MINUTES FROM MARCH 27th 2025
Voting Members in Attendance: Quentin Fleming, Beth Holden-Garland, Chris Spitz, Cindi Young, Steve Cron, Julia Nilsen, Allison Holdorff, Karen Ridgley, Cindy Simon, Sharon Kilbride, Andrew Wolfberg, Janet Anderson, Bruce Schwartz, Courtney Macker, Haldis Toppel, James Alexakis, Richard Blumenberg, Hagop Tchakerian
Non-voting Members and Advisors: Joanna Spak, Michael Edlen, Daphne Gronich, Jessica Rogers, Kevin Niles, Ella Nozar, Rob Weber
1. Call to Order and Reading of Community Council’s Mission. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. Quentin Fleming (Vice-President) read the Mission Statement.
2. Introductions / Roll Call. The Vice-President presided during the meeting in the President’s absence. The Vice-President introduced the members and called the roll.
3. Certification of Quorum. The Vice-President certified quorum.
4. Approval of Minutes. The minutes of March 13, 2025, were approved as distributed.
5. Consideration of Agenda & Upcoming Meetings. The agenda was as distributed. Upcoming meetings: April 10, 2025 (appointment of the Nominating Committee to nominate officer candidates for the 2025-26 term); April 20, 2025 (topics to be announced).
6. Treasurer’s Report. The Secretary read the Treasurer’s report in the Treasurer’s absence: the Council’s bank balance is $112,325.23, with recent donations of $100 and $500 and no unusual expenses. It has been difficult to track down PPCC mail at the Rancho Park Post Office. She encourages donations to PPCC via PayPal.
[Note: the President called item 11.1 following the Treasurer’s Report, and Item 11.2 following 11.1.]
7. General Public Comment – None.
8. Reports, Announcements and Concerns.
8.1. From the Chair/Presiding Officer.
8.1.1. The Vice-President announced that the E.C. has sent a letter re hazardous coastal fire debris:
https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PPCC-Letter-re-Coastal-Debris.pdf
8.1.2. The Vice-President reported on other position letters written since the last PPCC meeting:
https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PPCC-Letter-Waiver-Fees.pdf
https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PPCC-Letter-re-SB-677.pdf
https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PPCC-Letter-re-Specific-Plan.pdf
8.1.3. The Vice-President explained that the President Sue Kohl and Area 7 rep Sharon Kilbride attended and represented PPCC at the “Flag Planting in Palisades – Resiliency!” event sponsored by the American Legion Ronald Reagan Post 283, on March 20, 2025.
8.1.4. The Vice-President announced that Mar Vista residents have reported seeing many lost pets in their neighborhoods. Palisadians who lost pets in the fire may wish to search in the Mar Vista area.
8.2. From Officers/Chair Emeritus – None.
8.3. From At-Large and Area Representatives.
8.3.1. Sharon Kilbride (Area 7) reported that the new Santa Monica Canyon Alliance has been formed and is dealing with extra traffic on canyon roads from trucks engaged in the rebuilding. Their website is www.the-canyon.org.
8.3.2. Karen Ridgley (Area 4) is concerned about the storage of debris on Temescal Canyon Rd. LTC Nathaniel Weander explained that the Army Corps of Engineers is not storing debris along Temescal Canyon Rd., but instead is temporarily using the roadway to reduce the size of debris into smaller units that can then be placed in trucks and taken away to dumping sites.
8.4. From Organizational Representatives – None.
8.5. From Government Offices / Representatives (as available). Contact information for government representatives: https://pacpalicc.org/index.php/government-contacts/.
8.5.1. Brian Espin, LAPD Senior Lead Officer (SLO), Pacific Palisades. SLO Espin spoke about the fact that persons have been seen trespassing in the area and about the need to call 911 when suspicious activity is observed. He noted that the police haven’t seen any burglaries. He also explained the procedures involving the passes and checkpoints for persons entering the area, and about the increased traffic on our streets from trucks and other vehicles used by contractors and utility workers. He cautioned everyone to be mindful and to drive slowly.
8.5.2. Arus Grigoryan, Palisades Field Deputy, CD11 (Councilwoman Traci Park), reported on several matters, including the upcoming ROE form deadline (March 31) and the fact that CW Park has visited the Recreation Center and bocce courts area. There are several EV chargers at the library. The Chipotle restaurant on Sunset Blvd. has recently reopened. She encouraged Palisadians to patronize local restaurants and other businesses that have opened. Ms. Grigoryan also spoke about the landslide in Castellammare on Stretto, where BOE is working on debris removal, which has necessitated road closures. She also notified the board about a Public Works project involving concrete repairs at 900 Napoli Drive, in which 1200 sq. feet of concrete panels have been removed. Finally, she advised that the Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery, chaired by CW Park, recently approved a motion by CW Park for a report back on testing and remediation of soil in the Palisades’ parks, parkways and medians. She also answered questions about undergrounding of utilities during the rebuilding.
8.5.3. Marian Ensley, West Area Field Deputy, Mayor Karen Bass, greeted the board and reminded everyone of the March 31st deadline to submit ROE forms. She also advised that the Mayor is continuing her fire recovery briefings, which will now take place once a week on Tuesdays at 5pm via Zoom; the Mayor would like feedback from constituents affected by the fires.
8.5.4. Zac Gaidzik, West-Coastal Deputy, Sup. Lindsey Horvath reported on the work of the Supervisor and noted the upcoming ROE deadline. He advised that the Supervisor has introduced a motion to create a new County Dept. of Homelessness which will be taken up soon. The new Dept. will consolidate and centralize homeless services. He also explained that work on the broken bridge over the beach pedestrian trail is expected to start by the end of April.
8.5.5. Samantha Gallegos, Field Representative, SD 24 (Sen. Ben Allen) reported on several bills introduced in the legislature by Sen. Allen, including SB 715, which would ensure that post-disaster recovery, local environmental conditions, and climate change impacts are appropriately considered during regional housing need allocations.
8.5.6. Anthony Avila, Field Representative, AD 42 (Asm. Jacqui Irwin) – Not present.
8.6. From PPCC Advisors and Liaisons — None.
9. Reports from PPCC Committee.
x9.1. Rebuild Committee (RC): In the absence of the RC Chair, the Vice-President reported that the Committee has been working on a possible survey of community opinion, has formed a subcommittee on public safety which has been discussing possible increased patrols, and has also formed a 20+ group of volunteer monitors to attend meetings of the Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery. Several of the volunteers attended and spoke at the Ad Hoc Committee meeting on March 24, which was held at the CD 11 offices on Manchester Blvd. in Westchester.
10. Old Business – None.
11. New Business.
11.1. Presentation and Q&A – LAUSD staff on rebuilding of Palisades public schools. [Note: item taken out of order, following the Treasurer’s report/item 6.] Dr. Debra Bryant, Executive Director of School Operations at LAUSD, introduced LAUSA reps who would provide information on the rebuilding of public schools in the Palisades, including Pali High, Marquez Elementary, Palisades Elementary and Canyon School: Carlos Torres (Director of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety) and Issam Dahdul (Director of Facilities). The speakers provided a Slide Show of the rebuilding stages, and gave extensive information on the rebuild of the schools as well as LAUSD’s efforts to mitigate environmental hazards during the rebuilding. Allison Holdorff (Sr. Advisor and District Director for LAUSD Board Member Nick Melvoin – and PPCC Area 5 1st Alternate) was also present. The speakers answered numerous questions from the board and audience. See the Slide Show presentation by LAUSD on the PPCC website at Palisades Fire Recovery Presentations: https://pacpalicc.org/index.php/palisades-fire-recovery-presentations/. The Vice-President thanked the LAUSD speakers for their presentation.
11.2. Presentation and Q&A – LTC Nathaniel Weander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, on phase 2 debris removal. [Note: item taken out of order, following the Treasurer’s report/item 6 and item 11.1.] Lt. Col. Nathaniel Weander, joined briefly by Col. Eric Swenson, provided information about the work of the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) and the status of debris removal. He stressed that the deadline to opt-in to the program is March 31, and explained that folks who opt in by the deadline can later opt out. ACE will not remove retaining walls or swimming pools. He noted that 6,300 properties are eligible for debris removal; to date, 4,397 have opted in, 700+ have opted out, leaving about 1,000 who have still not returned their ROE forms. ACE is working hard to finish debris removal in the Palisades by the end of May, and wants to begin work on PCH debris removal by June 1. There were several questions about eligibility of townhomes, condos, mobile homes and other multifamily units for debris removal by ACE. Col. Swenson explained that this is a decision for FEMA. At this point, FEMA has only authorized debris removal by ACE for single-family homes, and multifamily developments are not eligible. However, he also noted that this issue is being looked at and he believes there will be a new decision in the coming days. He stressed that all owners of units in multi-family developments should still submit completed ROEs by the deadline, and HOAs should do the same. The Vice-President thanked LTC Weander and Col. Swenson for speaking with PPCC.
12. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 pm.