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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Planning 102 - 6/16/07!
Election Reform and Voter Turnout - 6/13/07!
A Word from Eric
Open Government
Housing
Urban Environment
Around the District
Final Thoughts
Contact Us
Council President Eric Garcetti Presents
PLANNING 102:
PARKING REGULATIONS & POLICY
Learn about the City’s parking code requirements, on- and off-street parking regulations, and how parking policy influences land use and urban form.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
9:30am Refreshments Served
10:00am– 1:00pm Program
@ The Will & Ariel Durant Branch Library
7140 West Sunset Blvd (1 blk west of La Brea)
Walking distance from Hollywood & Highland Red Line Station
RSVP by June 13th @ 213.473.7013 or by e-mail at jane.berner@lacity.org
The Los Angeles City Council Rules and Elections Committee
Presents:
ELECTION REFORM AND VOTER TURNOUT
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
3:00PM
City Hall, Room 1060
Items to be discussed include Instant Runoff Voting, Vote-By-Mail elections, and more.
The following organizations will make presentations at the committee:
-African American Voter Registration, Education and Participation Project
-Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
-California Common Cause
-League of Women Voters
-National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
-William C. Velásquez Institute
For more information, contact Cecilia Cabello at (213) 473-7013.
Councilmember
Eric Garcetti |
A Word From Eric
Los Angeles has always been a city where people from around the world come to follow their dreams of economic prosperity and political liberty. And while our civic undertaking has a history of hope and opportunity, it has also been marred by episodes of conflict, and, in some cases, violence.
Under crystal-blue skies on the morning of May 1st, residents from across the Southland gathered near downtown to partake in the most fundamental exercise of democracy. Toward the end of the day, a confrontation near MacArthur Park disrupted the previously peaceful conduct of the day's events. In the immediate aftermath, the city established a crisis counseling hotline and two separate platforms for witnesses to report their first hand accounts. In the days that follow, I have formed a Special Task Force for the Council to rigorously investigate the events at MacArthur Park. The council continues to review all accounts of the event, and we are working to understand exactly what happened that day and what changes must be made to prevent similar confrontations in the future.
DO REAL PLANNING Principle #1: Demand a Walkable City. The Great Hollywood Walkabout brought us a step closer to walkability in Hollywood |
At the same time, the last few months have seen a number of promising proposals and policies for the future of our city. The Los Angeles Planning Commission
endorsed a 14-point policy agenda to set the city on a course towards a sustainable future, nicely summed up by Planning Director Gail Goldberg's mantra DO REAL PLANNING. The vision of a cleaner city with affordable housing and walkable communities has already taken root in Hollywood (Business Journal opinion piece free with registration, or see .pdf here), where community-centered mixed-use development is encouraging residents to eat, live, work, and play all within the borders of the world-famous neighborhood.
Welcoming the A380 with colleagues Bill Rosendahl, Janice Hahn, and Tom LaBonge |
I joined the Mayor and my colleagues on the city council in welcoming the world's largest aircraft, the Airbus A380, to LAX. Both quieter and more environmentally friendly than its predecessors, the A380 is the way of the future for air travel in this country and around the world. Along with these environmental improvements, the A380 will create jobs in the manufacturing and goods movements industries, helping to keep our economy afloat while remaking the way we travel.
CD13 Pioneer Woman of the year Jenny Lewis |
A little closer to home, I was proud to bring singer/songwriter Jenny Lewis, lead singer of Rilo Kiley and a solo artist in her own right, to council to honor her as one of Los Angeles' Pioneer Women for 2007. Each year, the Council and Commission on the Status of Women acknowledges women whose accomplishments in the areas of education, equal rights, professional opportunities, arts, sciences, and/or humanitarian contributions "continue to expand opportunities for generations to come." Jenny's accomplishments have placed the Silver Lake and Echo Park music scenes at the forefront of 21st century music.
Finally, the city passed its budget ahead of schedule and with a few new historic commitments. With the 2007-2008 budget, the city has strengthened its fiscal health, increased city services including tree trimming and street repairs, and will fund core priorities including public safety programs, the planning and development of the LA River, and fighting homelessness in the city.
OPEN GOVERNMENT
As part of our continuing efforts to keep government open, accessible, and accountable, we held Planning 101, a half-day workshop where more than 50 people learned the basics of urban planning and land-use law in Los Angeles. Planning 102 is next Saturday - sign up today!
Also, you can now receive council on demand - the new technology allows you to view any part of a city council meeting from the past year, and employs a number of new features including publishing, indexing, search, and closed captioning.
HOUSING
Working with Operation Hope to help prevent abuses in the subprime lending market | Los Angeles already faces a housing crisis, and the recent troubles in the subprime lending market have made owning a home in Los Angeles an even riskier proposition for some of our lowest-income home owners. I have asked city staff to evaluate the economic effects of the sub-prime market's downturn on our city, and we have partnered with Operation Hope to help people facing foreclosure.
With the shortage of affordable housing well documented and the subprime lending market putting addtional strain on our housing stock, the city council passed two new pieces of legislation to improve affordability in the city. First, the Council approved new policy on condo conversion and tenant relocation to provide strong protections for the 70% of Angelenos who rent their homes. This legislation was further shored up when my colleagues and I unanimously adopted an ordinance to close a loophole in the Ellis Act that had allowed property owners to demolish their rent-stabilized apartment buildings and build new apartment buildings with no rent restrictions. These two actions are only pieces of the bigger puzzle that we must solve in order to create housing available to every income.
Triangle Square will offer affordable
housing to seniors in the middle of Hollywood |
Much as the tenant relocation package and the Ellis Act affect housing policy throughout the city, we continue to work with advocates, developers, and communities to produce affordable housing in Council District 13. We celebrated the most recent example of this collaboration at the Triangle Square Senior Affordable Housing development in Hollywood. 34% of the units will be fore seniors who have HIV/AIDS or are in risk of falling into homelessness, and the project includes an interior courtyard and community space that already has social and recreational programming.
URBAN ENVIRONMENT
Save the Earth! | The environment has been a hot topic in 2007—literally and figuratively. Environmentalism is going mainstream across the country and around the globe—Tom LaBonge and I got in on the act by cycling to work during Bike to Work Week. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is already feeling the effects of global warming. 2006 was one of the hottest years on record, resulting in a loss of power for nearly 80,000 DWP customers during the heat storm last July. We continue to work with the Department to prevent against similar outages, and to be prepared in case they happen.
Plans to restore Griffith Park began forming as soon as the fire was put out |
2006 was also one of the driest on record, and the fire season got off to an early start this year. Flames consumed more than 800 acres of Griffith Park, damaging the crown jewel of our urban parks system. As soon as our fire fighters finished putting out the last of the fire, we began planning its restoration. Griffith Park is home to a unique ecosystem known as the chaparral, and our recovery efforts will seek to aide the natural process of restoration that for generations has rejuvenated the park. I chatted with Richard Halsey of the California Chaparral Institute to provide some insight into the park's ecosystem, knowledge that will be critical in balancing the ecological, cultural, and recreational components of our recovery efforts.
AROUND THE DISTRICT
Historic Filipinotown
Lake Street Gym is open for business! |
Lake Street Park, home to the nation's first Filipino Veterans Memorial and an ever-full skate park, now boasts a 6800 square foot state-of-the-art gym. Complete with retractable backboards and an electronic scoreboard, the gym provides much needed recreational space in one of the densest areas of the city, Historic Filipinotown. My staff and I participated in the gym's inaugural pick-up game—the first of many!
Earlier this year, I once again joined veterans from around the country to commemorate the battles of Bataan and Corregidor, two of the most significant conflicts on the Philippine Islands during WWII. Each year, we gather to honor the heroism of the more than 120,000 Filipino soldiers that fought for the US during the war—and each year, their fight for equality in the eyes of the US government continues. I have introduced a measure to support federal legislation that would grant Filipino veterans the full list of rights that they deserve.
Msr. Oscar Romero's legacy will live on at Clinica Romero for years to come |
HiFi is also home to Clinica Romero, a clinic opened three years after the assassination of Msr. Oscar Romero, a champion of human rights in his home country of El Salvador and around the world. For 24 years, the clinic has provided a safety net for uninsured residents of Los Angeles, and over the past year, my office has worked with the city to identify $1.5 million for Clinica Romero to buy their building and establish a permanent home in the heart of HiFi.
Silver Lake
Children Playing in Silver Lake Meadow |
Open space is a precious commodity in Los Angeles, with less than one-half acre available for every 1,000 residents. Since taking office in 2001, my office has more than doubled the number of parks in CD13, and recently we joined the community to discuss the opening of the 6.5 acre Silver Lake Meadow. Already home to the immensely popular walking path, the Meadow can provide a safe and tranquil place for children to play and families to grow. We'll continue to work with the community to address any and all concerns, and make this dream a reality.
Atwater Village
Atwater Village hosted its first-ever Artwater, a community-inspired celebration of the arts including everything from women on stilts to chalk-covered sidewalks.
Hollywood
Restoring the Palladium to its former glory |
The Palladium is back - in a big way. Once a hot-spot for local artists and internationally famous bands alike, recent plans for the Hollywood icon have included parking and other proposals that would have knocked the ballroom down. Now, music promoter Live Nation will bring style and glory back to the popular venue, saving a piece of Hollywood's past while propelling it into the kind of 24/7 neighborhood that is the model of 21st century urbanism.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House | Speaking of Hollywood's history, Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House located atop Barnsdall Park is one of twelve new National Historic Landmarks recently designated by the Secretary of the Interior. One of the most significant designs of Wright's career, Hollyhock joins Washington's Mount Vernon and Jefferson's Monticello in the pantheon of historic buildings of the United States.
While Hollywood's history is indeed coming alive, we still have much to work on in the here and now. Our streets get more and more crowded every day, and that is why my office worked with the Department of Transportation to install a smart crosswalk near Grant Elementary, a small school located at the busy intersection of Hollywood and Western. 40 years ago, half of all children walked or took their bike to school; with bigger streets and faster traffic, that number is now 15%. This safe passage will continue to encourage walkable communities and responsible driving near our schools.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Beirut joined Mexico City, Berlin, and others on the Sister City pole at First and Main, announcing the direction and distance (7,449 miles) to our new sister in Lebanon.
Unveiling the Beirut Sister City Sign
The Council passed a resolution of support for the establishment of the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of the National Museum of the American Latino. Introduced by my friend, Congressmember Xavier Becerra, the museum will celebrate the life, art, history and culture of the American Latino.
I attended the annual Department of Neighborhood Empowerment Congress, where community stakeholders from across the city came together to discuss common issues and potential solutions to problems that every neighborhood faces.
Finally, CD13 will be a bit more beautiful this year, thanks to six community beautification grants that will create community gardens, public arts projects, and public education programs.
CONTACT US
Councilmember Eric Garcetti represents the Thirteenth Council District which includes all or part of the communities of Glassell Park, Atwater Village, Elysian Valley, Echo Park, Historic Filipinotown, Silver Lake, East Hollywood and Hollywood.
Councilmember Garcetti serves as President of the Los Angeles City Council. He chairs the Council‘s Rules and Elections Committee, is the Vice-Chair of the Energy and the Environment Committee, and sits on the Housing and Community Development Committee. He also sits on the Council‘s Ad Hoc Committee on Homelessness and the Ad Hoc Committee on the Los Angeles River.
Councilmember Garcetti and his staff can be reached via e-mail at councilmember.garcetti@council.lacity.org or by mail or phone at City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, Room 470, Los Angeles, CA 90012, (213) 473 7013 and 5500 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028, 323/957-4500.
www.cd13.com
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