Minutes

Meeting Date: 9/16/15 6:00 pm

Meeting Type: Regular

Location: William and Ariel Durant Branch Library, 7140 W. Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046

Details:

7140 West Sunset Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90046

Directions:  1 Block West of N. La Brea Ave.  Building is accessible and free parking is available behind the building.

The public is requested to fill out a “Speaker Card” to address the Board on any item of the agenda prior to the Board taking action on an item.  Comments from the public on non-agenda and agenda items will be heard during the Public Comment Period and, within the discretion of the presiding officer of the Board, when the respective item is being considered. Comments from the public on other matters not appearing on the Agenda that is within the Board’s subject matter jurisdiction will be heard during the Public Comment period.  Public comment is limited to 2 minutes per speaker unless waived by the presiding officer of the Board.  Agenda is posted for public review: on bulletin boards at the top and bottom of Runyon Canyon Park, and electronically on the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council website www.hhwnc.org and on the Department Of Neighborhood Empowerment
(www.lacityneighborhoods.com).

In compliance with Government Code section 54957.5, non-exempt writings that are distributed to a majority or all of the board in advance of a meeting, may be viewed at our website by clicking on the following link: , www.hhwnc.org, or at the scheduled meeting. In addition, if you would like a copy of any record related to an item on the agenda, please contact the Board Secretary at [email protected].

As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities.  Sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, or other auxiliary aids and/or services may be provided upon request.  To ensure availability of services, please make your request at least 3 business days (72 hours) prior to the meeting you wish to attend by contacting the Neighborhood Council Project Coordinator at 213-485-1360 or e-mail to [email protected].

ALL ITEMS LISTED ON THIS AGENDA ARE SUBJECT TO:
POSSIBLE ACTION, INCLUDING A BOARD MOTION AND
VOTING ON THE MOTION.

PROCESS FOR RECONSIDERATION:  The Board may reconsider and amend its action on items listed on the agenda if that reconsideration takes place immediately following the original action or at the next regular meeting. The Board, on either of these two days, shall: (1) Make a Motion for Reconsideration and, if approved, (2) hear the matter and Take an Action.  If the motion to reconsider an action is to be scheduled at the next meeting following the original action, then two items shall be placed on the agenda for that meeting: (1) A Motion for Reconsideration on the described matter and (2) a Proposed Action should the motion to reconsider be approved.  A motion for reconsideration can only be made by a Board member who has previously voted on the prevailing side of the original action taken. If a motion for reconsideration is not made on the date the action was taken, then a Board member on the prevailing side of the action must submit a memorandum to the Secretary identifying the matter to be reconsidered and a brief description of the reason(s) for requesting reconsideration at the next regular meeting. The aforesaid shall all be in compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act.

AGENDA

1. Call to order by President, Anastasia Mann

 

2.  Roll call by Secretary Kathy Bañuelos

 

3. Minutes – Review and approve Board minutes from July 15, 2015 meeting

 

4. President’s Report by Anastasia Mann (15 minutes)

 

1. Public Official Reports
   1. CD13 – Dan Halden & Gary Benjamin, Office of Councilman Mitch O’Farrell
   2. CD4 –Field Deputy, Office of Councilmember David Ryu
   3. Mayor’s Office, Central Area NC Rep, Yoome Ha
   4. 43rd Assembly District, Eric Menjivar, Rep. from the Office of Assemblyman Mike Gatto
   5. 46th Assembly District, Brian Stedge, Office of Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian
   6. 50th Assembly District, Office of Assemblyman Richard Bloom
   7. 3rd Supervisorial District, Felicia Park-Rogers, Office of Supervisor Sheila Kuehl
   8. LAPD
   9. LAFD

 

2. Confirmation of liaisons for Public Works & Animal Services

 

3. Website Ad-Hoc Committee Update (JoAnn Koplin)

 

4. Mini Tour Bus Ad Hoc Committee report (Dietrich Nelson)

 

5. Community Business
   1. Update re the Greek Theatre by Kristina Chambers from Nederlander.  Possible motion and vote to support the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council’s resolution re Greek Theatre Self-Operation
   2. Presentation by John Gallogly re support of Theatre West
   3. Presentation by John Gallogly re improving relations between the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and Neighborhood Councils/Homeowners Associations
   4. Presentation by Iteris and NBCUniversal re Iteris’ final report on the assessment of concepts for a new Southbound ramp on US-101 and additional traffic mitigations.
   5. Motion to support sunrise to sunset hours for Dorothy & Benjamin Smith Park (Michael Meyer)
   6. Presentation re Runyon Land Acquisition (Don Andres/FORC)

 

6. Preparation for 2016 Election Season and selection of Election Day

 

7. Confirm next meeting date:  October 21

 

5. Vice-President’s Report (Cyd Zeigler) (5 minutes)
   1. Motion:  The Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council supports the application for a variance at 1830 El Cerrito Place to allow for the continued use of six currently existing dwelling units without parking spaces.

 

6. Treasurer’s Report (Michael Meyer) (10 minutes)
   1. Approve Monthly Expenditures report
   2. Approve funding Expense forms
   3. Motion and vote to approve purchase up to $250 for supplies to refurbish Runyon Canyon bulletin boards

 

7. Parliamentarian’s Report (Malena Patel) (5 minutes)

 

8. Secretary’s Report (Kathy Bañuelos) (5 minutes)

 

9. Committee Reports

 

1. Area 1 (Daniel Savage)
   1. Motion re 2864 Cahuenga:  HHWNC has reviewed the application package for a proposed project applied for by Behzad Forat (Studio City Car Wash, Inc.) at 2864 Cahuenga Blvd., which is described in his application to the Planning Department (CPC 2015-2607).  After initial review, our opinion is that the proposed project would be a grossly inappropriate development for the neighborhood; it replaces open space with visual blight in the Cahuenga Pass.  The proposed project, if built, could have immense negative impacts, including causing traffic gridlock, straining infrastructure resources, and compromising the existing east-west wildlife corridor(s) across the Santa Monica Mtns.

HHWNC recommends that the City Council rescind City Council Motion 14-1479, which the City Council passed on March 18, 2015. That resolution orders the Planning Department to rezone several parcels for this developer’s project.
The proposed project is conditioned on the developer donating several parcels of land to the City in return for up-zoning the parcels on which the developer wishes to build 72 town homes and 178 apartments. Councilmember Tom LaBonge pushed this motion through the City Council without any opportunity for community input or comment. The Councilmember knew that the neighboring communities are largely opposed to creating a “Runyon Canyon Park #2,” and he disregarded those sentiments.    The City’s General Services Department should neither negotiate nor purchase LA County Assessor Parcel No. 5577-016-006, and the City’s Planning Department should not prepare any General Plan Amendments nor Zone Changes to rezone APN Nos. 5577-016-001 or 002, or APN no. 5577-016-001.

2. Area 6 (Grant Wallensky)
   1. Discussion and possible motion and vote re Runyon Canyon Expansion and proposed house at 3003 Runyon Canyon Road

 

3. Area 9 (Orrin Feldman)
   1. Report on LAFD’s hillside streets tree trimming/cutting program’s problems

 

4. Cultural (Sunta Izzicupo)
   1. Motion for the HHWNC to fund children’s enrichment programs at the William and Ariel Durant Branch Library.  Specifically, the expenditures would be:
      • Up to $250 in support of Zen Doodle, a program that teaches children to draw combining engineering and math with art.  Barbara Wong, an approved performer on the LAPL list will provide all materials and instruction.
      • Up to $150 for puppets shows by Olga Leyman, which are custom designed specifically for the Durant Library.
      • Up to $250 for adult English programs by instructor Richard Armbruster.

 

10. Public Comments – Comments from the public on agenda items and non-agenda items within the Board’s subject matter jurisdiction. Public comments are limited to 2 minutes per speaker.

 

11. Old Business

 

12. New Business

 

13. Adjournment

 

7140 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046

1. Call to order by HHWNC President, Anastasia Mann at 6:02 p.m.
2. Roll call by Secretary Kathy Bañuelos:  Anastasia Mann, Kathy Bañuelos, Cyd Zeigler, Michael Meyer, Malena Patel, Jim Geoghan, Oren Katz, Casey Maddren, Dietrich Nelson, Carl Ripaldi, Sunta Izzicupo, Daniel Savage, Patricia Weber, Joyce Dyrector, Grant Wallensky, & Orrin Feldman.  Quorum reached with 16 members. (Carmen Libaridian arrived late / Dietrich left early).

 

3. Minutes – (Meyer/Maddren) moved to approve the minutes as corrected from the July 15, 2015 board meeting. The motion carried.

 

4. President’s Report: Anastasia Mann gave some brief announcements.

 

1. Public Official Reports
   1. CD13 – Dan Halden, from the office of Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, reported that a scramble crosswalk was to be installed in October at the Hollywood & Highland intersection to alleviate congestion. DOT will be working on the street on Oct. 4^th from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. to get that ready. There’s a new security camera at Hollywood & Los Palmas.
   2. CD4 – Catherine Langdon, Field Deputy for Councilmember Ryu, introduced herself.

 

2. Confirmation of liaisons: The board approved the appointments, unanimously, for Public Works liaison Casey Maddren & Animal Services liaison Dietrich Nelson.

 

3. Website Ad-Hoc Committee Update (JoAnn Koplin) – (reported by email) that a firm has een selected to work on the HHWNC website. Due to JoAnn’s absence, the presentation was tabled. No action was taken.

 

4. Mini Tour Bus Ad Hoc Committee report: Dietrich Nelson reported that a meeting took place to discuss the tour bus issues. More research is needed to create rules that will protect the neighborhoods while allowing for tourism.

 

5. Community Business
   1. Update on the Greek Theatre by Kristina Chambers from Nederlander. Kristina addressed the board saying that Nederlander will end their operation of the Greek Theater as of the end of October as Live Nation has been given the contract. She mentioned a resolution by the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council regarding the Greek Theatre Self-Operation. (Nelson/Wallensky) moved to submit a CIS in support of the Los Feliz NC’s stand on the Greek Theater. The motion failed 4-10. The board agreed to take this issue up again in October at the regular board meeting.

 

2. Presentation: John Gallogly of Theatre West talked about their upcoming family presentations which include a musical comedy mystery presentation, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” a production for children, “West Fest the Millennium Magic Show. He spoke about their efforts to improve community relations with HHWNC as well as the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, other area Neighborhood Councils and homeowners associations. Kathy Bañuelos volunteered to serve as the liaison to these groups from HHWNC.

 

3. Presentation by Iteris and NBCUniversal regarding their assessment of concepts for a new Southbound ramp on US-101 and additional traffic mitigations. Darnell Tyler from NBC Universal and Sam Morrisey of Iteris addressed the board about the 8 options they have for this ramp, alerting them to expected traffic improvements at Barham.

 

4. Dorothy & Benjamin Smith Park: (Meyer/Izzicupo) moved to support the recommendation by the police and CD13 that the hours for Dorothy & Benjamin Smith Park be changed to “from sunrise to sunset.”  Leigh French, a stakeholder, spoke against the motion as she would like parks to open later due to noise from hikers with dogs. The motion carried unanimously.

 

5. Presentation re Runyon Land Acquisition: Don Andres talked about private individuals working to raise $10 million to purchase land from a private owner to provide an extension to the park. This is being done in conjunction with efforts by Friends of Runyon Canyon.

 

6. Preparation for 2016 Election Season:  There will be a combined election with other NCs for the tentative date of May 1, 2016.  Michael Meyer agreed to take the post of Election Chair, once again.

 

7. Next meeting date: October 21, 2015

 

8. Vice-President’s Report: Cyd Zeigler reviewed different projects in process before discussing the proposed restoration project at 1830 El Cerrito Place. Cyd said it is a 1941 building with 20 units and 15 parking spaces. The owner wants to restore the building but needs a variance to do that.  Greg Taylor of The Taylor Group addressed the board on this project. They will also be installing motorcycle spaces and bicycle racks. (Zeigler/Geoghan) moved that The Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council supports the application for a variance at 1830 El Cerrito Place to allow for the continued use of six currently existing dwelling units without parking spaces. The motion passed unanimously.

 

5. Treasurer’s Report: Michael Meyer detailed the expenses of the previous month.

(Meyer/ Bañuelos) moved that HHWNC approve the monthly expenditure report and the funding for expense forms. The motion carried 12 – 0.

(Meyer/Feldman) moved to approve the purchase of up to $250 for supplies to refurbish the Runyon Canyon bulletin boards. The motion carried 12 – 0.

6. Parliamentarian’s Report: Malena Patel reminded the board to complete their mandatory DONE Ethics trainings.

 

7. Secretary’s Report: Kathy Bañuelos will be ordering new business cards for board members and asked the board to update the board roster.

 

8. Committee Reports:

Area 1 – Daniel Savage Motion re 2864 Cahuenga:
(Savage/Feldman) moved that HHWNC recommend that the City Council rescind City Council Motion 14-1479, which the City Council passed on March 18, 2015. That resolution orders the Planning Department to rezone several parcels for this developer’s project. The proposed project is conditioned on the developer donating several parcels of land to the City in return for up-zoning the parcels on which the developer wishes to build 72 town homes and 178 apartments. Councilmember Tom LaBonge pushed this motion through the City Council without any opportunity for community input or comment. The Councilmember knew that the neighboring communities are largely opposed to creating a “Runyon Canyon Park #2,” and he disregarded those sentiments.    The City’s General Services Department should neither negotiate nor purchase LA County Assessor Parcel No. 5577-016-006, and the City’s Planning Department should not prepare any General Plan Amendments nor Zone Changes to rezone APN Nos. 5577-016-001 or 002, or APN no. 5577-016-001.

Daniel further stated, “After reviewing this project, our initial opinion is that the proposed project would be a grossly inappropriate development for the neighborhood; it replaces open space with visual blight in the Cahuenga Pass.  The proposed project, if built, could have immense negative impacts, including causing traffic gridlock, straining infrastructure resources, and compromising the existing east-west wildlife corridor(s) across the Santa Monica Mtns.
The motion passed unanimously.

Athena Novak from AHN & Associates (representing Ben Forat) addressed the board on this issue.

1. Area 6 (Grant Wallensky). This issue was discussed previously.
   1. Discussion and possible motion and vote re Runyon Canyon Expansion and proposed house at 3003 Runyon Canyon Road

 

2. Area 9: Orrin Feldman reported on problems caused by LAFD’s hillside streets tree trimming/cutting program. Orrin said the goal was to cut every tree with a canopy of 14” including protected species. Municipal code requirements were not followed and there was no notice to neighbors. This will be discussed further on the October agenda.

 

3. Cultural (Izzicupo/Bañuelos) moved that HHWNC fund children’s enrichment programs at the William and Ariel Durant Branch Library.  Specifically, the expenditures would be:
   1. Up to $250 in support of Zen Doodle, a program that teaches children to draw combining engineering and math with art.  Barbara Wong, an approved performer on the LAPL list will provide all materials and instruction.
   2. Up to $150 for puppets shows by Olga Leyman, which are custom designed specifically for the Durant Library.
   3. Up to $250 for adult English programs by instructor Richard Armbruster.

The motion carried unanimously. (Daniel Savage was not eligible to vote).

9. Public Comments – None.

 

10. Old Business – None.

 

11. New Business – None.

 

12. Adjournment at 8 p.m.