Letter: Community Council President Expresses Concerns with DWP Task Force

To the editor:

Pacific Palisades Community Council’s (“PPCC”’s) Executive Committee voted to submit this correspondence for the record in response to information received from Joaquin Macias on August 30, 2012 regarding the .

1. Potential Violation of the Brown Act: DS 104 Task Force “members” have been selected and appointed by the City of Los Angeles and the DWP. We contend that DS 104 Task Force meetings, like those of the Potrero Canyon Community Advisory Committee, must comply with the Brown Act, including seventy- two (72) hours notice given to the public in advance of any and all meetings and the ability of the public to attend. Thus, the Sept. 6, 2012 meeting proposed by Ms. Cross must be cancelled and properly rescheduled. On an issue of major community wide concern it is critical that the DS 104 Task Force, operating under Brown Act requirements, be open-minded and representative of the community they represent.

2. Reform of DS-104 Task Force Members: The overwhelming number of currently appointed members (80%; 8 of 10) are Marquez Knolls residents, MKPOA officers, or members of a Marquez related coalition. In contrast, the DWP and CD-11 letter dated June 6, 2012 had pledged to “involve” and “work collaboratively with the community,” “establish a community task force,” and form “an environmental non- profit organization to work with LADWP.” The Palisadian Post reported on June 14, 2012 that "an 'independently facilitated' task force [would include] representatives selected by local schools, the Pacific Palisades Community Council, City Council, DWP and others." Currently, PPCC has not been asked to select a representative. Temescal Canyon Association was not chosen to participate, nor was any state park representative. There is not one business owner or Chamber of Commerce representative to speak for the Marquez, Palisades Highlands or Sunset Beach area businesses potentially affected. There is no neutral, “at large” representative appointed to speak on behalf of all any and all affected Palisadians. And the list goes on. Thus, PPCC’s Executive Board demands that DWP and CD 11 reconstitute the DS 104 Task Force with a more
balanced representative group of community citizens.

3. Request for DWP and CD-11 Representatives to Attend PPCC’s Sept. 13, 2012 Meeting – As this matter will be on the agenda and open for public discussion at PPCC’s regular board meeting on Sept. 13, 2012 we hereby request your attendance to respond to questions and the growing back-lash that is occurring as the public is becoming aware of the current composition of the DS 104 Task Force.

Respectfully,
Barbara Kohn, President
Pacific Palisades Community Council