PPCC Library Integration Test

**Voting Members in Attendance:** George Wolfberg (acting Chair), Richard Cohen, Chris Spitz (acting Secretary), David Kaplan, Sue Kohl, Rick Mills, Danielle Samulon, Sarah Conner, Lou Kamer, Rick Mills, Cathy Russell, Richard Wulliger, Janet Anderson, Gil Dembo, Reza Akef, Bruce Schwartz, Peter Culhane
**Voting Alternates:** Jenny Hope Cote, Kelly Comras
**Non-voting Advisors and Alternates:** Richard Blumenberg, Carol Bruch, Brenda Theveny, David Peterson 1\. **Certification of Quorum.** George Wolfberg (presiding officer in the absence of Chair Maryam Zar) called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm and certified that a quorum was present. 2.**Reading of Community Council’s Mission.** Reza Akef read the Mission Statement. 3.**Introduction of the Board and Audience.** The board and audience were introduced. 4.**Approval of Minutes & Upcoming Meetings.** _1)
Approval of Minutes:_ Richard Cohen requested the following corrections to Item 6 of the minutes of
January 11, 2018: “
6. Treasurer’s report**.** Richard Cohen (Treasurer) reported that PPCC has a bank account balance of $40,910.
18. Based upon preliminary data the event has netted about $4,700 which is generally sufficient to cover operation of PPCC for a year. Richard expressed relief that the wildfires that threatened neighboring areas did not worsen to threaten the Palisades and cause cancellation of the event. Had that happened PPCC would nonetheless have been obligated to pay almost all of the expenses of the event. In his view it is therefore necessary to maintain sufficient funds on hand to absorb such a loss and thereafter continue to fund PPCC’s activities for several years.” There being no objection to the corrections, the Chair deemed the minutes of
January 11, 2018 approved as corrected. 2) _Upcoming meetings:_
February 8, 2018 and
February 22, 2018 (topics to be announced). 5.**Consideration of Agenda.** The Chair announced that the agenda was as distributed. 6.**Treasurer’s Report.** Richard Cohen (Treasurer) reported that PPCC has a bank account balance of $42,081.
18. We have received additional payments for tribute ads in the awards gala event program and are currently netting about $4,500, but more payments are expected to yield an eventual net profit for the event of about $4,700. 7.**General Public Comment on local issues** – None. 8.**Reports, Announcements and Concerns.**
8.
1. _From the Chair_.
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1.
1. WRAC report: LA Innovation and Performance Commission (<http://innovate.lacity.org>). Chair/President Emeritus Chris Spitz stated that she had attended the WRAC leadership meeting along with Chair Maryam Zar, where a presentation was made on behalf of the LA Innovation and Performance Commission. The Commission is actively seeking ideas from constituents to improve City government. Chris encouraged Palisadians to visit the Commission’s website and contribute ideas which may be put into action.
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2. _From Officers_.
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2.
1.
Chris Spitz (Chair/President Emeritus).
PlanCheckNCLA report; Short Term Rentals Ordinance Update.
Chris reported that Tom Rothmann of the Planning Dept. gave an update at the meeting about several proposed Planning-related ordinances, including three that are of interest to our community (Short Term Rentals, Farmers Markets in R Zones, and Over the Counter Alcohol Permits/CUBs).
Regarding Short Term Rentals, Chris explained that she learned that the Planning Dept. has recently reported back to the City Council Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee with responses to questions about possible further ordinance amendments, including elimination in some cases of the annual cap on the number of days that homes could be rented on a short term basis, and allowing for “self-certification” of residency by property owners (contrary to PPCC’s position); she provided further details at the LUC meeting held earlier in the evening; it is unknown when PLUM will be taking up the matter again (it had been scheduled for a 1/23 PLUM meeting but was continued for an indefinite time).
Regarding Farmers Markets in R Zones, Chris distributed a status report (see attachment below) and reminded the board that PPCC had taken a position in 2011 opposing by-right permits for this use in R zones and expressing concern about granting permission on a conditional use basis.
Due to time constraints Chris did not provide further details but she encouraged members to review the attachment and indicated that this is a matter that the LUC or board may wish to take up at a future meeting.
Finally, Chris related that Mr.
Rothmann advised that the Planning Dept. is now working on a new proposed ordinance, pursuant to a recent vote in City Council, to allow streamlined, “Over the Counter" CUBs (i.e., without notice or hearings but with agreement to abide by a list of conditions/performance standards) to be issued to certain specified small businesses such as restaurants and hotels.
This matter was also discussed at the LUC meeting and the committee will monitor.
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3. _From At-Large and Area Reps_.
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3.
1. Reza Akef (Area 8) announced that the Genesis Open PGA golf tournament will take place from February 12-18 at the Riviera Country Club. The tournament is sponsored by the Tiger Woods Foundation and Tiger will be playing. Large crowds are expected. There is no parking in the Riviera or the Polo Fields. Parking will be in Santa Monica with shuttle service to the event.
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4. _From Organizational Reps_ – None.
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5. _From Government Offices/Representatives_.
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5.
1. LAPD SLO Michael Moore and SLO and former Narcotics Officer Chris Baker.
Officer Moore introduced Officer Baker, who was present to address any questions about marijuana law enforcement.
Officer Moore first reported that things are looking good for crime in the Palisades, with the exception of vehicle crimes.
Many cars are being broken into, with daytime vehicle break-ins mostly involving hikers and those at night involving residents.
Vehicle break-ins are occurring at least once a week, and sometimes three times a night.
The nighttime crimes tend to occur between roughly 10pm and 3am.
The suspects for the nighttime vehicle crimes are 3 white males driving a BMW who have not yet been identified; there are no suspects yet for the daytime crimes. LAPD requests the community’s help in identifying and locating suspects.
These vehicle crimes are occurring everywhere in the Palisades except for the Highlands.
Officer Moore was asked about incidents involving the Asilomar bluffs.
He stated that LAPD has received complaints about smoking, drinking, marijuana use and other activities on the Asilomar bluffs and also at the top of Lachman Lane.
The police have responded and citations have been issued.
Undercover narcotics officers are involved.
Rick Mills stated that residents of the Asilomar bluffs are appreciative of the LAPD’s attention to this problem.
He asked whether there has been coordination with Palisades High School.
Officer Moore stated that this has not occurred because the narcotics officers do not want exposure or identification, as this may impede their efforts.
Some of the youth involved with activities on the bluffs are known to the High School administration.
Officer Moore also explained his jurisdiction in Area 8 in response to a question by Reza Akef regarding SLO representation in the Riviera and the Polo Fields.
Parts of the upper Riviera are within SLO Maria Gray’s jurisdiction (Brentwood) while the lower Riviera is within SLO Moore’s purview.
He explained that the SLOs do not have the ability to change their jurisdiction.
There were no questions for Officer Baker.
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6. _From PPCC Advisors_ – None. 9.**Reports from Committees.**
9.
1. VPCLC (David Kaplan and Sue Kohl, Co-Chairs).
David stated that he and Sue had reached out to Michael Gazzano of Caruso to obtain a project update as to four issues.
David relayed Mr.
Gazzano’s responses as follows: 1) Crossing Guards – Caruso has received wonderful feedback from the community and will continue to provide crossing guards during construction at Sunset/Swarthmore and Sunset/Via de la Paz. 2) Security Guards – Caruso always has a security guard on site and has now expanded the security presence with additional guards to better cover the entire site 24 hours per day.
The additional presence is primarily focused on Albright and Monument, which should also provide security for nearby residences. 3) Construction Update – The parking structure podium was completed in late December, which was a major milestone.
Steel framing for the buildings is continuing, and Caruso will then start building out each building and turning over to tenants to begin their interior tenant improvement construction.
Caruso appreciates the support and understanding of their neighbors and tries their best to minimize the impacts. 4) Alcohol – To date, the City has granted three (Vintage Grocers, FdeiM and Cinepolis) of the eight approved CUBs for the project.
All eight were approved with the overall project in June 2016 and several public hearings were held at PPCC, with four additional public hearings with the City.
The eight CUBs were always part of the project description and included in the City process and approvals.
Sue Kohl then reported that in response to a Nextdoor posting with comments about design changes made to the building at the SW corner of Swarthmore/Monument, Mr.
Gazzano provided the following statement, which she has also posted on Nextdoor; Sue read the statement in its entirety to the board: “ _Statement Regarding Architectural Changes_ “We appreciate the inquiries about modern/mid-century modern facades within our Palisades Village project.
First, we should provide some context, particularly concerning the tenant space at the corner of Swarthmore and Monument.
That space was originally presented to the community as a two-story structure.
The community expressed its concern with a two-story structure on that edge, so close to residential.
As a result, we listened to the community and modified the space into a one-story restaurant use, using a mid-century modern treatment.
That treatment with large expanses of glass along Monument worked well for a restaurant use. “Just prior to our Planning Commission hearing, the community expressed its concern with having a restaurant on that edge, so we agreed to remove that use and again listened to the community.
We also received comments from the community that they wanted buildings along the Monument edge to serve as a transition from the residential neighborhood to the commercial village.
We responded to the community’s input by hiring a residential architect to design that storefront with more of a residential look and feel to better transition from commercial to residential.
There are still a number of modern/mid-century modern facades throughout the project. “You will note this evolution in the current construction framing at the project site.
We feel the current construction clearly shows the lengths to which we’ve gone, in response to community input. “It’s important to keep in mind that during the entitlement process, a project is in a conceptual design phase.
This is customary for projects at this stage.
Once we receive zoning approvals, an executive architect is hired and, working with structural, civil and mechanical engineers, final plans are drawn up for actual permitting by a range of City departments and other agencies.
There are always going to be some tweaks to the conceptual design drawings as they become finalized for permitting.” Following a brief exchange of opinions involving questions about project design and construction, David stated that Mr.
Gazzano (who was not present) will attend an upcoming PPCC meeting (tentatively on February 22) and can answer any questions at that time.
9.
2. LUC (Howard Robinson, Chair). In Howard’s absence, committee member Rick Mills reported that the LUC had a successful meeting this afternoon prior to the board meeting. The committee heard several presentations about LUC agenda items. With regard to the proposed WRAC motion concerning SB 827, Rick announced that following discussion, the LUC voted unanimously to recommend that the PPCC board approve the proposed WRAC motion as drafted with the additional language proposed by Chris Spitz and George Wolfberg (see Item 11.1 below). 10.**Old Business –** None. 11.**New Business.**
11.
1. WRAC-Recommended Motion Opposing SB 827 (sponsored in PPCC by Chris Spitz and George Wolfberg). Background: [https://pacpalicc.org/wp- content/uploads/2018/01/WRAC20LUPC20AGENDA20JAN202018.pdf](https://pacpalicc.org/wp-%20%20%0Dcontent/uploads/2018/01/WRAC20LUPC20AGENDA20JAN202018.pdf). Chris explained that because George Wolfberg was chairing the meeting, she alone was now making the motion. She stated that the motion was as contained in the agenda, and that she was proposing additional language in subsection vii, set forth in bold font as follows: "(PROPOSED) MOTION: OPPOSITION TO TRANSIT-RICH HOUSING BONUS BILL [WIENER – SB 827]