At the June12 meeting of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, the board voted to reiterate its previous opposition to the proposal for a new sports bar/restaurant at Melrose and Cahuenga, discussed the city’s apparent removal of proposals for 100% affordable housing projects applied for under the Mayor’s Executive Directive 1 from the Planning department’s Early Notification Reports, and voted not to weigh in on a city council motion requesting that the city study an aerial transit system and other possible measures to help alleviate Dodger Stadium Traffic.
Land Use & Other Votes
5901 Melrose Ave./Pawn Shop Sports Bar – Since the GWNC board voted in December to oppose this application for a new sports bar/restaurant that would operate from 6 am to 2 am daily, the Hancock Park Homeowners Association met with the applicant to request shorter operating hours, and the GWNC Land Use Committee invited the applicant back for further discussions on the hours and proposed parking situation. But the the HPHOA did not win any concessions on the proposed 2 am closing time, and the applicant declined to attend the Land Use Committee’s May meeting, so that group voted – just ahead of a June 6 Zoning Administrator hearing – to recommend that the GWNC board reaffirm its previous opposition to the project.
At the June 6 ZA hearing, Zoning Administrator Jack Chaing agreed to hold the case file open for 30 days to allow the GWNC Board a chance to weigh in again, and at last week’s meeting they did. But after hearing that the only new development was a proposed later opening in the morning (9 am instead of 6 am), the only significant discussion was whether or not to include the applicant’s lack of appearance at the most recent Land Use meeting among the formal list of reasons for the board’s continued opposition. In the end, though, the board voted, by a margin of 13 in favor, one opposed, and two abstentions, to reiterate its previous opposition to the project, based on the applicant declining to return for further conversation, the proposed hours and parking arrangements, the location’s proximity to a preschool and a church, security, public safety, traffic, and historic preservation issues, live entertainment, noise, and CEQA compliance.
ED1 Items Missing from City Planning’s Recent Early Notification Reports – Larchmont-area resident Sam Uretsky reported to the board that applications for new 100% affordable housing developments no longer seem to be listed in the City Planning Department’s electronic Early Notification System, which is the main source of new application information for residents, Neighborhood Councils, and other members of the public. Also, Uretsky said it appears that links to ED1 projects in old Early Notification Reports no longer take users to the Planning Department’s pages for those projects, as they used to do, and no further information or documentation appears to be publicly available online.
Several board members expressed outrage at this development, with Vice President Charles D’Atri saying that, if true, the move, which seems to effectively pull all ED1 documentation from public scrutiny, is “among the most reprehensible behavior I’ve seen from folks in city government.” Other board members agreed, and after discussing the best ways to register their displeasure, the board voted by a margin of 15 in favor and two abstentions to request that LA Mayor Karen Bass instruct the Department of City Planning to show all land use applications (including those, like ED1 projects, that need only administrative approval) in its document imaging and early notification systems, to make the information publicly available online, to ask our City Council District 5 and 13 representatives to introduce a motion requiring online public access to all Planning case files, and to request that a copy of the GWNC motion be sent to the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment asking that it be circulated to all of the city’s other 98 Neighborhood Councils.
Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit System to Dodger Stadium – The other (non-housekeeping) item agendized for a vote at last week’s board meeting was a proposal for the GWNC board to file a Community Impact Statement in favor of City Council File 24-011-S4, which asks the city to study Dodger Stadium traffic and possible solutions including the proposed LA Aerial Rapid Transit system. Several board members said, however, that they think the issue is not specifically relevant to the GWNC’s sphere of interest, and the motion failed by a vote of four in favor, five opposed, and six abstentions.
Additional GWNC-Area News
- GWNC President Conrad Starr reported that he heard from City Council District 5 field deputy Michelle Flores that the bust of former local news publisher/city council member Harold A. Henry, recently stolen from Harold A. Henry Park, is worth only about $8,000, and the city’s insurance deductible for such items is $25,000, which means the city will have to find another way to pay for the replacement.
- LAPD Olympic Division – Senior Lead Officer Harry Cho reported that LAPD recently helped with an Inside Safe operation that housed residents of and cleaned up after a homeless encampment at 6th and Van Ness. Cho said another Inside Safe event is planned soon for our area, but specific locations are never announced in advance. Also, Cho said Olympic Division’s National Night Out event is scheduled for August 6 this year, and LAPD will cooperate with People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), to hold a big resource fair that night. Next, Cho provided details of a June 12 shooting at a homeless encampment at Olympic and St. Andrews, where a nearby resident recognized his stolen license plate on a car at the site, confronted people there about it, and was shot in the arm by someone visiting the camp. (The injury was not life-threatening.) Finally, in response to a question about recent home break-ins in the area, Cho said at least some of the perpetrators are tourist crews from Colombia, who – if they get caught – are quickly released and then fly home. Also, Cho warned that many burglars these days wear hoodies and masks, while others pretend to be construction workers or delivery drivers to gain entrance to homes…and still others use wireless cameras to watch homes to find out when residents leave.
- LAPD Wilshire Division – Senior Lead Officer Hebel Rodriguez reported that catalytic converter thefts are down across city right now, but they are still happening in our area. Also, he said, car break-ins are up, as are thefts in general – especially from places like Ralphs, Lowes, and Target, and especially targeting items such as baby formula and diapers. Cho said the thieves, often hired by warehouses that sell stolen goods, fill shopping carts with these items and then run. He also said, though, that LAPD has raided some of the warehouse sites and recovered lots of Target merchandise, which can be returned when the store identifies and retrieves the items. Meanwhile, Rodriguez reported that robberies involving the use of force are down, as are the numbers of stolen vehicles. Also, in our more local basic car area, thefts are down 31% from this point in the year last year, thanks in large part to a task force working at the Target store at 4th and La Brea, car break-ins are down 15%, and aggravated assaults are down 29% compared to this point last year. Burglaries, however, are currently up 40% over last year.
- Finally, GWNC secretary Jen DeVore, who is also the Council’s liaison to the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition, reported that the city has decided, due to budget cuts, to conduct all voting for next year’s Neighborhood Council elections via mail. DeVore said further details and the new election rules will be available in July or August.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the GWNC board will be held on Wednesday, July 10, 6:30 p.m. at the Ebell of Los Angeles, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd.
