greater echo park elysian neighborhood council president kwazi

GREATER
ECHO PARK ELYSIAN
NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
PRESIDENT
KWAZI NKRUMAH
VICE PRESIDENT
MANICITO “FENDER”
SANTOS
TREASURER
EVA MEJIA
CHIEF INFORMATION
OFFICER
PAUL BOWERS
AT LARGE
Jill ‘Rio’ Contreras
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, December 16th, 2014
7:00 P.M.
MEETING LOCATION:
Cisneros Learning Center
1018 Mohawk St.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
CERTIFIED
NEIGHBORHOOD
COUNCIL
APRIL 16, 2002
TELEPHONE: (213)400
9155
WEBSITE:
ECHOPARKNC.ORG
EMAIL:
[email protected]
MAILING ADDRESS
P.O. BOX 261046, LA CA
90026
DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES
Veronica Arellano
Matt Sharp
Katrina Bouza
Judith Garcia
D1
D1
D1
D2
Richard Courtney D2
Ann-Marie Holman D2
Gordon H. Lake
D3
Jill “Rio” Contreras D3
Vacant
Paula Guadron
Tad Yenawine
Jessica Cutler
D3
D4
D4
D4
Mellie Bautista
Carolina Jimenez
Vincent Rodriguez
Alma Baja
Avelyn J Tapia
AGENDA
1.
Administrative items……………………………………………………………………………………….. 8 minutes
a. Roll Call
b. Approval of Minutes
c. President’s Report
2.
Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items ................... ………………………………………. 8 minutes
(Public Comment will be limited to 90 seconds per person)
3.
Announcements………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2 minutes
4.
Reports of State Electeds, Council Districts, and/or Various City Agencies .……… 4 minutes
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D5
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5.
Community and Stakeholder Organizations……………………………………………………… 5 minutes
6.
Motions and Resolutions .................................................................................... 60 minutes
Discussion/possible action on the following agenda items for December 18th 2014 BOG
Meeting:
A. Budget and Finance Committee Recommendations
1. [BOF 3:0:0] Discussion and/or Possible Action on the recommendation from the Budget
and Finance Committee to adopt the September 2014 Monthly Reconciliation
Statement.
2. [BOF 3:0:0] Discussion and/or Possible Action on the recommendation from the Budget
and Finance Committee to adopt the October 2014 Monthly Reconciliation Statement.
3. [BOF 3:0:0] Discussion and/or Possible Action on the recommendation from the Budget
and Finance Committee to adopt the November 2014 Monthly Reconciliation
Statement.
4. [BOF 3:0:0] Discussion and/or Possible Action on the recommendation from the
Outreach Committee to approve business cards with the seal of the City of Los Angeles
and contain all of the Greater Echo Park Neighborhood Council board members contact
information. The cost is $21.80 (without tax) minimum per board member and includes
200 business cards per board member, and not to exceed $550 dollars for a total of
4000 business cards.
5. [BOF 3:0:0] Discussion and/or Possible Action on the recommendation from the Budget
and Finance Committee to accept a funding training from the Department of
Neighborhood Empowerment fund department.
B. Schools, Libraries and Community Organizations Committee
Discussion and/or possible action on the following items:
(1) Recommendation to State of California, LA Housing Authority, City and County of Los
Angeles: Expanding acceptable documentation in order to issue permanent City, County
or State identification to enable access to services for disadvantaged community
members;
(2) Supplemental to Homeless Bill of Rights: Homelessness in the workplace, the right to
have one’s housing status kept private and that people not be harassed or discriminated
against because of housing status;
(3) Recommendation to United Way LA/HUD/LAHSA regarding focusing resources
directly for Echo Park homeless community;
(4a) Recommendation to LA County Housing Authority to adjust “section 8” housing vouchers
to reflect actual market cost of rentals in Los Angeles;
(4b) Recommendation to LA County Housing Authority to make the process of becoming a
‘section 8 landlord’ more attractive and user friendly;
(5) Recommendation for additional housing vouchers specifically for Veterans with less than
honorable discharges;
(6) Recommendation for supplemental funding to pay ‘user portion’ of rentals in case of
failure to pay by the housed individual, in keeping with the “housing first” model;
GREATER ECHO PARK ELYSIAN NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
Schools, Libraries and Community Organizations Regular Meeting 2014-7-15
AGENDA
2
(7) Recommendation to the City of Los Angeles that all public facilities, and particularly those
under the auspices of Recs and Parks department, be allocated for some proportion of use for
homeless services including: sanitary facilities by appointment; secure lockers and storage by
appointment; access points for service/health providers;
(8) Recommendation that a handbook be developed and distributed to assist community
members in navigating the service providers to meet their needs and take advantage of the
services that are available to homeless people;
(9) Recommendation that a handbook be developed and distributed to assist community
members in navigating service providers to meet their needs and take advantage of the services
that are available to people that are not homeless, but live under extreme risk of homelessness,
or under conditions of hardship such as over crowding;
(10) Recommendation that “reasonable accommodation” be automatically applied when an
application for service is denied, and that records of eviction where mental illness or other
factors are involved be examined and possibly sealed in order to promote the ‘housing first’
model;
(11) Recommendation for additional housing in every community for housing the homeless,
and that a new model based on the HBR and the ‘housing first’ be implemented for ‘transitional
housing,’ in an attempt to streamline services and make them more cost effective;
(12) Recommendation that every new building permit of ten units or more include no loess
than 10% allocation for low income housing AND 10% allocation for very low income housing
with section 8 eligibility;
(13) Discussion about and dissemination of information regarding the next, and future, Hub
meetings. Friday December 19th 11:00am, HHC, 2330 Beverly Blvd, LA, CA 90057
C. Parks, Public Works and Environmental Concerns Committee
1. The Committee recommends that the Board of Governors ask the city Bureau of
Street Services to resurface the right lanes on Alvarado from Temple to Berkeley,
since Alvarado has been resurfaced south of Temple through MacArthur Park.
2. The Committee recommends that the Board of Governors request City Council
District 13 to present an update to the Board of Governors on the scope of completed
and planned Sunset Boulevard beautification and infrastructure improvements.
3. The Committee recommends that the Board of Governors endorse dialogue and
coordination with other local civic organizations, including but not limited to the EP
Chamber of Commerce, Improvement Association and local business owners to
evaluate potential coordination on a GEPENC investment to increase the number of
garbage bins at current collection points at bus stops and busy intersections.
4. The Committee recommends that the Board of Governors request that the Service
Planning Area map of Homeless Healthcare's Westlake, Silverlake and Echo Park
region homeless services hub be expanded to align with the eastern and northern
edges of the GEPENC boundary.
5. Ask the GEPENC Board to write a letter that requests the LAPD Captains, North East
LAPD and Ramparts Divisions, North East and Ramparts Internal Affairs, Police
Commissioner and other relevant entities such as the City of Los Angeles, City
Attorney’s office to respond to the numerous complaints filed by various
stakeholders about police misconduct and how to increase police transparency,
communication, and accountability. (Please see attached letter --- Attachment A --for further details.)
D. General Motions and/or Resolutions:
1.
Proposed Community Impact
Statement
Council File 13-1374
A. To: Honorable City Council of Los Angeles and Committees in c/o the Office of the City
Clerk at the Los Angeles City Hall 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
B. The Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council requests that the following
Community Impact Statement be attached to Council File 13-1374.
C. On November 25, 2014, the Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council (GEPENC)
Board of Governors held a Brown Act noticed, regular meeting with a quorum of 11. With
a vote of 11 yeas, 0 nays, and 0 abstentions, the GEPENC adopted the motion in support
of Council File 13-1374. Motion (Koretz—O’Farrell—Bonin) is relative to requesting the
City Attorney to prepare and present an ordinance which would prohibit, within the LA
City limits, the growth of genetically modified crops as well as the following practices:
The planting of GM seeds; the sale of GM seeds by vendors; the sale of any seeds that
could potentially be contaminated by other genetically modified organisms; and, the sale
of GM fruit trees and plants.
D. http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/
E. Whereas, the above website does not find GMOs to be safe:
F. “Most developed nations do not consider GMOs to be safe. In more than 60 countries
around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European
Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of
GMOs. In the U.S., the government has approved GMOs based on studies conducted by
the same corporations that created them and profit from their sale. Increasingly,
Americans are taking matters into their own hands and choosing to opt out of the GMO
experiment.
G. Therefore, be it resolved, that the GEPENC supports all efforts directed toward the
limitation and elimination of GMO products from the mass market in our community, our
city, and our world.
2.
Proposed Community Impact
Statement
Council File 14-0518
Protection of Wildlife Corridors in the
eastern area of the Santa Monica
Mountains
H. To: Honorable City Council of Los Angeles and Committees in c/o the Office of the City
Clerk at the Los Angeles City Hall 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
I. The Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council requests that the following
Community Impact Statement be attached to Council File 14-0518.
J. On November 25, 2014, the Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council (GEPENC)
Board of Governors held a Brown Act noticed, regular meeting with a quorum of 11; and,
with a vote of 11 yeas, 0 nays, and 0 abstentions, the GEPENC adopted the motion in
support of Council File Motion 14-0518 regarding the protection of the remaining open
spaces, corridors, and wildlife habitats in the eastern area of the Santa Monica
Mountains from the encroachment by development.
K. Whereas, the Eastern Santa Monica Mountains extend from east to west, separating the
San Fernando Valley from the Los Angeles Basin, these mountains include but are not
limited to the Hollywood Hills, Griffith Park, and moreover its eastern most part of the
mountains extends to Elysian Park that is a continuation of the Echo Park Hills.
Whereas, in 1982 the Santa Monica Mountains Zone of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy was
extended by the State Legislature to include Elysian Park and El Pueblo as the eastern extremity of the Zone,
thereby reinforcing Elysian Park status as a regional park (http://historicechopark.org/id31.html).
L. Whereas, the flora and fauna habitats and wildlife corridors of Echo Park Hills and Elysian
Park are in dire need of protection,
M. Whereas, in the short past various tree types with hearty canopies, wild bushes and
weeds of all sorts were cleared away for development and public infrastructure,
N. Whereas, the noise and pollutant levels from exhaust fumes of vehicular movement
taking shortcuts through the Echo park hillside roads and Elysian Park are dispersing the
wildlife and drying the flora.
O. Whereas on a daily basis in our congested city streets vehicles run over wildlife, such as
squirrels, opossums, raccoons, and skunks while coyotes run rampant not knowing which
way to turn as they look for alternative prey,
P. Whereas, native birds of various species are becoming extinct including blue jays and
crows due to the diminishing flora and the proliferation of Wi-Fi towers, and dried birds
are found on hillside grounds when strong winds blow,
Q. Therefore, be it resolved, the Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council (GEPENC)
supports L.A. City Motion 14- 0518 regarding the preparation and presentation of an
ordinance that identifies and increases the protection of the flora and fauna habitats and
wildlife corridors of the Eastern Santa Monica Mountains including Echo Park Hills and
Elysian Park.
R. Be it further resolved, that GEPENC supports the ordinance that enforces the four
requirements as entered in Councilmember Paul Koretz’ motion 14-0518 of April 23,
2014, and that the Biological Constraints Checklist include but not be limited to:
Restricingt the infill lots on hillsides within two block of the threshold of regional parks
such as Elysian Park for cottages, bungalows, and two-story homes two bedroom
maximum and no small lot subdivisions. The homes are to have no chimney burning of
wood or coal to avoid dispersing the fauna of the park. Homes are to have trees that
match the flora of the natural habitat of the nearby hills. Dwellings shall have hedges
instead of fences, permeable driveways and no glaring night-lights for the protection of
remaining fauna.
3.. Be it resolved that GEPENC deplores the current national upsurge in the use of excessive
force by individual police officers and by local police forces as such. We extend our deepest
sympathies and support to the victims of police abuse and their families. We strongly
endorse the fundamental principle of community control of police agencies, including
elected Civilian Review Boards empowered to investigate and assess any and all cases of
abuse of police authority, particularly those cases involving the use of deadly force. Such
Review Boards must have the power to terminate any police officer that it determines has
improperly carried out the mandate to ‘protect and serve.’
4. GEPENC expresses its support for the Martin Luther King national holiday and urges all
community members to observe and re-dedicate themselves to the ongoing struggles for
social justice, economic security, equality and peace for all peoples. We urge community
members to participate in activities honoring the work and spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr.
5 Resolved that GEPENC shall hold special financial trainings provided by the DONE
financial department.
6. Reports from officers and committee chairs………………………. 8 minutes
7.. Future agenda items………………………………………………… 3 minutes.
Please see notice on the following page.
Por favor, vea el aviso en la proxima página.
GREATER ECHO PARK ELYSIAN NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
SPECIAL JOINT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND BOG MEETING 10/23/2014 AGENDA
Se les pide al public de llenar una tarjeta con sus datos de dirigir palabra a la mesa directive del
concilio en referencia a cualquir asunto de la agenda, y antes de que el concilio tome acción
sobre el asunto. Comentario de public sobre asuntos de agenda serán atendidos solamente
cundo el respective asunto está bajo consideración. El comentario del public sobre otros
asuntos que no aparecen en la agenda y están en la jurisdicción de concilio serán escuchados
durante el period del comentario del public en general. Por favor note que bajo la ley de
“Brown Act”, el concilio no puede hacer nada de recomendaciones al respect durante el de un
committee. El comentario del public está limitado a dos minutos por participante, amenos de
que el limite de uno minute sea suspendido por el official del Concilio que preside la junta.
Las agendas de las juntas del Concilio de la Vecindad del Echo Park Elysian son puestas a la vista
del public en general para conocimiento en las siguientes sitios: 1) La Biblioteca de Edendale –
2011 W. Sunset Blvd,. LA 90026; 2) La Biblioteca del Echo Park – 1410 W. Temple Street, LA
90026; 3) Masa Café – 1800 W. Sunset Blvd., LA 90026; 4) Chango Café – 1559 Echo Park Ave.,
LA 90026; and 5) Tienda de almacén (A-Grocery Warehouse) – 1487 W. Sunset Blvd., LA 90026.
Las agendas también se pueden haller en el sitio official de GEPENC en la red-electronica
www.gepenc.org. El public, y miembros de la vecindad de Echo Park Elysian también pueden
suscribir al Sistema de notificación de la ciudad de Los Angeles “Early Notification System”
(ENS), a través del le red-electronica de la ciudad www.lacity.org, para recibir noticias de las
juntas del concilio de la vecindad del Echo Park Elysian. Para más información, llame a Paul
Bowers, Oficial de Información, al telefono (213) 400 9155, o escriba a: [email protected].
Como identidad de acuerdo con el Titulo II de la ley “American Disabilities Act” Americanos con
incapacidades, la ciudad de Los Angeles no discrimina por ase de incapacidad. Haga su solicitud
y se le prove acomodaciones rasonables para asegurar acceso de igualidad a los programas,
servicios, y activades. Intérprete de Lenguaje de señas, asistencia con aparatos para oír, o otros
aparatos auxiliary y/o sevicios se les pueden proveer através de ser solicitados. Para asegurar
disponibilidad de servicios, por favor haga su solicitud a lo menos de 3 dias de trabajo (72horas) antes de la junta, y pongase en contacto con Paul Bowers, Chief Information Officer, a
213-400 9155, [email protected].
De acuerdo con elcodigo gubemamental sección 54957.5, documentos no-exento, que están
distribuidas a la mayoria o a todos los miembros del concilio por adenlantado de la junta,
pueden ser vistos en la junta del concilio o en the red-electronica del concilio www.gepenc.org.
SI REQUIERE SERVICIOS DE TRADUCCION, FAVOR DE NOTIFICAR AL CONCILIO VECINAL 3 DÍAS
DE TRABAJO (72 HORAS) ANTES DEL EVENTO. SI NECESITA ASISTENCIA CON ESTA
NOTIFICACION, POR FAVOR CONTACTE A PAUL BOWERS, FUNCIONARIA DE LA MESA A CARGO
DE INFORMACION, AL 213-400 9155, [email protected].
The public is requested to fill out a Speaker Card to address the Committee on any agenda item
before the Committee takes an action on an item. Comments from the public on agenda items
will be heard only when the respective item is being considered. Comments from the public on
other matters not appearing on the agenda that are within the Committee’s jurisdiction will be
heard during the General Public Comment period. Please note that under the Brown Act, the
Committee is prevented from acting on a matter that you bring to its attention during the
General Public Comment period; however, the issue raised by a member of the public may
become the subject of a future Committee meeting. Public comment is limited to 1 minute per
speaker, unless waived by the presiding officer of the Committee.
The agendas for the GEPENC meetings are posted for public review at the following locations:
1) Edendale Library – 2011 W. Sunset Blvd., LA 90026; 2) Echo Park Branch Library -1410 W.
Temple Street, LA 90026; 3) Masa Café – 1800 W. Sunset Blvd., LA 90026; 4) Chango Café –
1559 Echo Park Ave., LA 90026; and 5) A-Grocery Warehouse – 1487 W. Sunset Blvd., LA 90026,
as well as at the GEPENC’s official website at www.gepenc.org. Stakeholders may also subscribe
to the City of Los Angeles Early Notification System (ENS), through the City’s website at
www.lacity.org, to receive notices for GEPENC meetings. For more information, you may also
contact Paul Bowers, Chief Information Officer, at 213-400 9155, [email protected].
As a covered entity under the Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los
Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and upon request will provide
reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities. Sign
language interpreters, assisted listening devices, or other auxiliary aids and/or services may be
provided upon request. To ensure availability of services, please make your request at least 3
business days (72-hours) prior to the meeting by contacting Paul Bowers, Chief Information
Officer, at 213-400 9155, [email protected].
In compliance with Government Code section 54957.5, non-exempt writings that are
distributed to a majority of all members of the Committee in advance of a meeting, may be
viewed at the Neighborhood Council meeting or on the Neighborhood Council website at
www.gepenc.org.