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WESTSIDE VILLAGE LINKS
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FEATURES
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SCHOOLS
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MAPS
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ORGANIZATIONS
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Palms-Westside Village Neighborhood Watch
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This NONCOMMERCIAL site is a harmless hobby of George Garrigues, who has lived in the Westside Village district of Palms for 12 years. These pages have no connection with any organization.
Send him e-mail with corrections and comments
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8 VILLAGE HOMEOWNERS MAKE A SUCCESSFUL PLEA TO REMAIN WITH MAR VISTA
Board finesses a stakeholders' vote
Minutes approved by the Board of the Mar Vista Community Council on May 10, 2005, show how the Mar Vista board in April handled an advisory vote by Stakeholders favoring Westside Village's joining with Palms instead of remaining with Mar Vista.
The stakeholders from both Mar Vista and the Village voted 124-116 in a straw ballot on March 15 in favor of the change. The MVCC board declared it "does not support any boundary change at this time."
The minutes of the April 12 board meeting are as follows [paragraphing supplied]:
 "Public Comment: [Director] Ken [Alpern] read a letter from Don and Roberta Schiller expressing their commitment to staying with the MVCC [Mar Vista Community Council].
"Ray Harder, Charles West, Linda Wallace, Allison Collins and Everett Wallace, all residents of Zone 1 [Westside Village], also indicated that they approved of Ken's motion.
"Maria [Marie] Wallace reported that the motion confirms what Bill Christopher of BONC [the city's Board of Neighborhood Empowerment] said, which was that serious consideration was given to the Palms/MVCC border issue at the time of certification. Once boundaries are certified, they are hard to change.
"The motion confirms the will of the WCVA [the Westside Village Civic Assn. — a homeowners' group] in staying in MVCC, and the MVCC is the only organized voice for the area. Changing the borders then would accomplish little.
"Director Maritza [Przekop] spoke about her experiences with Zone 1. She indicated that most people in Westside Village were not interested in seceding and that those who were had based their opinions on false information. [Director] Bill [Scheding] indicated that the point really has no business being discussed. [Director] Bahaa [Mikhail] felt that even though a border change was unlikely we can still have a stand on the issue.
"The [following] motion passed with one abstention."
| MVCC Motion Maintaining Its Boundaries
Whereas, the MVCC is composed of an allied and cooperative collection of neighborhoods and the associations and individuals within them, and
Whereas, the MVCC supports all appropriate and respectful dialogue on issues relating to boundary changes and other issues affecting adjacent neighborhood councils, and
Whereas, the City of Los Angeles established and has maintained the current MVCC boundaries
Be it resolved that the MVCC Board:
1) Does not support any boundary change at this time and urges all of its Zones to work with each other and with its neighbors in adjacent neighborhood councils on all pertinent regional and local issues.
2) Supports and encourages the development of newly-established, adjacent neighborhood councils, and looks forward to cooperative and friendly relations with all of its neighbors.
3) Will not consider a border change until the matter has been appropriately and thoroughly discussed and a true consensus is reached by the stakeholders of any affected individual Zone.
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CHARLES WEST
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How Westside Village became a part of the Mar Vista Community Council
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Charles West is a past president of the Westside Village Civic Assn., or WVCA, a homeowners' group, and a longtime resident of the Village. According to the May 2005 newsletter of the association, this statement was given to the board of directors of the Mar Vista Community Council, or MVCC, on April 12, 2005.
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As you probably know, the Mar Vista Community Council includes the area of Westside Village as Zone 1 within its boundaries. I would like here to give a brief account of the events that led to the inclusion of Westside Village as a part of this Neighborhood Council.
 The city of Los Angeles, through its newly established Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE), held a series of workshops throughout the city in 2000 as a first step in implementing the requirement specified in the new City Charter for the establishment of neighborhood councils throughout the City.
At that time I was serving as President of the WVCA and attended one of these workshops to learn more about this process. I reported my findings to the WVCA board, who decided it was important that Westside Village residents be represented in a neighborhood council.
I then attended "grassroots" organizational meetings for neighborhood councils in two areas bordering Westside Village — one in the Mar Vista area and the other in West Los Angeles, just north of us. I also consulted with two Palms residents who were interested in organizing a neighborhood council in the Palms area.
We decided to participate in the organizational efforts with the Mar Vista group for the following reasons:
• The West Los Angeles group to the north of us was already too large (it stretched from Sepulveda eastward to Century City) and they did not want to extend their boundaries further.
• The two individuals from Palms I had spoken to reported that they did not get a good response at that time (2001) and had abandoned their efforts.
• On the other hand, the Mar Vista organizers were responsive to our interest and encouraged us to join with them.
A number of Westside Village residents then worked with the Mar Vista group to develop the Mar Vista Community Council, which was finally certified by the city in 2002.
It is my personal opinion that the Mar Vista Community Council has been effectively pursuing the interests of all its stakeholders, including those in Westside Village. |
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L.A. Almanac shows
Palms-Mar Vista boundary at Sawtelle Blvd.
The Los Angeles Almanac Web site has posted its map of all the communities in Los Angeles. It shows the western boundary of Palms running along Sawtelle Blvd. west of the 405 San Diego Freeway.
The site says of its map:
"WHERE DO OUR MAP BOUNDARIES COME FROM? The Los Angeles Almanac wished to be able to present U.S. census demographic information for each of the communities of the City of Los Angeles, but the U.S. census does not itself calculate statistics for individual communities within incorporated cities.
"We therefore made use of zip code, city planning and neighbor[hood] council maps to determine groupings of census tracts that best equate to the sub-communities of Los Angeles (see our list of census tracts assigned to each L.A. city community)."
"These are not official boundaries established by the City of Los Angeles nor by the U.S. Census Bureau; however, these allow us to offer racial, age, sex, income, and educational attainment for Los Angeles sub-communities."
As you can see from the bottom map, the Mar Vista Community Council lays claim to some 40% of the territory of Palms, extending all the way east to Overland Ave.
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PALMS (including Westside Village) — As seen by the Los Angeles Almanac
Click here for the source
A Community of the City of Los Angeles
Population (2000 Census): 40,293
Population Density (per square mile - 2000 Census): 22,972.1
Population Under Age 18 (2000 Census): 16.02%
Population Over Age 64 (2000 Census): 6.20%
Housing Units (2000 Census): 20,323
Land Area: 1.75 square miles (4.54 square kilometers)
Water Area: 0.00 square miles (0.01 square kilometers)
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Census Tracts 2699.01, 2699.02, 2701, 2717.01, 2717.02, 2718.01 and 2718.02
Source
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ONE MORE CONDO
This pretty little two-bedroom house at 10930 National Blvd. (corner of Veteran) will be torn down to make way for an 11-unit condominium building with 27 parking spaces.
According to city records, the last change of ownership was on Aug. 12, 2004, at a price of $697,506.
The case number is TT-63311.
This is the last single-family home facing National Blvd. in Westside Village.
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MADNESS FROM MAR VISTA
BY GEORGE GARRIGUES
Ten-year resident of Westside Village
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Two people who developed what I call the "Mar Vista conquest plan" have quit.
The plan called for the "improvement" of an expansive reach of residential and business area between the Santa Monica city line on the west and Overland Ave. on the east — to the taste of the Mar Vista Community Council.
Maritza Przekop, the council's urban planning chair, and Tony Navarro, the council's treasurer, did not run for re-election as MVCC directors in March.
 The Mar Vistans were the principal instigators of what was named a "concept plan" for the MVCC area — which included such kooky ideas as a Mar Vista-sloganed trash barrel at the top of the Rose Ave.-Queensland pedestrian steps in Westside Village — with scant concern over who would empty the blamed thing or keep it free of graffiti.
For a while they were suggesting that Mar Vista boundary signs be placed as far east as Overland Ave.
Przekop's place as head of the Urban Planning Committee has been taken by Ken Alpern of Westside Village — on a temporary basis, he assured the Mar Vista Board at its May 10 meeting.
MVCC Chair Tom Ponton said he had been unable to find anybody to take over the urban planning post, so Alpern agreed to step in.
Przekop, for one, will not be missed in Westside Village. It was she who rebuffed an attempt on Sept. 9, 2004, by some of us to exempt the Village from Mar Vista's "concept plan."
She ruled our motion out of order despite the fact that an Urban Planning Committee meeting had been called at Clover Ave. School primarily for the purpose of getting local reaction to the plan. (Go here for a story on that meeting.)
Przekop told the Mar Vista Board of Directors on April 12 that "most people" in Westside Village are "not interested in seceding." How does she know? Did she ask them? She certainly didn't listen to them at the Clover Ave. meeting last fall. |
VILLAGE HOMEOWNERS ARE BLANKETED WITH MAR VISTA PROPAGANDA
Mar Vista sent its city-paid Walking People into our community in April to distribute a four-page newsletter called Mar Vista Community News (earlier story here).
 Of course none of the folks in my apartment building got a copy — the Walking People target single-family homes — and I had to drive over to the Mar Vista Library (Venice at Inglewood) to find one.
I particularly liked the quotation on Page One from Albert Einstein: "It is easier to disintegrate an atom than a prejudice."
You might consider this: "It is easier to loosen the bonds of nuclear attraction than to free Westside Villagers from the clutches of the Mar Vistans."
On March 15, you see, Mar Vistans and Villagers voted jointly in a community election in favor of taking our Village out of Mar Vista and linking us up with Palms in our own neighborhood council.
But of course the Mar Vista directors refused to consider the stakeholders' opinion at all and on April 12 blithely said they would just keep the boundaries the way they are, thank you. (You can look it up; see the story here.)
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RAPID TRANSIT IS 'BIGGEST CONCERN' FOR MAR VISTA COMMUNITY COUNCIL, LOCAL DIRECTOR SAYS
The editor of the Mar Vista Community News asked the Mar Vista directors to "share their thoughts with readers about things related to our (Mar Vista) neighborhood council."
Robert Mednick, the appointed Westside Village representative on the Mar Vista board, did not respond, but Ken Alpern, a director who lives in Westside Village, wrote that:
"My biggest concern is bringing about a bigger transportation infrastructure — not just local, but a long-overdue fundamental improvement for all of our lives in the 21st century.
"Since limited available space will keep major freeway and road-widening unlikely, high-quality mass transit is especially critical for our Westside. I have been and will continue to be deeply involved in  connecting the Westside with downtown via the future Expo light-rail line, as well as the long-delayed Green Line extension between LAX and Playa Vista."
Not to mention a trolley line on Palms Blvd.?
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To read the April newsletter yourself (without driving to the Mar Vista Library), click below (you will get .jpg files):
Page 1 / Page 2 / Page 3 / Page 4
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I'll be listing more of these "Mar Vista madness moments" as they crop up.
Fortunately there is a group of Villagers working to get our area out of Mar Vista and into a unified Palms-Westside Village Neighborhood Council.
Go here for additional information on that project.
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Stephanie Johnson is a director of the Westside Village Civic Assn. This article was adapted from the May 2005 newsletter of the association.
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We're all reminded on a regular basis by real estate professionals about the value of homes in Westside Village, . . . very much a seller's market. But instead of talking about reasons to sell, here are my reasons for staying.
It's difficult to find good neighbors. A friend of mine who bought in the Beverly Center area four months ago still hasn't met his neighbors. Another friend who bought in Beverly Hills two years ago still doesn't know her neighbors.
[But] Two months after I bought my home [in Westside Village], I met neighbors from seven houses on my block. I met at least 10 from other blocks. We know each other's names, kids, dogs, etc. Whether I'm at Trader Joe's or gardening in my front yard, I continue to make new friends in Westside Village—we truly are a friendly group.
 Unique homes. Most Westside Village homes started out as very small tract homes built in the '40s . . . . If you look on every block, many have been redone in very different and unique ways.
I've seen amazing modern homes that are reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright. I've seen homes with beautiful wood siding and shutters that remind me of Cape Cod. I've also seen gorgeous ranch, Southwestern and bungalow-style homes.
The list goes on and on. Our homes reflect our individual styles. There are no "cookie cutter" homes here.
Good schools. Both public and private.
Good Neighborhood Watch Program. Our block captains work hard , , , to help keep us safe and informed.
The WVCA. . . . The Westside Village Civic Assn. is made up of members from this community. Every year, the members elect a board of directors at the annual meeting in February. This board is here for the community We attend city meetings that concern Westside Village. . . .
These are my reasons for staying in Westside Village. I'd like to think that these are some of the reasons for our increasing property values.
If you don't share any of these experiences as a resident, I encourage you to meet your neighbors, go for a walk, say "Hello."
"You get out of it what you put in" is always true in all areas of life — work, school, home and community. |
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, previously published material on this page is distributed without profit or payment to those who may have an interest in receiving the information for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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