass – Not present.
8.5.7. Zac Gaidzik, Coastal and Westside Field Deputy, County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath – Not present.
8.6. From PPCC Advisors and WRAC Representatives.
8.6.1. Chris Spitz (PPCC rep to WRAC and WRAC Vice-Chair). (See comments in item 8.3.3 above).
9. Reports from PPCC Committees.
9.1. PPCC LUC (Chair Chris Spitz). The LUC Chair explained that the LUC had reviewed and was sponsoring/recommending to the board a WRAC-recommended motion requesting compensation for transfers of PROW easements (see motion text below). No second was necessary as the motion was made by a committee with more than one voting member. Following discussion, a vote was taken and the motion below passed unanimously:
“Pacific Palisades Community Council requests that the city receives monetary compensation and/or receives community benefits for the transfer of easements in the public right of way, equivalent to the fair market value of the property transferred, and that this value received is invested in the Community Plan area affected.”
10. Old Business – None.
11. New Business.
11.1. Motion to prioritize repaving/reslurrying portions of Sunset Blvd. in Pacific Palisades. See BSS map: https://labss.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=af0a4dab5c594ab8bbb22b525c 628c95. Motion made by Michael Edlen; second by Chris Spitz:
“In light of recent storms and the impact of heavy rains on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, resulting in large potholes and crevasses that are an impediment to safe driving along much of Sunset Boulevard from Marquez Avenue to Allenford, we ask that the city prioritize the repaving and resurfacing of Sunset Boulevard, hastening the scheduled time
from 2027/2028 to the 2024 resurfacing schedule, as a matter of public safety and a
safeguard against city liability.”
Following discussion, a vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously.
11.2. Discussion: Slope Slippage and Hillside Erosion in Pacific Palisades (no action taken). The board discussed the need for the City of L.A. to address numerous specific areas, as listed below; a further discussion and possible motion will take place at an upcoming PPCC meeting. The list of areas of known geologic instability, previously brought to the attention of the City, is as follows (additional areas may be added after further discussion):
a. Asilomar Bluffs (Area Four residents have sounded alarms and asked the Asilomar remediation project managers to also look at stabilizing this bluff),
b. Via de las Olas Bluffs (residents have long alerted the City to this area, and have some current feedback to share – see item 8.3.3 above),
c. El Oro Lane (M. Amster and City Engineers have come out to survey this site and determined that it requires a substantive street reinforcement, but for now, have lines the sidewalk and eroding gutter with sandbags),
d. Via Bluffs at Beirut/Mt. Holyoke (this location has been sent to BOE for assessment, but no field studies have yet been conducted),
e. Will Rogers State Park Road (City roads managed on State parkland – current suggestion is K Rails implemented along the road as a stopgap measure until the State and City collaborate for a proper remedy),
f. 500 block of Bienveneda (sidewalk slippage has prompted city crews to put signs up warning pedestrians to stay clear).
12. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 PM.