VNC Board of Officers Meeting Agenda
Board of Officers Meeting Agenda
Westminster Elementary School (Auditorium)
1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, 90291
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 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
February 17, 2009 Board Meeting Minutes
(see http://venicenc.org/files/090217VNCBoardMinutesRev.doc)
Committee Reports are provided in written form when available
4. Consent Calendar
A From Arts Committee
I Motion for VNC to endorse Public Arts Project
Nadine Parkos (nadineparkos@aol.com) : I, Nadine Parkos, Chair of the VNC Arts Committee, move that the VNC Board of Officers accept the motion of the VNC Arts Committee to endorse Venice Artist Robin Murez’s “The Palas” project as a Public Arts Project for Venice. Vote: 7-0-1. Please see description of The Palas project below:
The “PALAS” – that’s Italian for The Balls Following a century’s old Venetian tradition, The Palas are to be permanent visual markers of, and located within, the various neighborhoods of Venice to artistically focus identity, create camaraderie, engender pride and enable participation from each neighborhood in cultural festivities throughout the year and throughout Venice as a whole.
The Palas are two foot diameter concrete spheres encased in a mosaic of black and white marble. They function as sculptural seating – solid, yet soft to the touch – climbable and sit-able.
Each neighborhood of Venice will have its own logo for its Pala. Community participation is invited in their design, fabrication, and site preparation.
The Palas will be located within each of the neighborhoods of Venice – often transforming underutilized or blighted street corners into beautiful green neighborhood gathering spaces. A full set of all The Palas might also encircle the Windward traffic circle or span the medians of Venice Boulevard in Venice.
Over time, banners and costumes with colors and additional unique identifying features will be developed by and for each neighborhood.
These first three Palas may currently be viewed at Robin’s Sculpture Garden, 1632 Abbot Kinney Boulevard. They are part of the Artist’s designed Los Angeles Community Beautification Grant to landscape with an in-ground maze and sculptural seating: “The Venice Corner Ball Park.” See: www.venicepublicart.com.
II Motion for VNC to endorse improvement of the Windward Avenue Traffic Circle
Nadine Parkos (nadineparkos@aol.com) : The VNC Arts Committee moves that the VNC Board of Officers approve the incremental improvement of the Windward Avenue Traffic Circle. Vote: 7-0-1 (J. Solomon left before the vote.)
B From Board Member
I Send letter to Rosendahl urging city to provide more notice on Planning Matters
Stewart Oscars (stewart.oscars@gmail.com): I request that Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) request Councilmember Bill Rosendahl to discuss with L A Planning Department some method of giving LUPC 14 to 21 more days to investigate proposed projects from the time the City gives LUPC project notices to the time the City hearings of the projects are held. This would allow more time for both LUPC to construct reports and the VNC Board to digest said reports.
II Off-leash dogs in Oakwood Park
Linda Lucks (Vicepresident@VeniceNC.org) & Pastor Horace Allen, Friendship Baptist Church:
Request Board send the following letter:
The Honorable Bill Rosendahl
Los Angeles City Council
City Hall
200 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
cc: Captain Joseph Hiltner, LAPD
SLO Theresa Skinner
RE: Enforcment of Off Leash Dog Laws in Oakwood Park/Recreation Center
Dear Bill:
Stakeholdeers have brought to our attention a lapse of enforecement of the existing LAMC ordinance prohibiting off leash dogs in Oakwood Park.
We respectfully request enforcement of this law, so that neighborhood residents and their families have full use of the park as designed. There is a legal dog park in Venice on Westminster and Main.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter
Mike Newhouse, President Venice Neighborhood Council
5. Treasurers Report – expenditures through February 28, 2009 – See Exhibit A accept report as presented
Note: I recently received information regarding a number of charges on the previous treasurer’s credit card that was not canceled. As a result, I have redone all of the monthly reports for this fiscal year to reflect those additional charges as well as some reallocation of expense codes. The revised statements are posted with the agenda for the Board’s March meeting for review if necessary. All of the reports will be posted on the Council’s web page.
6. Scheduled Announcements (no more than 1 minute per report unless otherwise stated)
A Mike Newhouse (president@venicenc.org): Information about FAN (Foreclosure Action Network)
B Governmental Reports
• DONE: Deanna Stevenson
• LAPD: Officer ?, Senior Lead Officer
• State Assemblyperson Ted Lieu: Melissa S. Ramoso, Field Representative (310-615-3515; Melissa.ramoso@asm.ca.gov)
• Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: Jennifer Badger, West Area Representative (310-479-3823; jennifer.badger@lacity.org)
• City Councilperson Bill Rosendahl: Arturo Piña, Field Deputy
• LADWP: VNC Representatives DeDe Audet & Challis MacPherson
C Services of the Los Angeles Public Library, Venice Branch
Lucille Cappas (310-821-20665; lcappas@lapl.org)
D Fire Captain report on Oxford Triangle Gate problem
DeDe Audet (dd1audet@verizon.net): See below
——-Original Message——-
From: DeDe Audet [mailto:dd1audet@verizon.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 11:03 PM
To: joedmurphy@ca.rr.com
Subject: Security gates
Dear Joe, please place this item on the agenda for Monday, March 9 meeting of the AdCom:
In view of the fact that L.A. Firemen are leaving security gates open, residents of the Oxford Triangle
request the Venice Neighborhood Council to ask our local Fire Captain to attend the upcoming March 17 meeting to explain why this is being done. The Oxford Triangle Specific Plan does not allow vehicular or pedestrian traffic between the C(4) OX zone and the R-1 Zone. Leaving these gates open is an invitation to traffic to bypass the signals at Washington-Lincoln. Thank you, DeDe
7. Announcements & Public Comment on items not on the Agenda (15 min, no more than 2 minutes per person)
(no board member announcements permitted)
A Community Improvement Project Report
Ivan Spiegel (ivan13147@verizon.net)
B New Website Update Sean Kelly (irishsk@yahoo.com)
C Small Lot Subdivision Procedure Challis Macpherson (Chair-LUPC@VeniceNC.org)
D OPD Rules & Election Committee Meeting
Ira Koslow (ira.koslow@venicenc.org)
8. Old Business
A From LUPC
I Recommendation for locating Red Car east of Venice Public Library
Challis Macpherson (Chair-LUPC@VeniceNC.org) on behalf of LUPC: Regarding LUPC proposals for community use of 520 Venice Way:
Regarding proposals to occupy city owned land located at 520 Venice Way, Challis Macpherson moves that VNC Board of Officers accept LUPC’s recommendation to recommend to Councilman Rosendahl that the Venice Heritage Museum (Red Car) be situated on Centennial Park, located immediately East of the Venice Public Library, as soon as possible and that the restoration (of the Red Car) take place there on that site.
9. New Business
A From Ad Hoc Homelessness & Vehicular Living Committee
I Homelessness – Report & Recommendation to Support St. Joseph’s Center’s Service Registry
Mark Ryavec (delphiassociates@ca.rr.com) and Carolyn Rios (310-821-7922; crlynrios@ca.rr.com): The VNC Ad Hoc Homelessness and Vehicular Occupation Committee presents a report and recommendations regarding St. Joseph’s Center’s proposal to create a service registry of the homeless population of Venice. The proposed service registry would be modeled on the successful service registries used in Downtown Los Angeles and also in Santa Monica that have assisted homeless service providers in identifying the most vulnerable of the homeless population and successfully providing them with housing and services. Further, the Committee will ask for the VNC Board to take certain actions, including forwarding letters of support to government officials and agencies, to support the proposal.
II Request for a 60 day extension of mandate
Mark Ryavec (delphiassociates@ca.rr.com) and Carolyn Rios (310-821-7922; crlynrios@ca.rr.com): The VNC Ad Hoc Homelessness and Vehicular Occupation Committee requests a 60 day extension of its charter in order to fully complete its mandate and present its findings to the VNC Board in a coherent presentation.
B From Neighborhood Committee
I Recommended New Members of Neighborhood Committee
Linda Lucks (Vicepresident@VeniceNC.org): In an ongoing effort to reach out to all neighborhoods in Venice, The Neighborhood Committee wishes to add the following individuals as voting members:
Eddie Nuno – Oakwood (to replace Julie Martinez)
Moniica McFerren – Coeur D’Alene (Venice Family Clinc)
Kristopher Valentime – East of Lincoln, South of Venice Blvd.
C From Rules & Elections Committee
I Bylaw Amendment Regarding City 2010 Election Requirements Ira Koslow (ira.koslow@venicenc.org): REC recommends (3-0-0) that the VNC Board comply with requirements specified in the Los Angeles City Council February 20, 2008 Amendment of its enacted May 30, 2001 Plan for a Citywide System of Neighborhood Councils by adopting, & scheduling an election for stakeholder approval of, the below addition of Article XIII –– VENICE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL ELECTIONS (which conforms to the draft language distributed by DONE) to its Bylaws:
XIII –– VENICE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL ELECTIONS
A. Neighborhood Council Elections and Composition of Board of Officers: This Article explains the administration of Neighborhood Council elections by the City Clerk and provides information regarding Stakeholder membership, the board’s structure, and Stakeholder eligibility for voting and being selected or elected to a board seat. The provisions in this Article supersede any prior inconsistent provisions contained in the bylaws.
The Governing Board must, to the extent possible, reflect the diversity of the Neighborhood Council’s Stakeholders. Accordingly, no single Stakeholder group shall comprise a majority of the Neighborhood Council’s governing body, unless extenuating circumstances are warranted and approved by DONE.
Elections shall be conducted every two years in even-numbered years and shall be administered by the City Clerk beginning on April-June 2010. The rules and regulations promulgated by the City Clerk in conjunction with an election administered by the City Clerk shall take precedence over any inconsistent language in these bylaws. The term for each currently elected board member shall be extended through and until a successor is elected or appointed at the April-June 2010 City Clerk conducted election.
Beginning with the City Clerk conducted election held on April-June 2010, a board member’s term shall be for the duration of two years or until a successor is elected or appointed.
B. Stakeholder Definition. Venice Neighborhood Council membership is open to all Stakeholders. “Stakeholders” shall be defined as those who live, work, or own property in the neighborhood and also to those who declare a stake in the neighborhood and affirm the factual basis for it. All stakeholders aged 16 and above shall be entitled to vote in the Neighborhood Council Elections.
DONE also distributed FAQs, including the following:
STAKEHOLDER
What is the new Stakeholder Definition?
On December 18, 2007, the Los Angeles City Council adopted the Neighborhood Council Review Commission’s Recommendation #42 (File 05-0894-S3), which defines stakeholders as “those who live, work, or own property in the neighborhood and also to those who declare a stake in the neighborhood and affirm the factual basis for it.”
How will the City Clerk verify a Stakeholder’s status at the polls and during the VBM period given the new Stakeholder Definition?
For the 2008 NC elections, the City Clerk will utilize the process that individual NC’s have specified in their Election Procedures for verifying stakeholder status. For NCs that utilize the Self-Affirmation identification method, the City Clerk will employ a written affirmation that must be signed by the stakeholder affirming his or her status, under penalty of perjury.
Determinations on this matter for the 2010 NC Elections will be addressed and discussed with all Neighborhood Councils during the 2009 Moratorium.
Comment: The answer to the second question seems to assume that the current NC ‘Election Procedures for verifying stakeholder status’ can be used during the ‘2009 Moratorium’ during which time ‘Determinations on this matter for the 2010 NC Elections will be addressed and discussed with all Neighborhood Councils’.
It therefore seems reasonable to assume that there will eventually surface a common sense understanding that ‘factual basis’ has to be verifiable in order for ‘a written affirmation that must be signed by the stakeholder affirming his or her status, under penalty of perjury’ to have any sensible meaning.
D Venice Street Furniture Issue [To be discussed collectively and voted upon in the following order]
I Motion to Rescind May 20, 2008 VNC Street Furniture Position
Gail Rogers (Gailee33@aol.com): Request board adopt the following motion:
The board hereby rescinds the following motion which it approved on May 20, 2008:
Whereas the below pieces of street furniture have been installed in Venice, and further requests for approval of sites are pending, the office of Council District 11 shall determine that street furniture sites are equitably distributed throughout the district prior to approving any additional sites in Venice. Furthermore, the office of Council District 11 shall not approve any street furniture sitings in the following locations.
1) Any area west of Pacific Ave.
2) On any street other than Lincoln Blvd., Venice Blvd., and Washington Blvd.
3) In any location where a motorist’s view of cross or oncoming traffic is impeded.
4) In any location where a pedestrian’s direct line of travel on a sidewalk is impeded.
Furthermore, any so-called “public amenity” kiosk shall have one side accessible at all times for community notices, bulletins, artwork, or any other community used deemed appropriate by a community oversight body to be determined.
Transit Shelters
NB Lincoln Blvd NS Lake
SB Lincoln Blvd NS Venice
NB Main St NS Rose
SB Main St FS Sunset Ave
NB Main St FS Sunset Ave
SB Main St NS Venice Way
NB Main FS Westminster
SB Main St NS Westminster
NB Pacific FS Westminster Transit Shelters
EB Venice Blvd NS Abbot Kinney
WB Venice FS Shell
WB Venice FS Lincoln
WB Washington Blvd FS Ocean Ave
EB Washington Blvd FS Abbot Kinney
WB Washington Blvd FS Abbot Kinney
EB Washington Blvd NS Oxford Ave
Public Amenity Kiosk
WB Abbot Kinney NS Main St
II Modification of VNC Street Furniture Position
Linda Lucks (Vicepresident@VeniceNC.org) & Dennis Hathaway (dennis.hathaway@venicenc.org):
I move to modify and revise a letter adopted by VNC in May 2008, as suggested by the Neighborhood Committee and it’s author the original author of the motion,, Venice resident, Dennis Hathaway, founder of the Coalition to End Billboard Blight, former member of the VNC Land Use and Planning Committee (Revisions in Bold by Hathaway):
Dear Board Members:
I understand that the board is going to discuss street furniture sitings at Tuesday’s meeting. As the original author in LUPC of the below street furniture motion that was adopted by the board on May, 20, 2008, I would like to suggest that the board consider the following additions to that motion:
That all or a portion of the revenue the city receives from CBS/Decaux attributable to street furniture installed in Venice be placed in a special fund to be used for public amenities in Venice designed to improve its visual attractiveness and provide a more inviting, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere.
I know that some members of the community would like to oppose the siting of any street furniture in Venice. As the president of an organization fighting visual blight and outdoor advertising, I am very sympathetic with that view. However, in light of the fact that the city has a contract with CBS/Decaux for street furniture, I think this stance is unlikely to succeed, and that it would be more effective to try to gain some control over where the street furniture is located, and to derive some offsetting community benefit.
Sincerely, Dennis Hathaway
MOTION:
I Move that the May 20, 2008 Motion adopted by the VNC board: “Whereas the below pieces of street furniture have been installed in Venice, and further requests for approval of sites are pending, the office of Council District 11, in partnership with the Venice Neighborhood Council shall determine that street furniture sites are equitably distributed throughout the district prior to approving any additional sites in Venice. Furthermore, the office of Council District 11 shall not approve any street furniture sitings in the following locations without specific VNC consent:
1) Any area west of Pacific Ave.
2) On any street other than Lincoln Blvd., Venice Blvd., and Washington Blvd.
3) In any location where a motorist’s view of cross or oncoming traffic is impeded.
4) In any location where a pedestrian’s direct line of travel on a sidewalk is impeded.
Furthermore, any so-called “public amenity” kiosk shall have one side accessible at all times for community notices, bulletins, artwork, or any other community used deemed appropriate by a community oversight body to be determined.
Furthermore, all or a portion of the revenue the city receives from CBS/Decaux attributable to street furniture installed in Venice be placed in a special fund to be used for public amenities in Venice designed to improve its visual attractiveness and provide a more inviting, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere.
In light of the fact that the city has a contract with CBS/Decaux for street furniture, the Venice Neighborhood Council will work with Councilman Rosendahl to identify appropriate sites, if any to share control over possible locations of street furniture, and to negotiate in good faith, a fair percentage of funds for Venice to derive an offsetting of community benefit.
III Motion to Adopt VNC Street Furniture Position
Gail Rogers (Gailee33@aol.com): Request board approve the below motion:
Motion: The Venice Neighborhood Council Board hereby declares its opposition to the installation in Venice of all street furniture and its associated advertising per the current contract with CBS Outdoors/ JCDecaux and requests our representatives and all hearing authorities to act to rescind said contract, to require the removal of any street furniture already installed per said contract, and to oppose any subsequent pressures to permit the installation of street furniture and associated advertising in ANY location in Venice.
10. Announcements & Public Comment on items not on the Agenda (15 min, no more than 2 minutes per person)
(no board member announcements permitted)
11. Adjourn (approx 10:00PM)
Exhibit A – Treasurers Report (Item 5)
See Below File 090317VNCBoardAgenda.doc
Location(s)
- Calendar
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