Community Council Discusses Carmageddon, Reforming the LA Department of Building and Safety

The Pacific Palisades Community Council held a meeting on July 14 at 7 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library.

Open Seats

The community council is looking to fill the following seats:

Area 5: Alternate, Second Alternate

Area 3: Second Alternate

*Christy Dennis was voted into Area 3 alternate seat on Thursday.

Area 7: Alternate, Second Alternate

*Kathy Russell has applied.

If you are interested in applying for first or second alternate, you must send a candidate statement to pacpalicc@aol.com.  

Candidate Statement should include:

What position you are applying for and what you think you can bring to the council with a little about your background. It is suggested that each candidate's statement include, but not be limited to the following:     

a) Number of years residing in Pacific Palisades

b) Number of years at current address

c) Position on issues the candidate believes are of importance to the community or to the candidate's area    

Here's how the process works:

The Chair shall appoint a committee of three former Chairs which shall be chaired by the Chair Emeritus [most recent former Chair available to serve].  Not less than 15 days notice shall be given to residents of the respective Areas.  The “Three Chairs” committee shall nominate a proposed alternate Area Representative for each area with input from the Area Representative.  Any candidate for alternate representative shall submit a candidate statement as described in the Election Procedure, except there shall be no limitation on the length of such statement.  Upon election by the Board, an alternate Area Representative shall serve as a voting member of the Board at any Board meeting from which the Area Representative is absent.  If an Area Representative resigns or is unable to continue in office, the Alternate Representative shall become the Area Representative for the remainder of the elected term.  

At the request of any Area Representative, a second alternate Area Representative for that Area shall be nominated by the Three Chairs committee pursuant to the process described in paragraph 3, above.

Further details on second alternate selection and succession shall be set forth by a Standing Rule which shall provide for not less than 30 days notice to persons residing in the Area.

Wording on the process listed above was provided by Janet Turner, Chair, Pacific Palisades Community Council.

Carmageddon

Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore gave a rundown of what will happen as far as police coverage during Carmageddon weekend, which is July 16-17. Officer Moore said he will be stationed in Downtown Los Angeles, so he will have three patrol cars stationed in the area. The patrol cars will monitor both Brentwood and Pacific Palisades. Moore told the council our patrol officers shouldn't need to leave to respond to outside calls.

The council asked whether there would be extra officers to deal with traffic on Sunset Boulevard. Moore said motor officers have been assigned.

The council also asked if there will be additional staff for the Fire Department. Moore said he is not usually included in the meetings that make those final decisions, but he did hear that there will be two additional fire trucks and two additional crews.

The council advised residents to call 511 for real-time traffic conditions.

Lock It, Hide It, Keep It

Moore announced the new name to the program formerly called "Lock It, Lose It." It was a program that was intended to prevent theft from motor vehicles. The name of the program changed to advise drivers to hide their belongings from view when leaving their cars unattended. 

Moore said that the LAPD usually sees a rise in vehicle theft along Temescal Canyon Road and the beach parking lot during the summer months. So, officers will be concentrating in those areas.

Moore stressed the importance of the neighborhood keeping an eye out for unusual activity. He mentioned the Alphabet Streets tend to get hit harder than other areas of the Palisades, but arrests have been made thanks to residents calling the crimes in. Moore said the people apprehended for the thefts were not Palisades residents, but that doesn't mean neighbors should have their guard down.

Los Liones Traffic Light

Joaquin Macias, from Councilman Bill Rosendahl's office, visited the Pacific Palisades Community Council on Thursday to announce the dedication of the long-awaited traffic light at the corner of Los Liones Drive and Sunset Boulevard. The light had been active for a week, but the official dedication was held Thursday at 2 p.m. Patch contributor Steve Wolcott was there. For the full story, click here.

Potrero Canyon Update

Macias had an update regarding construction at Potrero Canyon. He said construction will be delayed due to workers needing to retrofit a pipe. The project will finish 70 days later than expected. Macias said the pipe will arrive Monday and that the clock on the 70-day extension has already begun. 

A member of the audience asked whether the pipe was going to go through a "slip sleeve" process. The audience member said the sewage line broke after the 1994 earthquake and does not want to see the pipe produce any type of pollution should another earthquake affect it. Macias said he would look into it.

The council also asked whether Macias would look into clearing the brush in the Potrero Canyon area near the roads, as it is a fire hazard.

Sneakers in the Sky

Council member Christy Dennis mentioned a resident had contacted her about sneakers being placed over power lines throughout town. Dennis said if you see sneakers hanging, please call the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. It can be very dangerous to have the shoes dangling from the power lines, so LADWP should remove them once they are notified, she said.

Live Data Access to Department of Building and Safety and Los Angeles Department of Public Works Applications and Permits

The Pacific Palisades Community Council voted to support guest presenter Challis MacPherson's call for live data access to applications and permits filed with the Department of Building and Safety and the Department of Public Works. MacPherson served on the Venice Neighborhood Council and has been involved with the Land Use Commission.

MacPherson said that the LADBS and LADPW are moving to a new system where it would be quite simple for the departments to provide public live data access to all applications and permits. Not to mention, MacPherson said, there would be no additional cost to the departments to offer this feature since they are already changing systems. MacPherson told the council she wants more transparency when it comes to these two departments.

The council voted in favor of the following:"The PPCC requests that Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) and Los Angeles Department of Public Works (LADPW) provide, at no charge to the public, live data access (with query tool and CSV data output/report) to all applications and permits."

Councilman Dennis Zine's Motions for Building and Safety Reform

Jennifer Rivera, from Councilman Dennis Zine's office, visited the Palisades Community Council on Thursday asking for, per a press release, support for his series of motions "to create more oversight in the Department of Building and Safety (LADBS), increase accountability and rid the department of fraud and abuse."

The motions come shortly after an internal city investigation and an FBI corruption probe into the LADBS. Two inspectors pleaded guilty to charges of soliciting and accepting bribes in June. According to the LA Times, a third employee was fired in late June, also for accepting bribes.

Zine is calling for three motions:

• A "Clean Hands Ordinance" in which the city will not process a new application on a given property until the company or developer is clear of existing violations.
• A motion to "explore possible sanctions against fraudulent developers." Rivera mentioned that oftentimes the building inspector is reprimanded for his or her actions, but the developer gets only a slap on the wrist.
• A motion to implement reform within LADBS including an internal investigation unit, inspector rotations throughout the city so they do not get too comfortable with developers and GPS tracking on inspector cellphones.

Zine is holding a meeting Aug. 3 regarding these issues and wanted to present the motions to the council before that meeting.

"We need as much support as possible because it is very hard in the city to enact building reform, especially when you're slapping the hand of a developer," said Rivera.

The council unanimously voted to support "the enactment of a Clean House Ordinance for the city of Los Angeles, which is similar to Section 22.04.110 of the county's zoning code." The PPCC also supports Council member Zine's efforts to reform the Department of Building and Safety."

Rivera said, "We were flabbergasted to find out LA doesn't have a clean hands ordinance." 

The meeting will be held at the West LA Municipal Building at 6 p.m.

LADWP Ratepayer Advocate

Councilman Jim Rea was not present at Thursday's meeting, but asked that the council vote in support of an Office of Public Accountability and a ratepayer advocate to begin researching the rate hikes proposed by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.

According to Rea's report, there is an alliance of community councils that viewed the three-year rate increase and said the LA City Council should not approve it until an independent advocate has reviewed the proposal. 

Voters authorized an Office of Public Accountability in the March election to investigate the rates LADWP imposes on residents. That office would be responsible for hiring a ratepayer advocate to carry out the investigation. The LA City Council has not gotten around to putting the Office of Public Accountability together, and, therefore, no ratepayer advocate.

Rea asked the Palisades Council to push the LA City Council to hold off on approving the rate hikes until the Office of Public Accountability is instituted and until the ratepayer advocate is in his or her seat and has reviewed the proposed hike. The Palisades Community Council voted unanimously in favor of that motion.

Patch contributor Linda Rubin spoke with Councilman Jim Rea about the LADWP rate hikes. To read the article, click here.

The next Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting will take place Aug. 11.