Neighborhood Council -- Notes from February 2011 meeting

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Neighborhood Council – Notes from February 2011 meeting

Santa Monica Neighborhood Council – February 26, 2011

10 AM – Ken Edwards Center

Next month: Santa Monica Historical Museum

Wilmont – They are working with NOMA to prepare for the LA Marathon
and are also moving their website to a new host.

FOSP – They are planning their Annual Meeting. The L.A. Times recently
published an ill-informed editorial about Santa Monica Airport and the
recent appellate court ruling that infuriated residents.

NOMA – They are planning a Marathon party near Ocean Avenue and
Montana.

OPA – They had a Marathon presentation at their Board meeting re
street closures, use of parking lots, etc. Other topics were the 4th
of July Parade, the Main St. Merchants, the Ocean Park Library re-
opening, and construction on Longfellow St. in the Borderline section
of their neighborhood.

Mid-City Neighbors – They are in the midst of being approved by the
state as a nonprofit organization, their Annual Meeting will be on
March 27th at the Main Library, and they are concerned about the
development project at 2300 Wilshire.

PNA – The planned Pico Library will be funded with redevelopment
agency money. The first new mobile home is being installed at Mountain
View. When the neighborhood conservation consultants met with
residents, Councilmember O’Day and Planning Commissioner O’Day were
selected by staff to represent the Pico Neighborhood, rather than PNA
Board members.

NEN – They had their first organizational meeting and will be included
in the city mailing.

Downtown – They would like to have an organization, but it’s difficult
to get started. Most of the new housing being built in that area is
market rate, with very little affordable housing being added.

South Beach – They have traffic and parking problems related to the
Pier. Gang-related crime was reduced after parking lots were gated and
the connection to PCH was closed.

Neighborhood Conservation -- Meetings with the consultants were
discussed. One topic was the parallel tracks of historic preservation
vs. neighborhood conservation. Cities can no longer constrain
residential development, so one way to preserve neighborhoods is to
define the characteristics that make them special and then use those
definitions in writing ordinances re new development. Other topics
were demolition policies, transferable development rights, parking,
and trailer parks.

BuyLocalMarket.com – Spree Daily is like Groupon, but for Santa Monica
businesses only. 10% of sales revenues go to the Santa Monica Malibu
Education Foundation.

2300 Wilshire – The car wash will be replaced with a 60,000 sq ft 3-
story mixed use development, with 25,000 sq ft of ground floor
commercial retail, 30 condos, and 264 underground parking spaces. It
is a “by right” project that complies with current zoning standards.

Fluoride – The City Council voted in 2002 to fluoridate the city’s
water supply. One attendee stated that the substance that’s added to
the city’s water is sodium fluoride which, in large enough quantities,
is used as rat poison.

Selection of mayor – One attendee stated that the current situation is
a short-term problem of personalities, rather than a broken system.

Campaign finance disclosure – This is a national and state issue, not
only a local one. The goal is transparency. The purpose of campaign
filings is to make information about donors available to the public.
One suggestion was to reduce the floor for requiring electronic filing
below $50,000, which would make it easier to analyze the
contributions.

Big Blue Bus – BBB is holding community meetings re proposed changes
in service to begin in August. One current problem resulted when the
bus stop on 4th St. was moved the front of the Women’s Club down the
block to the front of the parking structure. In Sunset Park, BBB
focuses on serving SMC students at the expense of residents. In Mid-
City, buses come in packs of three, rather than sticking to published
schedules.

Bergamot Transit Village – At the February community meeting, the
focus was on community benefits, while residents wanted to talk about
the gigantic size, the FAR going from 1.5 to 3.5, and the lack of a
definition for “creative space” (“Van Gogh would never get space at
Bergamot Transit Village.”).

Parking – Throughout the entire LUCE process, as well as the hiring of
the parking tzar, not one additional parking space has been identified
for Wilmont residents. The problems of residents are still being
ignored, while the city is launching into a whole new round of
meetings about building more buildings. When asked about the ongoing
parking problem, the LUCE transportation consultant, Jeff Tumlin
replied, “We’ve been busy.” The Wilmont Transportation Forum is
scheduled for April 30th.