MINUTES FROM MAY 23rd 2024
1. Call to Order and Reading of Community Council’s Mission.
The meeting was called to order at 6:04PM. Chris Spitz read the Council Mission Statement.
2. Rollcall of Board members and Certification of Quorum.
The President called the roll and certified quorum.
Voting members present: Maryam Zar, Sue Kohl, Jenny Li, Beth Holden-Garland, David Card, Murray Levy, Steve Cron, Nancy Niles, LeeAnne Sanderson, Kimberly Bloom, Quentin Fleming, Julie Silliman, Eli Safaie-Kia, Chris Spitz, Ailene Haugh, Valeria Serna, Barbara Kohn, Richard Blumenberg, Courtney Macker
Non-voting members present: Cindi Young, Joanna Spak, Daphne Gronich, Michael Edlen, Harlan Hogue, Cathy Russell, Alan Goldsmith, James Alexakis, Andy Frew
3. Introduction of attendees.
Douglas McAllister, VP External Affairs from Frontier Communications, presented a slide show and took questions. See his presentation slides and recording on the PPCC website and YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN0-PXx0w90).
4. Approval of Minutes.
May 9, 2024, minutes were approved and the May 20, 2024, Special Meeting Minutes were approved as corrected.
5. Consideration of Agenda & Upcoming Meetings.
The agenda was considered as presented. The President noted that the officers’ elections will take place on June 13, with a candidates’ forum if there are any contested seats. (See item 12 below.)
6. Treasurer’s Report.
The Treasurer reported that PPCC’s bank balance was $47, 991.80. There were no unusual transactions; $54 was paid to Mailchimp and $950 was paid to PAPA (this amount includes PPCC’s annual $750 payment for a vehicle to carry the PPCC awardees riding in the 4th of July Parade, and $200 as PAPA’s share of proceeds from two auction items donated by PAPA to the PPCC holiday event).
7. General Public Comment.
Krishna Thangavelu (resident) spoke to inform the board that from a public safety POV, SB1282, proposed by Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, is up for a vote after passing the Public Safety Committee of the State Senate. This bill would presumably prevent persons committing some felonies from being prosecuted for incarceration but would make them eligible instead for diversionary programs aimed at rehabilitation. She asked members to research the bill and reach out to our State Senator’s office to point out that this makes criminals less accountable for their crimes.
8. Reports, Announcements and Concerns.
8.1. From the Chair/Presiding Officer.
8.1.1. The President reported on her discussion with LAPD and CD11 for a pilot to enable LAPD to give Pacific Palisades an additional 15-20 hours of patrol time. There is no funding for this right now as Capt. Gabaldon has exhausted his discretionary ability to allocate funding for additional patrols to the Palisades through the months of addressing issues at the Pali Rec Center, but now the problem has moved away from the Rec Center and is visible elsewhere in the Palisades (see previous reports from SLO Espin). The President reported that she had had discussions with Capt. Gabaldon, Sgt. Alpert and SLO Espin, and they had welcomed the idea of a pilot funded by the council office in partnership with the community. She reported that she has had a chance to discuss this with Councilwoman Park who was receptive to the idea. She has since put the Captain and Councilwoman in touch to discuss the possibility of this public-private partnership to fund the additional hours for a 3-month pilot. The President said Board member and community donor, Michael Edlen, has already donated $5,000 to this cause. That donation was initially held at the nonprofit that helps fund Park programs (see previous announcements) but was now being moved to the PPCC account and earmarked for a public safety initiative.
8.1.2. The President recapped the 5/20 Special Meeting, at which the Board passed a motion in principle to support a full EIR and urge the City to consider the stabilization of the Tramonto Slide as a public safety priority and to partner with City and County agencies if need be to responsibly and urgently stabilize the slide. The actual motion language, she said at the 5/20 meeting, would be finalized at the next meeting. As such, she proposed the language below and asked if everyone affirmed this specific language. The Board had no objection and supported the motion, as written:
In light of the factors raised during our Special Meeting of May 20th and the inherent concerns that come with being a hillside neighborhood entirely within the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) with very few major arteries of ingress and egress, PPCC supports the appeal by Castellammare Mesa Home Owners of the adoption of a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Tramonto Project. We insist, instead, that the City Council require a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR), performed independently by a responsible consultant that is approved by the City. We also ask that the City of LA prioritize the stabilization of the Tramonto Slide as part of its mandate to protect the public’s safety – partnering with the County and the State, if need be, to accomplish that goal.
8.1.3. The President reported on a $5,000 donation earmarked for a public safety pilot (see item 8.1.1 above).
8.1.4. The President reported that she had followed up with Zac Gaidzik at County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s office, regarding the Marvin Braude Bike Path failure along Will Rogers State Beach and was told that the multiple agencies involved in repairs had met to identify the failure points, and would soon emerge with a repair plan. The meeting included the County, the Council Office, the City’s Bureau of Engineering, and others.
8.1.5. The President informed the Board that discussion of an evacuation drill for the Palisades continued, and that the City had asked the Palisades to identify where they’d like to focus the drill, as it is impossible to hold one for the entirety of the Palisades. Suggestions were made and the President asked Board members to give it some thought and come back to the next meeting with ideas.
8.1.6. The President announced that a letter had been sent regarding the use of Cheetah Pro in Potrero Canyon, asking for the use to be halted. Michael Amster, CD 11 Field Deputy, later reported that in fact, the decision has been made to stop the use of Cheetah Pro at Potrero Canyon. The President asked for the Council Office to affirm that the planned use in May would in fact not take place (https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Opposing-the-use-of-Cheetah-Pro.pdf).
8.1.7. The President again reminded the Board that the window to nominate people for officer roles remained open and would close 15 minutes before the end of the meeting, which had a hard stop at 8PM due to the fact that she was conducting the meeting from the library and had to be out by 8PM. Therefore, the window for nominations would close at 7:45PM. She reminded everyone that the Nominating Committee, chaired by Steve Cron, had made the following nominations: Sue Kohl, Quentin Fleming, Jenny Li and Beth Holden-Garland, for President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary, respectively. No additional nominations were made at the time of this announcement. (See also item 12, below.)
8.2. From Officers and Chair Emeritus.
8.2.1. Sue Kohl, Vice President – none.
8.2.2. Beth Holden-Garland, Secretary. Beth (no audio – through chat post read by President) asked all to engage with PPCC on social media and send content.
8.2.3. Dave Card, Chair Emeritus. Dave Card reported that he and the Palisades Forestry Committee continue to try and press for action to address the unlawful pruning of a tree in the public right of way on Sunset Boulevard in the village, and subsequent turf installation at the foot of the tree, further compromising the tree’s well-being.
8.3. From At-Large and Area Representatives.
8.3.1. Chris Spitz, At-Large Representative, reported on the status of sidewalk vending and regulations with information that she shared in her written report (https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/At-Large-Report-5-23-24.pdf). She also reported that she had followed up with the City regarding the Lateral Train to connect Potrero Canyon Park to the coast (required and approved by the CA Coastal Commission). She has learned from documents that BOE’s Kristen Ly, who is the Project Manager in charge of the Potrero Canyon project, is also at the helm of the Lateral Trail project. BOE has initiated a Task Order Solicitation process to engage a consultant for work on the Lateral Trail, similar to the consultant hired for the bridge project, but the status is unclear. She indicated that she would inform the board in the months ahead, as she learns more.
8.3.2. Daphne Gronich, 2nd Alternate for Area Four, conveyed a message of thanks from Primary Rep, Karen Ridgley, who was not on the call, for our responsiveness to the rotted tree matter that posed a fire threat (which she mentioned at the last meeting) and the quick turnaround in removing the tree. She also thanked Robert Buenrostro from RAP for clearing Asilomar Bluffs Park brush.
8.4. From Organizational Representatives.
8.4.1. Report by Dave Card (Palisades Forestry Committee) on pruning of the street tree in the village (see item 8.2.3 above). There were no reports by current organizational reps [except as set forth below].
8.4.2. Valeria Serna, Primary in the Environment category representing Resilient Palisades (RP), reported that RP will have their annual “Veg Fest” at the Village Green on June 9th.
8.4.3. James Alexakis, Alternate in the Environment category, representing Temescal Canyon Association (TCA), reported on a 10am hike at Will Rogers coming up on Sunday.
8.5. From Government Offices / Representatives (as available).
8.5.1. Brian Espin, LAPD Senior Lead Officer (SLO), Pacific Palisades. SLO Espin reported on two burglaries that occurred since his last report: one on Lachman and another on DePauw. He explained that these were, again, the result of exposed back windows or unlocked doors.
8.5.2. Michael Amster, CD11 Field Deputy, Pacific Palisades & Brentwood, CM Park – not present.
8.5.3. Allison Holdorff, Senior Advisor, LAUSD Dist. 4 Board Member Nick Melvoin – not present.
8.5.4. Radmehr Nowroozi, SD 24 Field Representative, Palisades, Brentwood, Westwood and Westside areas, Sen. Ben Allen – not present.
8.5.5. Skylar Payab, AD 42 Field Deputy, Pacific Palisades & Brentwood, Asm. Jacqui Irwin – not present.
8.5.6. Marian Ensley, West Area Representative, Mayor Karen Bass – not present.
8.5.7. Zac Gaidzik, SD 3 Coastal and Westside Field Deputy, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath – not present. (See his written report posted on the PPCC website: https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Zac-Update-for-Pacific-Palisades-Community-Council-May-2024.pdf.)
8.6. From PPCC Advisors and WRAC Representatives – none.
9. Reports from PPCC Committees – none.
10. Old Business – none.
11. New Business – none.
12. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 PM. (At 7:45PM, the President called for any additional nominations for PPCC officer seats. There were no further nominations.)