MINUTES FROM May 8th 2025
Voting Members in Attendance: Sue Kohl, Quentin Fleming, Jenny Li, Beth Holden-Garland, Chris Spitz, Joanna Spak, Steve Cron, Julia Nilsen, Kimberly Bloom, Karen Ridgley, Lorie Cudzil, Sharon Kilbride, Andrew Wolfberg, Courtney Macker, David Card, James Alexakis, Hagop Tchakerian, Janet Anderson
Non-voting Members and Advisors: Carole White, Diana Daniele, Michael Edlen, Lee Anne Sanderson, Daphne Gronich, Cindy Simon, Rick McGeagh, Valeria Serna, Jessica Rogers, Ella Nozar
1. Call to Order and Reading of Community Council’s Mission. The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. Karen Ridgley read the Mission Statement.
2. Introductions / Roll Call. The President introduced the members and called the roll.
3. Certification of Quorum. The President certified quorum.
4. Approval of Minutes. The minutes of April 24, 2025, were approved as distributed.
5. Consideration of Agenda & Upcoming Meetings. The agenda was as distributed. May 22, 2025 (Rick Caruso & Nick Geller – Steadfast LA; Board nominations of officer candidates accepted until 15 minutes before scheduled close of the meeting; Bylaws, Art VII). June 12, 2025 (candidates forum, if needed, and election of officers for the 2025-26 term; tentative: LADWP presentation.
6. Treasurer’s Report. The Treasurer reported that the Council’s bank balance is $619,481.21, with no activity other than small donations. The second donation from the Riviera Country Club is expected after May 9th.
[Note: Items 10.1, 11.1 and 11.2 were called after Item 6 on the agenda]
7. General Public Comment:
7.1. Ryan Gowhari (owner of Spruzzo) announced that Spruzzo has reopened as of May 1, 2025. He thanked everyone for patronizing the restaurant. He also had questions about restrictions on food trucks parking in the area, which he was advised to speak about with CD 11 Palisades Deputy Arus Grigoryan.
8. Reports, Announcements and Concerns.
8.1. From the Chair/Presiding Officer.
8.1.1. Update on grants/donations to PPCC. The President noted that she had lunch with Megan Watanabe of the Riviera Country Club. She thanked Ms. Watanabe for the generous donations to PPCC and explained that PPCC would be good stewards of the funds.
8.1.2. Update on Zone 0 regulations matter. The President explained that PPCC has submitted a letter commenting on the regulations. She also noted that there will be a FireSafeLA meeting on May 15, from 7pm-8:30pm via Zoom, where the regulations will be discussed; PPCC will provide information about the meeting via Mailchimp.
8.1.3. Letters sent since last meeting:
Fee waivers: https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/PPCC-Letter-Waiver-Fees2.pdf
LAPD checkpoints: https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/PPCC-Letter-re-Checkpoints-LAPD.pdf
8.1.4. Restrictions on entry to the Palisades burn area. The President noted the conditions described in the letter regarding LAPD checkpoints (linked in item 8.1.3), and the need to check all persons entering on foot or on bicycles to make sure they are authorized to enter.
8.1.5. The President announced that the PaliStrong event at the Santa Monica pier was a great party and everyone attending had a wonderful time.
8.2. From Officers/Chair Emeritus.
8.2.1. Beth Holden-Garland (Secretary) reminded organizations and individuals that if they want items posted on PacPaliCC’s Instagram and Facebook to please tag in their posts, and/or send them to her. She is happy to get messages out to the community.
8.3. From At-Large and Area Representatives.
8.3.1. Lorie Cudzil (Area 6 Representative) reported that residents whose homes are still standing have concerns about opening up the Palisades to the public. There are also concerns about when the reservoir will be refilled.
8.3.2. Sharon Kilbride (Area 7 Representative) reported that on May 1 st, she, Sue Pascoe, Arus Grigoryan, Recreation and Parks staff and LAPD officers went into the Via de las Olas bluffs and were able to mark areas and install 5 “restricted entry” signs. She explained that the brush is very overgrown from the recent rains and can provide cover for homeless encampments.
8.3.3. Julia Nilsen (Area 3 Representative) explained that there is bad cell phone coverage in the lower Marquez Knolls. It was explained that AT&T poles have been replaced and Arus Grigoryan is working on this.
8.4. From Organizational Representatives.
8.4.1. David Card (Palisades Forestry Committee/PFC) announced that the PFC now has a new website, www.palisadesforestry.org, and is working on a list of fire-resistant street trees. The new website has links to resources, and general tree and plant information that can be helpful to the community.
8.4.2. Jessica Rogers (PPRA Alternate) expressed public safety concerns about opening up PCH to the general public. She also mentioned concern about the neighborhoods being dark at night from lack of street lights after the fire, and the risk for crime.
8.4.3. Daphne Gronich (Area 4 2nd Alternate) provided information about the July 4th event this year, sponsored by PAPA, which will take place at the Paul Revere Middle School athletic field in the evening. She also noted that the Palisades July 4th run will take place in Venice, and there will also be a parade in Santa Monica which the Palisades “regular” parade participants can join. She mentioned that Lou Kamer can help coordinate any Palisades parade participants that might want to participate in the Santa Monica parade this year. Also, there will be a drone show in lieu of a fireworks show this year, and she promised that it will be a fun time with food trucks and Palisades bands.
8.5. From Government Offices / Representatives (as available). Contact information: https://pacpalicc.org/index.php/government-contacts/.
8.5.1. Brian Espin, LAPD Senior Lead Officer (SLO), Pacific Palisades, explained that California Highway Patrol (CHP) is tasked with crime prevention in the Palisades neighborhoods; that LAPD is assisting only at checkpoints with the National Guard. He also noted that CHP is now doing heavy traffic enforcement and that CHP and LAPD note that vehicles are driving unsafely in Palisades neighborhoods. Regarding the issue of pedestrians entering without passes via the bike path, SLO Espin stated that LAPD doesn’t have the resources to check each person coming in and they don’t have the personnel to monitor the beach path, although the Beach Detail are checking on individuals entering as they are able to do so. He also mentioned that the Palisades doesn’t have as many burglary incidents as there have been upticks in Cheviot Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Westwood, and other parts of the Westside.
8.5.2. Arus Grigoryan, Palisades Field Deputy, CD 11 (Councilwoman Traci Park) spoke about “green drainage signs” and sandbags being placed in certain areas. She also noted that the CD 11 Beautification Team has been picking up trash in the Village. The Bureau of Street Services has made asphalt repairs at the corner of Bienveneda and Via Floresta. The City Council is now engaged in budget discussions. In addition, she mentioned that 311 requests should be made to submit items that the community wants addressed.
8.5.3. Marian Ensley, West Area Representative, Mayor Karen Bass – not present.
8.5.4. Zac Gaidzik, Coastal & Westside Field Deputy, County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, spoke about the problem with a toxic algae bloom in the ocean; the County is working on strategies to mitigate the problem. He said that Supervisor Horvath secured a donation of $100,000 to Marina Rescue Care for helping wildlife impacted by recent issues from the local beaches. He had no updates on the bike path bridge status.
8.5.5. Sean Regan, District Representative, Congressman Brad Sherman – not present.
8.5.6. Samantha Gallegos, Field Representative, SD 24 (Sen. Ben Allen) – not present.
8.5.7. Anthony Avila, Field Representative, AD 42 (Asm. Jacqui Irwin) – not present.
8.6. From PPCC Advisors and Liaisons.
9. Reports from PPCC Committees.
9.1. Nominating Committee (Chair Lorie Cudzil; members Kimberly Bloom, Steve Cron, JoAnna Rodriguez, Chris Spitz). Announcement of Committee’s candidates for officer positions, 2025-26 term.
Chair Cudzil announced that the Committee is very pleased that all the current officers have agreed to continue in their positions in the next term. Therefore, the Committee’s candidates are as follows:
Sue Kohl, President; Quentin Fleming, Vice-President; Jenny Li, Treasurer; Beth Holden-Garland, Secretary. The President thanked the Committee and announced that Board members can now nominate other candidates for officer positions. No such nominations were made. The President also announced that Board members’ nominations of candidates may be made until 15 minutes before scheduled close of the May 22nd meeting.
10. Old Business. (Note: Item 10.1 below was heard following the Treasurer’s report, Item 6)
10.1. Motion for Board Approval of NORC Survey of Community Opinion, by the Executive and Rebuild Committees. See attached motion text and background information below. The motion was introduced by Rebuild Committee Chair David Schwarz and Vice-President Quentin Fleming. No second was necessary as the motion was made by several voting members. Following summaries by the Committee Chair and Vice-President, and discussion by the Board, a vote was taken. Result: the motion passed unanimously.
11. New Business.
11.1. High School Students’ Perspective on the Fire – Katelyn Chang, Pali High Ambassador; Ella Nozar, PPCC Youth Advisor. Katelyn and Ella provided interesting presentations on their experiences after the fire, with Katelyn focusing on students being forced again, after Covid, to return to virtual learning due to the damage to Pali High, and Ella explaining students’ happiness in being able to return to in-person classes when school reopened at the old Sears building in Santa Monica. They said it was good to get out of the “pjs and to get back to school again.” They both indicated it was wonderful to see everyone come together and students were overcome with emotions. Katelyn and Ella are actively involved in doing a fundraiser, called “Raise Pali,” to help other students at the school. The President thanked them both for speaking with PPCC about their experiences.
11.2. Project to Preserve Chimneys of Historic Palisades Homes – Evan Hall, Preserving Palisades Architectural Heritage. See Press Release: https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Project-Chimney-.pdf.
Evan Hall of the “House Museum” gave an interesting presentation on the project to preserve chimneys of historic Palisades homes and answered questions from the Board. The President thanked Evan for his presentation.
12. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 8:02 p.m.
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ATTACHMENT – Item 10.1:
Motion text:
“The Board of Pacific Palisades Community Council (PPCC) approves the retention by the Executive Committee, on the recommendation of the PPCC Rebuild Committee, of NORC (formerly known as the National Opinion Research Center), to conduct a professional survey of Palisades community opinion regarding the reconstruction of Pacific Palisades (Survey), pursuant to the NORC Business Plan Proposal to PPCC of March 6, 2025, and further agrees to provisionally commit $50,000 from the funds donated to PPCC by the California Community Fund toward the total cost of the Survey (approximately $172,750); provided that sufficient funds for the balance of the cost of the Survey (approximately $122,750) are also donated or made available to PPCC, to be determined by the Executive Committee.
“The work on the Survey shall be overseen by the Rebuild Committee, which shall report regularly to the Executive Committee and PPCC Board on the status and progress of the Survey.”
Background information:
Summary: https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/NORC-Executive-Summary.pdf
NORC Proposal: https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/NORC-Research-Proposal.pdf
NORC Slide Show / Presentation to Rebuild Committee 4/18/25:
https://pacpalicc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pdfhandler.ashx_.pdf
NORC information/website: https://www.norc.org/
“NORC delivers objective nonpartisan insights and analysis decision-makers trust.”