Neighborhood Council - minutes for February 21, 2009

[Z]

Santa Monica Neighborhood Council

February 21, 2009 --- 10 AM

Ken Edwards Center

MINUTES

The meeting was chaired by Jeanne Dodson.

Calendar review: Future NC meetings are scheduled for March 21, April
18, May 16, and June 20

1. Citywide issues

a. Social Services Commission - Jeff Silberman and Gail Myers
discussed their work on the Commission, which meets the 4th Monday of
the month at the Ken Edwards Center. It advises and assists the
Council and staff with needs assessments, priorities, planning and
budgetary implications for social service programs to preserve and
enhance the quality of life for all Santa Monica residents. Among the
issues it focuses on are the homeless, the handicapped, the city's
youth, the elderly, and those with substance abuse problems.

The Commission is convening a community forum re the 2009 Santa Monica
Homeless Count Findings on Monday, February 23rd, 6:30 PM, in the east
wing of the Civic Auditorium. 250 community volunteers collected the
data on January 27th.

b. City Council vacancy -- The applications from the 27 residents
who have applied are posted at http://www.smgov.net/departments/council/content.aspx?id=3827
The Boards of FOSP, NOMA, OPA, and Wilmont have sent a joint letter to
the Council members, encouraging them to appoint the next highest vote-
getter in the November 2008 election.

2. Neighborhood updates

a. Friends of Sunset Park

1) SM Airport issues - 2 crashes in January (one resulted in 2
fatalities); upcoming EPA study on lead in the air and soil from the
leaded fuel the piston airplanes use; FAA administrative hearing in
Long Beach on March 16- 20; the VenMar SMO Committee concerns as to
whether planes are following the recommended flight path.
Participants in the February 19th S.M. Airport focus groups included
Jeanne Dodson (Wilmont) and Mary Marlow (OPA).

2) Big Blue Bus - Residents on 20th St. have gone from one bus
route in August 2007 to 3 bus routes passing within a few feet of
their homes: The Crosstown Ride, the Sunset Ride, and the #6 SMC
Commuter (which only SMC students and staff can ride).

3) Santa Monica College construction projects and the closing one
of their parking lots has resulted in increased traffic congestion on
Pico Blvd. One resident reported that it took her 20 minutes to drive
on Pico from 20th to 14th.

b. Ocean Park Association

1) Walgreen's presentation at the recent OPA meeting re proposed
store on SE corner of Lincoln and Pico raised concerns about the
location of the store entrance, the location of the parking entrances,
the number of parking spaces, and the drive-through pharmacy in the
alley.

2) Big Blue Bus - BBB proposes to end the Tide Ride, which
serves the hotels, the Promenade, the Pier and Main St. It is
partially funded by hotels as a public benefit, based on developer
agreements (which are supposed to be reviewed annually). In
discussion, it was stated that both Main St. and Montana Ave.
merchants want bus shuttle service to and from the hotels. Also,
residents in 4 large senior low-income apartment buildings near the
Venice-Santa Monica border need improved service to the Rose/Lincoln
area where CVS Pharmacy, Whole Foods, and the 99 Cent Store are
located. Residents in their 70's and 80's currently have take two
buses each way to shop for groceries and medicines.

c. Pico Neighborhood Association

1) The PNA Annual Meeting is scheduled for March at Virginia
Avenue Park.

2) Three Pico neighborhood residents have applied for the vacant
City Council seat: School Board
member Oscar de la Torre, PNA Board member Linda Piera-
Avila, who ran for Council in November
2008, and Planning Commissioner Terry O'Day, who ran for
Council in 2006.

3) The PNA Board has been discussing issues at the local
elementary school, Edison
Language Academy. PNA supports the school by negotiating for
public benefits during
developer agreement discussions.

d. Wilshire-Montana Neighborhood Coalition

1) The Wilmont Annual Meeting will be held at the end of June in
the Main Library.

2) The Planning Commission held a hearing on Feb. 18 regarding a
proposed 4-story condo development at 1012 2nd St. which involved
requests for variances. Nearby residents were notified about
development on this landmarked property only with signs posted on the
fence, and not until a week or so before the Planning Commission
meeting. The developer did not do a presentation for the the Wilmont
Board.

3) Parking - Negotiations between the Wilmont Chairperson,
Jeanne Dodson, and St. Monica's Catholic Church regarding its proposed
development will result in shared parking with residents. Negotiations
with the Methodist Church have not been productive. The Wilmont
Chairperson and Board have spent 5 years advocating for a city Parking
Czar. The funding was approved last June, the job posted in December,
but the new Transportation Demand Program Manager is unfamiliar with
local parking problems. The manager will also be assigned many other
tasks, including setting up transportation districts and ride sharing
programs, and encouraging use of bikes and bus passes. Inadequate
parking for residents is a serious and difficult-to-solve problem in
Wilmont (which is the most densely populated area of the city, with
1/4 of the population), in Ocean Park (where Main St. business
employees, shoppers, restaurant patrons, and beachgoers all compete
for parking on residential streets), and elsewhere in the city.

[Sue Miller]

Thanks for the informative minutes, Zina, and Jeanne for chairing the meeting.

Regarding the proposed Walgreen's at Lincoln and Pico, there is already a huge problem at that intersection because of the single lane, left turn only lane, and bike lanes.   THis city continues to increase density without solving traffic and access problems. 

And I see a 4 story condo development on 2nd street involving variances.   How do we fight this relentless intrusion on our quality of life here in this overcrowded tiny blip of urban life at the edge of Los Angeles County.    Today I happened to be returning home on the 10 freeway around 9 AM.   The backup of cars trying to exit at Cloverfield, no doubt many headed for SMC, jammed up all the lanes on the freeway for a mile.   

And now I see Terry O'Day competing for the council seat the voters denied him.   That seems outrageous.   All we need is a

****And, speaking of development--When we get an annual accounting of the increased tax windfall from the Earthquake Redevelopment money?   How much money is Santa Monica now getting annually from the diversion from the county to the city of all the increases in the property tax revenue from new development due to an earthquake?   The whole center of the city is called an "earthquake" zone gets an ongoing tax windfall from all this development.    AND, how long does this go on?   We, as citizens, have never been able to get an accurate accounting of this.  ****   

Regards

Sue

An Ocean Park resident for 20 years.