I would appreciate knowing whether there are plans to install a sound wall on the south side of the I-10 highway to block most of the road noise from entering the Palms area.

Unfortunately, my six days per week evening work schedule precludes my attending council meetings.

SCOTT LONG
June 7, 2007

[Editor's note: The letter above was e-mailed to the Palms Neighborhood Council, which replied as below.]

The Palms Neighborhood Council has checked this out and discovered the following:
 
Sound walls are required ONLY when a freeway is built near EXISTING residential areas. That is why there is a sound wall on the NORTH side of the Rosa Parks (10) Freeway: The Cheviot Hills tract was laid out and the houses were constructed long before the 10 freeway was built.
 
The apartments on the south side were built AFTER the 10 was constructed, so they're not eligible for a sound wall. The idea is, I think, that the apartment owners and renters knew what they were getting into when they built or signed their leases.

Congratulations on your successful efforts to open the closed portion of the Mar Vista council meeting! Your educating of the council members about California's open-meeting laws will hopefully cause the council to pay more heed to the Brown Act in the future.
 
Mar Vista is part of L.A, isn't it?  I'm surprised the city doesn't send a city attorney to meetings of the Mar Vista Community Council.

PAUL MCAFEE
June 2, 2007

[Editor's note: The author is Region 11 director of the Society of Professional Journalists (Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada). The SUN photo shows a May 29 Mar Vista committee meeting that had been publicized as being closed to the public.]

Thanks you for sending a copy of your article on the hearing of the [Mar Vista Community Council] grievance committee [hearing the grievances of Venice resident Rick Selan].  In all, I thought it was fair and accurate.

I checked the link to your newsletter, and am quite impressed with the breadth of your reporting.  We need people in the neighborhood like you, who watch and report--it will keep us all honest and informed.

ROSEANN HERMAN
May 30, 2007

[Editor's note: The author is chair of the Mar Vista committee looking into Selan's grievances.]

RE:   “(1) The Palms Neighborhood Council is concerned about reduction of open space in Palms and is opposed to the reduction of building setback requirements on all streets in Palms unless they are specifically approved by the Neighborhood Council. (2) Our City Council members are requested to take this concern and opposition into account when considering developers' requests for setback changes.”

I just want to voice my opinion.

I have been a resident of Palms for nearly 5 years and in that short time I've noticed this as well.  What really bothers me, is the new construction of apartment/condominium buildings are winning . . . , which takes away some open space.  If I recall correctly, I've only read about one project being turned down.

Also, the lack of street parking that the newer buildings are generating is obscene! 

EVELYN PENNA
May 21, 2007

[Editor's note: This letter was sent to the Palms Neighborhood Council.]

Yes, I am very, very interested in recycling for my six buildings — and maybe more other building owners I know.

Keep me posted re: recycling.

ETHAN GREENSPAN
May 15, 2007

There was a  bad accident at 3704 Midvale Avenue on May 13, 07 at about 6:40 p.m.  The driver was speeding and would not slow down even though he could see the car coming south starting to make a left turn.  At the time he was near Venice Blvd. driving north on Midvale Avenue at a high speed.  When he did start to brake, his car skidded 66 feet before the impact  finally brought  his car to a stop.
 
This is why we need to add more speed humps (seven instead of the four).  While the police was getting the report, cars were still speeding even with the police car at the accident scene.  Also there is a large sign at the spot where the accident happened that reads "School Zone." Drivers are using this street as a mini-freeway.  They will not slow down.  Even the two police officers noted the speeding.

WILLIE BELL
May 13, 2007

[Editor's note: This letter by the Palms West residential representative in the Palms Representative Assembly was sent to Council Member Bill Rosendahl's office.]

Using the Iraq war to promote a Neighborhood Council election strikes me as highly disrespectful and inappropriate.

SANDY DRESSON
May 11, 2007

[Editor's note: This letter by a Brentwood resident appeared in CityWatch and refers to the plan of the Palms Neighborhood Council to conduct a straw vote on the Iraq war during its June 2007 election.]

[Editor's note: Bill Scheding (right), a longtime member of the Mar Vista Community Council's governing board, sent an e-mail to Nicole Velasquez of Councilman Bill Rosendahl's office, to Santa Monica City Council member Kevin McKeown and to Assembly Member Ted Lieu, with copies to The Palms-Village Sun and a whole bunch of other people.

[In the e-mail he complained about Santa Monica's restricting usage of the new Santa Monica dog park near the S.M. Airport to animals registered in that city. Scheding called upon everybody to boycott Santa Monica restaurants and other venues until L.A. dogs are also allowed in the park.

[Below, a Westside Village homeowner calls attention to Scheding's April 10 vote against appointing a committee to work with the Palms Neighborhood Council on the Palms–Mar Vista boundary controversy.]

Dear Mr. Scheding:

I definitely recognize your concern about "L.A. Residents" taking their business to other cities when it would be nice if they kept money flowing into the city that they live in.

I personally believe you and the Mar Vista Community Council should lead by example.

As I recall there have been a number of MVCC meetings, along with different committee meetings, that has taken place in other surrounding cities. There is an old saying about people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. These meetings in these other cities have been questioned by some of the stakeholders, but to the best of my knowledge they still continue to this day. Is there a shortage of eating and meeting places in the City of Los Angeles?

Some of the meetings I recall are as follows:

• The Monthly meeting for the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee @ the Santa Monica Airport. • MVCC Education, Arts and Culture Committee @ Mi Ranchito in Culver City.
•In addition I recall some meetings in the past @ The Kitty Hawk Restaurant in Santa Monica.

Are there others that we don't know about?

When it comes to the concerns of the stakeholders about doing outreach and coordination with the Palms Neighborhood Council for the Stakeholders that live in the Palms / Westside Village area #1 of the MVCC —

You happen to oppose this outreach even when others on your board such as Ken Alpern who lives in Westside Village voted to do this research. Do you not care what the residents of Area #1 want?

If you want the stakeholders to work for the benefit of the MVCC you should listen to what the stakeholders are saying with both ears open just like you would like others involved in this e-mail to listen to what you have to say. Picking what benefits just you would be similar to what Santa Monica is doing to the Los Angeles Residents.

You and all the board members should always consider all of the stakeholders when you vote or voice you opinion on the issues! Just as you are fed up with the arbitrary actions of Santa Monica, many Westside Village residents are fed up with the similar actions of the MVCC who sometimes don't care about the facts or concerns of the stakeholders.

Sincerely,

RICHARD LEIB
May 3, 2007

I wish you all the best in your ongoing efforts in Urban Planning and Land Use.  As you may or may not know, Sharon Commins (who chairs the MVCC Concept Plan Committee) and the MVCC [Mar Vista Community Council] is organizing a stakeholder meeting on Saturday, May 5th, at St. John's Church to address input for the Palms-Mar Vista-Del Rey Community Plan.
 
While this stakeholder meeting is primarily set up by the MVCC for its stakeholders (and I don't want to speak for Sharon or anyone else from Mar Vista, Westside Village or the MVCC), I would hope that we could see some input from Palms and Del Rey residents to assist the City in gathering information and opinions that would improve a new Community Plan.  Issues of open space, land use, affordable housing, transportation, traffic and the like are clearly not limited to any arbitrary boundaries, and reflect and impact upon the entire region.
 
I can only hope that input from all three regions of the Palms-Mar Vista-Del Rey Community Plan would be a positive for the City Planning Dept. to work with, and that comparing notes, debating land use and pursuing more open space would be items of interest to which we can all cooperate and work together in the years to come.

KEN ALPERN
April 22, 2007

[Editor's note: The author is a board member of both the Mar Vista Community Council and the Westside Village homeowners association. This letter was addressed to the governing boards of the Palms and the Del Rey neighborhood councils.]

As one who works in Mar Vista as an educational advocate and as a professional math tutor, this advocate has the same right to membership in MVCC as [anybody else].

There is much right and much wrong with Venice Neighborhood Council just as there is with MVCC [Mar Vista Community Council]. No different than MVCC, grievances are filed when rules and regulations are violated and when officers have not complied to their job descriptions.

These types of grievances are filed as a means to create positive change by working through the system.

RICK SELAN
April 17, 2007