{"id":13126,"date":"2025-05-24T21:49:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T21:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pacpalicc.org\/?page_id=13126"},"modified":"2025-06-28T19:20:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T19:20:33","slug":"ppcc-minutes-2025-06-12","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pacpalicc.org\/index.php\/ppcc-minutes-2025-06-12\/","title":{"rendered":"PPCC Minutes — 2025 \/ 06 \/ 12"},"content":{"rendered":"

Return to 2025 Minutes<\/a><\/p>\n

MINUTES FROM JUNE 12th 2025<\/h5>\n

Voting Members in Attendance:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Sue Kohl, Quentin Fleming, Jenny Li, Chris Spitz, JoAnna Rodriguez, Steve Cron, Robert Trinkkeller, Kimberly Bloom, \u00a0Karen Ridgley, Lorie Cudzil, Sharon Kilbride, Andrew Wolfberg,\u00a0 John Padden,<\/em> Courtney Macker, Dave Card, James Alexakis, Richard Blumenberg, Hagop Tchakerian, Kaye Steinsapir, Janet Anderson, Donna Vaccarino<\/p>\n

Non-voting Members and Advisors: <\/strong>\u00a0Allison Holdorff Polhill, Carole White, Joanna Spak, Michael Edlen, Daphne Gronich,, Kevin Niles, Valeria Serna, Andy Frew, Rob Weber, Lou Kamer<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0 Call to Order and Reading of Community Council\u2019s Mission.\u00a0 <\/strong>The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m.\u00a0 Sharon Kilbride read the Mission Statement.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>Introductions \/ Roll Call.\u00a0 <\/strong>The President introduced the members and called the roll.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 \u00a0Certification of Quorum.\u00a0 <\/strong>The President certified quorum.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0 Approval of Minutes. \u00a0<\/strong>The minutes of May 22, 2025, were approved as distributed.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 \u00a0Consideration of Agenda & Upcoming Meetings.<\/strong>\u00a0 The agenda was as distributed.\u00a0 June 26, 2025<\/u><\/em> (LADWP presentation; other topics to be announced).\u00a0 July 10, 2025<\/u><\/em> (topics to be announced).<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0 Treasurer\u2019s Report.\u00a0 <\/strong>The Treasurer reported that the Council\u2019s bank balance is $720,821.30, with a few minor donations and expenses incurred of $49,275 (first installment payment to NORC).<\/p>\n

[Note:\u00a0 Item 11.2 was called after Item 6 on the agenda.]<\/em><\/p>\n

7.\u00a0\u00a0 General Public Comment<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

7.1.\u00a0 \u00a0Sue Pascoe (resident and CTN editor) stated that a man who lived In the Mt. Holyoke bluff area recently committed suicide.\u00a0 She feels that many residents\/fire survivors are suffering and in need of direct donations.<\/p>\n

7.2.\u00a0 \u00a0Residents David and Nicole Howard asked about the Mayor\u2019s hiring of a new consulting firm (ACON) for the rebuild, and wanted more information about this.\u00a0 Lee Ann Daly (resident) noted that Team Palisades is having a meeting the next day at 2:30pm with ACON.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0\u00a0 Reports, Announcements and Concerns. <\/strong><\/p>\n

8.1.\u00a0\u00a0 From the Chair\/Presiding Officer<\/u>.<\/p>\n

8.1.1.\u00a0 \u00a0Summer 2025 PPCC meeting dates: July 10, 2025; August 14, 2025 (the Board meets once a month only in July and August; Bylaws, Art. IX.2). \u00a0The President noted the summer meeting dates.<\/p>\n

8.1.2.\u00a0 \u00a0Vacant PPCC Area Three 2nd Alternate position. Notice and deadline to apply, July 6, 2025: \u00a0https:\/\/pacpalicc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PPCC-Area-3-Alt.-App.-Notice-2025.pdf<\/a>.\u00a0 The President invited eligible residents to apply for this position by the July 6th deadline.<\/p>\n

8.1.3.\u00a0 \u00a0Appointment of Three Chairs Committee (to review applications and make nomination to the Board for the Area Three 2nd Alternate position (Bylaws, Art. VIII.1.D).\u00a0 The President announced the following members of the Committee (all former PPCC Chairs\/Presidents):\u00a0 Maryam Zar, Chair, Chris Spitz and David Card.<\/p>\n

8.1.4.\u00a0 \u00a0Donations or grants by PPCC \u2013 Discussion\/Board opinion\/decision sought as to procedure for review and decisions on the award of proposed PPCC donations\/grants:<\/p>\n

(a) Should the Executive Committee or another PPCC committee be formed for this purpose? The President suggested that the Executive Committee should not be tasked with this role and a separate committee should be formed.\u00a0 There were no objections to the President forming a \u201cgrants committee\u201d for this purpose.<\/p>\n

(b) Should that committee be authorized to set the criteria for review\/approval of proposals (keeping in mind the PPCC Mission, per Art.II.1 of the bylaws: \u201cto protect and improve the quality of life in the Pacific Palisades\u201d)? \u00a0\u00a0The President suggested that the grants committee should set the criteria for review\/possible approval of proposals. There were no objections to the President\u2019s suggestion.<\/p>\n

(c) What should be the scope of the committee\u2019s decision-making authority? Should it be:<\/p>\n

(i) authorized to make all final decisions on denial and\/or approval of proposed donations\/grants? The President suggested that the grants committee should not be authorized to make final decisions on approval; final decisions on approval should be made by the Board. There were no objections to the President\u2019s suggestion.<\/p>\n

(ii) authorized to deny proposed donations\/grants at its discretion, but required to bring to the Board all those that it recommends for approval? \u00a0The President suggested that this option was most appropriate; the grants committee should be authorized to deny proposed donations\/grants at its discretion, but to make recommendations for approval to the Board, which should be the sole decider on approval of all such proposed donations\/grants.\u00a0 There were no objections to the President\u2019s suggestion.<\/p>\n

(iii) required to bring all recommendations for denial or approval to the Board? The President suggested that she strongly opposed this option; denial of proposed grants\/donations should be made by the grants committee and not be made public; recommendations for approval only should be brought to the Board for public discussion.\u00a0 There were no objections to the President\u2019s suggestion.<\/p>\n

PPCC\u2019s legal advisor Rob Weber commented that since PPCC\u2019s bylaws do not address the issue of PPCC making grants or donations, a formal Board vote on the rules regarding proposed grants\/donations from PPCC should be taken at an upcoming meeting.\u00a0 He noted that decisions on approval should be based on the purpose of the original donation to PPCC, as expressed by the Riviera Foundation.\u00a0 Chris Spitz (At-large Representative) noted that the approval must also be based on PPCC\u2019s Mission as expressed in the bylaws.<\/p>\n

8.1.5. Update: Luncheon for Seniors, June 5th at Rustic Canyon Recreation Center. \u00a0The President invited Sharon Kilbride (Area Seven Representative) to report on the luncheon.\u00a0 Kilbride reported that the event was well-attended and a great success.\u00a0 Sam Lagana served as M.C. and Jimmy Dunne read a poem for the occasion.\u00a0 Arus Grigoryan (CD 11 Palisades Deputy) was present and worked hard throughout the event; the luncheon was much appreciated by everyone who attended.<\/p>\n

8.1.6.\u00a0 \u00a0The President reminded everyone currently living outside of the Palisades in temporary residences to make certain that their voter registration for next year\u2019s election remains their Pacific Palisades address; visit www.lavote.gov\/recovery<\/a> to ensure that your Palisades address is registered for voting purposes.<\/p>\n

8.1.7.\u00a0 \u00a0The President reminded everyone of the Home Hardening Fair at St. Martin of Tours in Brentwood on Saturday, June 14, from 10am \u2013 12pm.<\/p>\n

8.1.8.\u00a0\u00a0 The President\u00a0 gave a 4th of July reminder:\u00a0 PPCC will participate in the Parade that will take place on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. All of PPCC\u2019s 2024 Honorees will ride in the Parade:\u00a0 Cindi Young, Citizen of the Year; Thomas Hathaway, Pride of the Palisades; and Leslie Campbell and Carlos Rodriguez, Golden Sparkplugs.\u00a0 She invited everyone to attend.<\/p>\n

8.2.\u00a0\u00a0 From Officers\/Chair Emeritus<\/u> \u2013 None.<\/p>\n

8.3.\u00a0\u00a0 From At-Large and Area Representatives<\/u>.<\/p>\n

8.3.1.\u00a0 \u00a0Sharon Kilbride (Area Seven Representative) noted the concerns of Santa Monica Canyon residents that LAPD is not carefully checking passes at checkpoints, and some checkpoints are located where not needed.<\/p>\n

8.3.2.\u00a0 \u00a0Lorie Cudzil (Area Six Representative) reported that residents are seeing very heavy traffic on Chautauqua at certain times; they would like the timing of the traffic lights at PCH and Sunset to be readjusted.\u00a0 Lou Kamer (Transportation Advisor) responded that both agencies involved with that intersection (Caltrans and LADOT) are working on getting the timing readjusted.<\/p>\n

8.3.3. \u00a0\u00a0Kimberly Bloom (Area Five Representative) also reported on residents\u2019 concern about checkpoints and how long they will be in place.\u00a0 She noted that another concern involves mental health and the difficult emotions that continue to be experienced by residents\/fire survivors; there are groups that meet regularly in certain areas such as in the Marina, where many residents meet informally at 8am on Mondays at a Marina restaurant for discussion and for support.<\/p>\n

8.4.\u00a0\u00a0 From Organizational Representatives<\/u>.<\/p>\n

8.4.1.\u00a0\u00a0 Dave Card (Palisades Forestry Committee\/PFC) announced that the PFC will also participate in the Santa Monica Parade on July 4th.\u00a0 The PFC recently worked with students of Seven Arrows Elementary School to plant about a dozen trees in Rustic Canyon.<\/p>\n

8.4.2.\u00a0 \u00a0Daphne Gronich (Area Four 2nd Alternate, reporting on behalf of PAPA), provided additional information about the 4th of July events (5K Run\/Walk in Venice, Parade in Santa Monica, evening Celebration\u00a0 sponsored by PAPA at the Paul Revere Middle School athletic field).\u00a0 She explained that the evening event is for residents only and will feature food trucks, entertainment, music and a special drone show.\u00a0 More information about how residents may obtain free tickets will be coming soon.<\/p>\n

8.5.\u00a0\u00a0 From Government Offices \/ Representatives<\/u> (as available). Contact information:\u00a0 https:\/\/pacpalicc.org\/index.php\/government-contacts\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

8.5.1.\u00a0\u00a0 Brian Espin, LAPD Senior Lead Officer (SLO), Pacific Palisades, reported that there were a couple of burglaries on Chautauqua last week. One involved the perpetrator using a \u201cfake\u201d pass from previous work for a construction company. The checkpoints are still holding; he has passed along information to the LAPD Command Post that the officers stationed at the checkpoints need to do a better job of checking passes.<\/p>\n

8.5.2.\u00a0\u00a0 Arus Grigoryan, Palisades Field Deputy, CD 11 (Councilwoman Traci Park), reported on numerous matters. There will be a \u201cSoul Cycling\u201d event (not sponsored by CD 11) on June 14th, with participants bicycling from Venice to Station 69 in the Palisades.\u00a0 BOE representatives will attend the next PPCC meeting to update us on the status of the \u201cpedestrian trail\u201d from the mouth of Potrero Canyon to Temescal Canyon Rd.\u00a0 CD 11 will host an upcoming townhall with LADWP (date TBA).\u00a0 The City will be repairing the asphalt as well as sidewalks and medians along Sunset Blvd. and Temescal Canyon Rd., where LA Sanitation will also inspect and repair catch basins.<\/p>\n

8.5.3.\u00a0\u00a0 Marian Ensley, West Area Representative, Mayor Karen Bass \u2013 not present.<\/p>\n

8.5.4.\u00a0\u00a0 Zac Gaidzik, Coastal & Westside Field Deputy, County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath \u2013 not present.<\/p>\n

8.5.5.\u00a0\u00a0 Sean Regan, District Representative, Congressman Brad Sherman \u2013 not present.<\/p>\n

8.5.6.\u00a0\u00a0 Samantha Gallegos, Field Representative, SD 24 (Sen. Ben Allen) \u2013 not present.<\/p>\n

8.5.7.\u00a0\u00a0 Anthony Avila, Field Representative, AD 42 (Asm. Jacqui Irwin) \u2013 not present.<\/p>\n

8.6.\u00a0\u00a0 From PPCC Advisors<\/u> and Liaisons<\/u>.<\/p>\n

8.6.1.\u00a0 \u00a0Lou Kamer (Transportation Advisor) noted that he is organizing the Palisades \u201cdelegation\u201d\/ participants in the 4th of July Parade in Santa Monica.\u00a0 He also reminded everyone of the 5K Run\/Walk in Venice and the Celebration evening in the evening at Paul Revere Middle School.<\/p>\n

8.6.3.\u00a0 \u00a0Allison Holdorff Polhill (Education Advisor; PPCC Area Five 1st Alternate; and Senior Advisor to LAUSD member Nick Melvoin) reported that the LAUSD Bond Committee has approved a $603M bond for the rebuild of the three LAUSD schools in the Palisades burn area:\u00a0 the high school and the two elementary schools (Marquez Elementary and Palisades Elementary).<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0\u00a0 Reports from PPCC Committees. <\/strong><\/p>\n

9.1.\u00a0 \u00a0Rebuild Committee<\/u> (David Schwarz, Chair).\u00a0 Update on status of NORC focus groups.\u00a0 Quentin Fleming (Vice-President) reported that about 300 persons responded to the invitation to express interest in joining one of the NORC focus groups.\u00a0 NORC will be randomly selecting participants for the groups which will represent a cross-section of Palisades residents.\u00a0 The focus groups will meet during the week of June 23nd and will inform the questions for the NORC community survey to come at a later date, to be determined).<\/p>\n

9.2.\u00a0 \u00a0Land Use Committee<\/u> (LUC\/Chris Spitz, Chair). LUC update and recommendation for Board action; proposed motion: Request Funding Mechanisms for Bills that Mandate Housing Density and\/or Streamlining. See attached motion text and background, below. <\/em>\u00a0LUC Chair Chris Spitz explained the motion, which did not require a second as it was made by a committee of more than one voting member.\u00a0 Following discussion, a vote was taken.\u00a0 Result:\u00a0 the motion passed unanimously.<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0 \u00a0Old Business<\/strong> \u2013 None.<\/p>\n

11.\u00a0\u00a0 New Business. <\/strong><\/p>\n

11.1.\u00a0 \u00a0Election of PPCC Officers for the 2025-26 term<\/u> (beginning July 1, 2025; Bylaws, Art. VII.4). \u00a0Since all candidates for officer positions were uncontested, per motion by Chris Spitz \u00a0the PPCC officers were elected by enthusiastic acclamation of the Board (Sue Kohl, President; Quentin Fleming, Vice-President; Jenny Li, Treasurer; Beth Holden-Garland, Secretary).<\/p>\n

11.2.\u00a0 \u00a0FireAid Grants Update<\/span> (FireAid team members Chris Wallace and Lisa Cleri Reale). See: https:\/\/www.fireaidla.org\/grants<\/a>.\u00a0 [Note:\u00a0 This Item was called after Item 6 on the agenda; the President announced that due to time constraints this would be a brief presentation and only a few Board members would be called on for questions.]
\n<\/em>
\nThe President welcomed Mr. Wallace of the LA Clippers and Ms. Reale, who is heading up the FireAid team that is handling donations.\u00a0 They provided a great deal of information about the process and about the FireAid donations to date, explaining how they have been working positively with various Palisades organizations.\u00a0 Ms. Reale thanked Chris Spitz for introducing her to many Pacific Palisades nonprofits with whom she has been able to have direct discussions regarding the application process.\u00a0 They welcomed Palisades nonprofits to apply for FireAid grants in the third round this summer\/early fall.\u00a0 Interested persons may contact info@pacpalicc.org<\/a> for Ms. Reale\u2019s email address (which she also placed in the Chat); she will respond to questions submitted to her via email.\u00a0 She and Mr. Wallace also answered questions at the meeting from a few Board members.\u00a0 The President thanked them for attending and presenting information about FireAid to the Board.<\/p>\n

11.3.\u00a0 \u00a0WRAC-recommended motion<\/span> (request to postpone the Caltrans project to repave the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass); proposed in PPCC by the Executive Committee. See attached motion text and background, below. \u00a0<\/em>Chris Spitz (WRAC Vice-Chair and PPCC E.C. member) explained the motion, which did not require a second as it was made by a committee of more than one voting member.\u00a0 Following discussion, a vote was taken.\u00a0 Result:\u00a0 the motion passed unanimously.<\/p>\n

12.\u00a0 \u00a0Adjournment.\u00a0 <\/strong>The meeting was adjourned at 7:39 p.m.<\/p>\n

ATTACHMENT \u2013 Item 9.2: <\/strong><\/p>\n

LUC Motion Proposed Text:<\/p>\n

“The State of California has enacted a series of housing-related bills aimed at increasing residential density
\nin cities and municipalities statewide, including SB 9, SB 10, and others. While the stated intent of these bills is to address the statewide housing crisis, implementation of these measures often places significant burdens on local government without providing the necessary infrastructure, services, or fiscal support. These mandates frequently override local planning authority, diminish the ability of cities to tailor land use to their unique needs and capacities, and strain existing infrastructure and funding resources.<\/p>\n

“Pacific Palisades Community Council (PPCC) therefore:<\/p>\n

“1) requests that our elected state officials take steps to initiate a pause on all enacted legislation that provides for statewide housing density and\/or streamlining mandates, unless and until clear funding mechanisms are identified and enacted to accompany the legislation, in order to support the resulting impact on infrastructure, public safety, and municipal services; and<\/p>\n

“2) opposes any pending and future legislation that proposes statewide housing density and\/or streamlining mandates, unless clear funding mechanisms are identified to accompany any such bills, in order to support the resulting impact on infrastructure, public safety, and municipal services.<\/p>\n

“The imposition of increased density \u2014 without accompanying state funding or resource allocation \u2014 exacerbates existing challenges, particularly in areas vulnerable to wildfire, evacuation constraints, and other environmental or geographic hazards, such as the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, Flood Zones or other environmentally sensitive locations as determined by local governments throughout the state.”<\/p>\n

Background:<\/p>\n

Explained in body of motion; also see letter from City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, opposing SB 79 (Wiener) on similar grounds; SB 79 is also opposed by PPCC, the League of California Cities and others) https:\/\/westsidecouncils.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Microsoft-Word-05.23.2025-SB-79-Opposition-Letter-.docx.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From the C.A.\u2019s letter: \u201c. . . the bill\u2019s provisions impermissibly impose billions of dollars of costs on Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions, undermine local governance, circumvent local decision-making processes, and impose unintended burdens on communities.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>ATTACHMENT \u2013 Item 11.3:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Proposed WRAC-Motion Text:<\/p>\n

\u201cPacific Palisades Community Council (PPCC), a member of the Westside Regional Alliance of Councils (WRAC), urgently requests that Caltrans delay the I-405 Pavement Rehabilitation Project (https:\/\/dot.ca.gov\/caltrans-near-me\/district-7\/district-7-projects\/d7-405-repave-project) until after:<\/p>\n

\u201c1) All lanes of Pacific Coast Highway are reopened, and \u201c2) All Palisades fire debris removal is complete.\u201d<\/p>\n

PPCC believes that this delay is reasonable, given that the project is expected to take four years, and we ask that Caltrans accommodate this important request.<\/p>\n

\u201cPPCC further requests that Councilmembers representing WRAC member councils (Park, Yaroslavsky, Hutt and\/or Raman) bring a resolution in Council to effectuate this request on behalf of the City.\u201d<\/p>\n

Background:<\/p>\n

WRAC motion webpage:\u00a0 https:\/\/westsidecouncils.com\/motion\/postpone-caltrans-repaving-project-on-the-405\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Note: Since this motion was considered by the WRAC board, Caltrans has advised community leaders that the repaving project will begin sometime in June (with certain 405 lane closures). Although PCH has now reopened to the public, the area is still characterized by CD 11 as a \u201cconstruction zone,\u201d with ongoing debris removal; some southbound lanes of PCH are also closed at various times.<\/p>\n

Return to 2025 Minutes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to 2025 Minutes MINUTES FROM JUNE 12th 2025 Voting Members in Attendance:\u00a0\u00a0 Sue Kohl, Quentin Fleming, Jenny Li, Chris Spitz, JoAnna Rodriguez, Steve Cron, Robert Trinkkeller, Kimberly Bloom, \u00a0Karen Ridgley, Lorie Cudzil, Sharon Kilbride, Andrew Wolfberg,\u00a0 John Padden, Courtney Macker, Dave Card, James Alexakis, Richard Blumenberg, Hagop Tchakerian, Kaye Steinsapir, Janet Anderson, Donna Vaccarino […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width-page-template.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13126","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacpalicc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacpalicc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacpalicc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacpalicc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pacpalicc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pacpalicc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pacpalicc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}