VNC Board of Officers Meeting

Westminster Elementary School (Auditorium)
1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, 90291
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 7:00 PM

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

2. Approval of the Agenda

3. Approval of any outstanding minutes submitted by the Secretary

November 18, 2008 Board Meeting Minutes
(see http://venicenc.org/files/081118VNCBoardMinutesRevised.doc)

Committee Reports are provided in written form when available

4. Scheduled Announcements (no more than 1 minute per report unless otherwise stated)

A Mike Newhouse (president@venicenc.org): (i) Jim Murez to chair Parking Committee; (ii) Summary of Retreat;
(iii) Explanation of consent calendar; (iv) Ratification or replacement of new board members at January 20, 2009 Board Meeting.

B Tara Nicole Weyr tnw30@mac.com: Reminder of the 826LA & VNC food and clothing collection drive – make donations at bins in the back of the room and at SPARC Building, 2nd Floor, 685 Venice Blvd.

C Governmental Reports
• DONE: Deanna Stevenson
• LAPD: Officer Robin Richards, Senior Lead Officer
• State Assemblyperson Ted Lieu: Liaison
• Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: Stephen Cheung, West Area Director
• City Councilperson Bill Rosendahl: Arturo Piña, Field Deputy

D Councilman Bill Rosendahl & Richard Deppisch (richard.deppisch@lacity.org) on behalf of EMD: 15 minutes –
Venice Tsunami Sign Installation Status Report and presentation of Certificates of Appreciation to DeDe Audet, Darryl Dufay & Robin Rudasill.

E Vikki Zale (vikkizale@aol.com) on behalf of DPW: 5 minute presentation to the Board for the City’s Prop O Penmar Water Quality Improvement Project. Voters approved $500 million in bonds for Prop O projects to improve water quality from stormwater runoff before reaching beaches and aims to help meet Environmental Protection Agency and federal Clean Water Act requirements, including regulatory compliance for the Santa Monica Bay Beaches Wet Weather Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The proposed Penmar project will divert stormwater from the existing Rose Avenue storm drain, route flows through a pump station into the sanitary sewer for treatment and to an underground reservoir. The project design also includes provisions to allow the City to develop a stormwater treatment and disinfection system in the future, enabling the stormwater to potentially be re-used for irrigation of the golf course and adjacent park areas.

F Linda Lucks (310-745-3240/310-450-2554; vicepresident@venicenc.org) Feed the Beach on Thanksgiving Day:
Dear board: I attended this event yesterday, brought and served food and shared a wonderful event with many in need and many who cared. Over 700 were served a full meal, all of it donated by Venice individuals and a few good businesses. It was a community event to be cherished. James Merced is one of the recent candidates for a board position. He is the owner of the fruit gallery on Westminster at OFW. What a guy! Ivan was there too! LL

G Mary Pavlica (marygary@earthlink.net): Ocean Charter School wishes to thank the Board for their CIP funding.

H Marie-Anne Balthard (mabalthard1@gmail.com): Venice 2000 wishes to thank the Board for their CIP funding.

5. Announcements & Public Comment on items not on the Agenda (15 min, no more than 2 minutes per person) no board announcements

6. Old Business

A From Board Members

I* Dexter O’Connell (310-384-8215; dextervnc@mac.com): motion to rescind the below motion (Item 6AI as in Nov Board Meeting Minutes [CM/SO: Approved with friendly amendments 9-6-1; DO switch  10-5-1]):

Challis Macpherson (Chair-LUPC@VeniceNC.org) & Joe Murphy (310-895-0344; joedmurphyvnc@ca.rr.com): Motion to adopt the following policy:

POLICY STATEMENT REGARDING PROJECTS REQUESTING SIGNIFICANT VCZSP VARIANCES

To be presented at neighborhood meetings before consideration by LUPC

1. The Venice Coastal Zone Specific Plan (VCZSP) sets out guidelines for new development in Venice.
2. Projects requesting ‘significant’ [deleted by friendly amendment] variances to the VCZSP are subject to additional VCZSP provisions – including but not limited to provisions relating to character and scale – which do not apply to projects that do not request ‘such’ [deleted by friendly amendment] variances.
3. It is recommended that projects requesting ‘significant’ [deleted by friendly amendment] variances to the VCZSP be designed in such a way that they address the above additional provisions for presentation and discussion at Neighborhood Meetings and at the LUPC meeting at which the project is to be considered. In this context, participants are encouraged to consult not only the relevant sections and provisions of the VCZSP, but also the concerns of each individual neighborhood which can be found on the LUPC web site section of www.venicenc.org.

[December AdCom DO/JM motion to place the above on the December Board agenda]
[If motion to rescind fails, AdCom discussion urged consideration of a motion to refer to LUPC]

* Explanatory note from Secretary: AdCom considered Item 6AI, the below motion, at its 11/10/08 Meeting:

Joe Murphy (310-895-0344; joedmurphyvnc@ca.rr.com): Motion to substitute this for Item 6BI below:

POLICY STATEMENT REGARDING PROJECTS REQUESTING SIGNIFICANT VCZSP VARIANCES

To be presented at neighborhood meetings before consideration by LUPC

1. The Venice Coastal Zone Specific Plan (VCZSP) sets out guidelines for new development in Venice.
2. Projects requesting significant variances to the VCZSP are subject to additional VCZSP provisions – including but not limited to provisions relating to character and scale – which do not apply to projects that do not request such variances.
3. It is recommended that projects requesting significant variances to the VCZSP be designed in such a way that they address the above additional provisions for presentation and discussion at Neighborhood Meetings and at the LUPC meeting at which the project is to be considered.

The referenced Item 6BI was also presented and considered by AdCom at its 11/10/08 meeting and AdCom decided not to place it on the board agenda. AdCom then placed Item 6AI on the board agenda. There was an unresolved request to consider a friendly amendment to Item 6AI [in italics above] which was added after the AdCom meeting when understood and accepted by the maker.

Since 6BI had been removed, the motion was changed to read ‘Motion to adopt the following policy’ and the co-sponsors were listed as the makers of the motion. A friendly amendment at the November 18 Board Meeting deleted the words ‘significant’ and ‘such’, and it was then passed 9-6-1. The maker of the current motion to rescind changed his vote in order to be able to make a motion to reconsider. AdCom thought a motion to rescind was a better approach and that was accepted and adopted.

II Linda Lucks (310-745-3240/310-450-2554; vicepresident@venicenc.org): Request of Board to send a letter to: Mayor Villaraigosa, LAPD Chief Bratton, Councilmember Rosendahl, Captain Hiltner, SLO Robin Richards, LAPD Pacific Division Police Advisory Boards as follows:

RE: Controller Chicks Audit exposing 7000 unanalyzed Rape Kits at LAPD

Controller Chick released a shocking audit reporting that over 7000 rape kits sit on the freezer shelf at LAPD, allowing rapists to go free when evidence is available to take them off the streets. The VNC urges swift action to adopt the 3 year plan as proposed by Controller Chick to clear up the backlog of unprocessed kits & to bring swift justice to already victimized women & girls in Los Angeles. When material is analyzed the good officers of LAPD can identify & find the perpetrators & get them off our streets.
[Consent Calendar]

C From LUPC

I Challis Macpherson (Chair-LUPC@VeniceNC.org) on behalf of LUPC: Moves that the VNC Board of Officers accept the Land Use and Planning Committee’s Staff Report, and that the Board of the VNC approve this project as conditioned that the applicant demonstrate compliance with parking requirements for the proposed project. This relates to 1711-1719 Lincoln Bl. Neighbors are concerned that the project not add to the local parking problem. One neighbor is concerned about the increased intensity of use – See Exhibit A [Consent Calendar]

7. Treasurers Report – See Exhibit B accept report as presented

8. New Business

A From Westside Regional Alliance of Councils
[20 min discussion only – 20 min discussion & vote at 1/20/09 Bd Mtg]

Request that the VNC adopt the following five motions:
Motion No.1
At a regularly scheduled meeting of the Venice Neighborhood Council on December 16, 2008, a motion was made and seconded and passed as follows:
1. That Early Notification of all applications to the Department of City Planning, the Bureau of Engineering and to the Department of Building and Safety shall be sent to all impacted certified Neighborhood and Community Councils recognized by their Councilperson (hereafter, “council”), and the applicant shall be required to send notice, by certified RRR mail, to the applicable council, of all subsequent requests for modifications, adjustments, amendments, alterations, or revisions to the application.
2. Planning and Building and Safety shall review all such applications, and such review shall include, prior to approval, compliance with all relevant Community Plans, Specific Plans, and Overlay Districts.
3. With respect to all applications to Planning and Building and Safety for which a public hearing is not required, notice shall be sent to the applicable council of the terms of the proposed approval, no later than 10 calendar days prior to issuance of the approval, and consideration shall be given by the decision maker to any objections, comments, or questions submitted in writing by the applicable council during the 10-day period.
4. Planning and Building and Safety shall each establish an ombudsman or community advocate who is accessible to officers of a council and whose responsibilities shall include facilitating access to Department personnel, procedures, and documents.
Motion No 2.
At a regularly scheduled meeting of the Venice Neighborhood Council on December 16, 2008, a motion was made and seconded and passed as follows:
That the Los Angeles City Council be requested to supply each Neighborhood or Community Council with an accounting of both 5117 parking funds, and Quimby Funds for its district.
Motion No. 3
At a regularly scheduled meeting of the Venice Neighborhood Council on December 16, 2008, a motion was made and seconded and passed as follows:
The Venice Neighborhood Council hereby supports adoption of an Interim Control Ordinance (ICO) / moratorium as proposed by the City Planning Commission temporarily prohibiting the installation of all new offsite advertising signs and supergraphic signs, as well as prohibiting alteration to existing offsite signs and supergraphic signs, until a new offsite sign ordinance can be developed, adopted and implemented. There should be no exceptions that might weaken the enforceability of the moratorium.
Motion No. 4
At a regularly scheduled meeting of the Venice Neighborhood Council on December 16, 2008, a motion was made and seconded and passed as follows:
As gridlock is a major quality of life issue, the City of Los Angeles City Council is hereby requested to implement an enforcement mechanism and fine system to alleviate the constant gridlock in intersections in the City Limits. While the City has found it both effective and profitable to implement “Tiger Teams” to clear ‘No Parking, Tow Away Zones” during peak hours, the city has been unable to control gridlock.
Motion No. 5
At a regularly scheduled meeting of the Venice Neighborhood Council on December 16, 2008, a motion was made and seconded and passed as follows: That the Los Angeles City Council be requested to amend the working documents for Neighborhood and Community Councils, thereby allowing N.C./C.C.’s the right to appeal city department decisions.

E From Stakeholder

I Marc Ryavec (delphiassociates@ca.rr.com): I request that the VNC send a letter to the Los Angeles City Council, Mayor, and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors asking that the City and County formally request that president-elect Obama and the Congress specifically set aside a fixed percentage of any and all new transportation infrastructure funding for the development and construction of bike paths and trails, hiking trails and pedestrian walkway improvements, in both urban and rural areas.

Discussion: Within days of President-elect Obama taking office, Congress will likely pass a new large-scale economic recovery package, aiming to create millions of jobs.

A significant percentage of this package may be allocated specifically to transportation infrastructure. This presents both a threat and an opportunity.

The threat: Unless we speak up, these transportation funds will go overwhelmingly to road projects—the same unbalanced strategy that has created our existing transportation problems.

The opportunity: Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, in partnership with Thunderhead Alliance and America Bikes, has collected a list of hundreds of ready-to-go active transportation projects from communities across the country. These projects would create new jobs and revitalize communities by funding trails, bike lanes, sidewalks and other infrastructure.

This would meet the ultimate goal of the recovery package: creating immediate jobs.
Additionally, such an investment strategy would provide both immediate economic benefits and lasting positive change.

The long-term benefits are many: promoting local businesses along active transportation corridors; reducing health care costs; and curbing climate change emissions and oil dependency. These projects would also establish the principle that active transportation infrastructure is a wise, efficient and desirable public investment.
[Consent Calendar]

II Jim Murez (murez@venice.net): Follow up on tree removal within the public-right-way on Venice Blvd. in front of the Public Storage building: Motion requesting VNC to:
Send a letter to council office and public works street tree division to enforce the laws already on the books and to have the trees replaced with trees of similar size plus enforce stiffest fines allowed by law.

9. Announcements & Public Comment on items not on the Agenda (15 min, no more than 2 minutes per person)

10. Adjourn (approx 10:00PM)

Exhibit A – LUPC Staff Report on 1711-1719 Lincoln Boulevard (Item 6CI)
(See link below – http://venicenc.org/files/081220LUPCStaffReport-1711Lincoln.pdf)

Exhibit B – Treasurers Report (Item 7)
(See link below – http://venicenc.org/files/081220TreasurersReport-Nov2008.xls)

Location(s)

See map: Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps

Attachment	Size
081220TreasurersReport-Nov2008.xls	47 KB
081220LUPCStaffReport-1711Lincoln.pdf	148.06 KB
081216VNCBoardAgenda.doc	265.5 KB