DEL REY HOMEOWNERS & NEIGHBORS ASSOCIATION
BOARD MEETING OF JULY 9, 2007

Italicized remarks are post-meeting comments by the Recording Secretary.

Roll Call and Introduction of Guests: Janice Santos, Parliamentarian; Chris Nevil, President; George Gross, 1st VP and Webmaster; Wendy Averill, 2d VP; Elizabeth Pollock, Recording Secretary; Tobyann Mandel, Corresponding Secretary; Marlene Savage, Director; Aaron Bernardin, Director; Mary Anderson, Director and Newsletter Editor; Advisor, Steve Knight.
Guests: Nicole Velasquez, Council District 11 deputy; local residents Devin Santos, Karen Montez, Nancee Inouye; Stephen Cheung, West Area Director for Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa.

Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the June 4, 2007 board meeting were reviewed, revised and approved as revised. On July 14, 2007, the minutes were sent to George Gross for posting on the website.

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Michelle Rudo could not attend the meeting, but before the meeting, she circulated a Transaction Detail Report for June, which was approved as submitted. The only expenses were for the three savings bonds that were given to the valedictorians at Marina del Rey Middle School in June. Valedictorian Natalie Mena sent us a very nice thank you note which was circulated at the meeting.

Police/Crime Report/Pacific Division Update: Wendy Averill has been attending the monthly 14A49 Advisory Council meetings (First Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Pacific Division) and has been sending her reports to George Gross for posting on the website.
On Thursday, July 12, 2007, there will be a dinner held at Tony P’s restaurant to thank Capt. Bill Williams, who is leaving Pacific Division to become Commanding Officer of Criminal Crime Division. Captain Joe Hiltner will be the new Commanding Officer of Pacific Area. Commander Kenneth Garner has been promoted to Deputy Chief and Commanding Officer of Operations - West Bureau. Commander Debra McCarthy has been reassigned as Commander of West Bureau. Captain Bill Eaton has been promoted to Captain II and will become the Commanding Officer of LAX. Captain Justin Eisenberg is now the Pacific Area Commander of Patrol.
Fourth of July seemed to have passed without incident, perhaps because the Los Angeles Police Department issued an order that all illegal fireworks were to be “detained for analysis.”

Traffic Committee: Tabled.

Newsletter: The next issue is coalescing. Editor Mary Anderson would like to offer: a profile on the Westside Children’s Center (12120 Wagner St., Culver City, CA 90230); an article by Sheree Routier, manager of Mar Vista Gardens, squelching rumors that the property has been sold; an article on the departure of Captain Williams; and an article about the Starbucks being built at Jefferson Blvd. and Centinela Ave..

Stephen Cheung: In West Los Angeles, priorities for the Mayor’s Office are: (1) reduced gang activity (Jeff Carr will be the new Gang Deputy on August 1, 2007.); (2) increased law enforcement (Los Angeles Police Department has hired 350 of the 1000 new recruits that it had hoped to hire.); (3) transportation improvements (Bureau of Street Services to fill 350,000 potholes in one year); (4) improved transit design (Green Line extension; a 20 year plan for mixed-use transit oriented development.) The neighborhood councils have identified public safety and transportation as their priorities
He is going out to the communities to find out what they want. DRHNA is concerned about: (1) blight created by abandoned construction projects. (The mayor’s business team is with working with the Housing Department and the Environmental Protection Agency to address “blight areas.”); (2) how the mayor can help Del Rey to deal with development in surrounding cities; (State and county officials are the “connecting tissue” between the cities.); (3) who is the best liaison for greenbelt and park issues (He will find out.).

General Meeting: There will be a planning meeting on July 16, 2007, at 7 p.m. at Marlene Savage’s home. Our theme will be the local schools, and Marlene Canter (Los Angeles Board of Education) and the principals of the five public schools in Del Rey have been invited to attend. We will ask the principal of Venice High School to attend as well. The meeting probably will be on October 17 or 24, 2007.

Membership: Casey Anderson will need help preparing the letters for the annual dues drive.

Website: Has been updated and is working well.

Del Rey Neighborhood Council: Meeting on July 12, 2007 at 7 p.m. at the Westchester municipal building. In August, DRNC will begin meeting at the Marriott Hotel on Glencoe Ave. There will be an organizing meeting for Del Rey Day on July 10, 2007, at 7 p.m..

Culver City Liaison: We still need someone to fill this post. Culver City has a Community Advisory Committee for each development project that comes before the City Council of Culver City, and the committees assess the community’s responses to the projects. We should be monitoring the projects in Culver City. There are seven or eight properties for sale on Washington Blvd. at this time.
Post-Meeting Notice: On July 25, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. there will be a hearing in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 9770 Culver Blvd., Culver City, to discuss the application to construct a four story 41,802 square foot building at 12402 Washington Place (cross street at Centinela Ave.). The plan is to have ground floor retail and three stories of office, and to subdivide the building into 30 commercial condominium units and to allow the use of tandem parking spaces. This site is outside of Del Rey but will impact Del Rey. Zoning Code Map Amendment P2007075, Tentative Tract map P2007072, Site Plan Review P2007073,, Administrative Use Permit P2007072.
Board member Wendy Averill has said she believes DRHNA should take a position on every project that increases population density and traffic in Del Rey, including projects outside of Del Rey. She also urged that there be a moratorium on further development until there is an assessment of the impact of existing projects that have been approved but not yet built.

C.D. 11 Report: Nicole Velasquez reported that as of 6 p.m. on July 9, 2007, the graffiti damaged fence round the property on Culver Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Stoner Ave. had been painted. Ilya Kleinman of Culver Stoner LLC (owner) had been invited to attend the DRHNA’s board meeting, but he did not attend.
Nicole Velasquez attended the Citizens Advisory Committee meeting regarding the Champion development on Sepulveda Blvd. (12.5 acres from Slauson to Sawtelle). There is concern about the oil pipeline in the alley behind the businesses. None of Champion letters of reference involved projects built next to residential communities.
She met with Mar Vista Gardens and POWER concerning traffic improvements at the Culver/Inglewood intersection. As part of Playa Vista Phase II’s mitigation, part of the bikeway will be taken so that Culver Blvd. can be widened and left turn pockets can be inserted on all four entries to the intersection.

Del Rey’s Community Garden is located on Los Angeles County right of way, and the garden’s permit with the county has expired. In order to renew the permit, someone must agree to take legal responsibility for the maintenance and premises of the community garden. During June, Charlotte DeMeo had contacted DRHNA to ask if it would be willing to be listed on the permit as the party responsible for the Community Garden, but DRHNA had concerns about the wording of the “defend, hold harmless and indemnify” language in the draft permit. Nicole Velasquez has given Charlotte DeMeo contact information for Metro Farms, the group that provides insurance for about 20 community gardens throughout Los Angeles. The Bureau of Sanitation has started to charge the Community Garden for trash pickup.

Tobyann Mandel reported that the boat has been removed from the fire-damaged property at Mesmer and McDonald. The fire department was using the property to train firefighters. The City also has fenced the property to protect it from squatters and vandalism.
Nicole Velasquez will follow up on the current status of the former U.S. Postal Service property next to Home Depot.
Guest Karen Montez asked how one could get permit parking in her neighborhood. Nicole Velasquez said one should call 311 and request an application form. DRHNA member Bill Becker went through the process for the area near Culver Blvd. and Berryman Ave.
If one reports a vehicle for having been parked at one location for longer than 72 hours, one can get a reference number for the call and call back to learn what was done in response to the report.

5550 Grosvenor Ave.: During June, David Herbst of Archstone asked Chris Nevil if DRHNA would help to organize a community meeting with residents living near the proposed project. We agreed to help with logistics to set up the meeting, but we have not taken a position pro or con. The Archstone representatives have done a presentation for the DRNC like the one they did for DRHNA.

Strategic Planning Meeting: DRHNA’s board will meet on Saturday, August 11, 2007, from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to prepare a strategic plan for DRHNA’s activities during the next few years.

Proposed Strip Club: The property on Centinela Ave. that was proposed to be a strip club is now on the market -- $5 million for approx. 25,000 sq. feet of space.

New Map of DRHNA: DRHNA does include the triangular portion of DRNC’s Area B that is bordered by Maxella on the north, the Marina Freeway on the west and Alla Road on the east.
Elizabeth Pollock will look into getting a new map of DRHNA’s boundaries.

Pacific Graffiti Solutions: Yvette Neal was scheduled to make a presentation about Pacific Graffiti Solutions, the company that has the graffiti removal contract with the City of Los Angeles, but she did not attend the meeting.

DRHNA Barbecue: The board of directors will meet for a barbecue dinner on Sunday, September 9, 2007, at 5 p.m.. After the meeting, the date was changed to September 23, 2007.

NEXT MEETING: MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2007

ADJOURNMENT: 8:55 P.M.