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THIS IS THE WESTSIDE VILLAGE PAGE
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One of only two Web pages in the entire universe that give a woof about Westside Village.
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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 a dozen years or so. These pages have no connection with any organization.
Send him e-mail with corrections and comments
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Westside Village homeowners assn. newsletter is not giving the full story
Its quarterly publication draws the wrong picture of the city's neighborhood-council system
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Recently we obtained a copy of the summer issue of the quarterly newsletter for the Westside Village Civic Assn., known as the WVCA. It is normally distributed only to homeowners.
There's a lot of good stuff in this 10-page News and Views: A well-earned tribute to Lisa Cahill of Westminster St. for her work in planting the trees along Palms Blvd. . . . a heartfelt note from Scott Kaesemeyer of Greenfield Ave. about his service with the Army National Guard . . . a lengthy editorial against a Supreme Court decision giving public agencies authority to take private property for redevelopment purposes . . . the e-address for the group's Web site at www.westsidevillage.org.
But we're sorry to report that the newsletter's article on the assn.'s annual meeting last February left much to be desired.
You may remember our story from last March concerning the point-counterpoint statements of two homeowners at the assn.'s annual dinner; one wanted our Village to merge with the rest of Palms in a joint neighborhood council, while the other wanted to keep the area within the Mar Vista Neighborhood Council. They were allowed five minutes each to make their pitch.
The Sun gave both sides (we're reposting the story below).
Unfortunately, News and Views was not so even-handed (we've broken their excerpt into paragraphs):
The issue of neighborhood council representation was discussed by Richard Leib and Dr. Charles West. Neighborhood councils are recognized by the City through the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) and are a method by which local communities can communicate with City leadership.
Richard would like the WVCA to remove itself from the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) and join with the Palms Neighborhood Council.
Dr. West explained the history of our involvement with MVCC at its organization in 2000, the vote to join, the excellent organization of the MVCC and what is considered to be our similar interests. DONE has acknowledged the participation of WVCA in MVCC. The leadership of the WVCA has spent much time on the issue of neighborhood council participation and is moving forward as an active participant in the MVCC. |
Only 22 words for the arguments of Richard vs. 70 for Dr. West.
And that's not all. Tucked into News and Views was a green flier that said:
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Are too many petitions flooding your doorstep? Are you feeling confused?
The Westside Village Civic Association (WVCA) has been part of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) since its formation in 2002. • The decisions to join together and stay in the MVCC were made by your Board after a lengthy and thorough study of the issues. • One of the salient issues of our concern: preserving and improving property values. . . .
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We have pointed out frequently that homeowners assns. do not "join" a neighborhood council. L.A. voters adopted a new City Charter in 1999 to bring people together, not to drive them apart. The grass-roots neighborhood councils envisioned in the Charter are designed for all residents, property owners, business people and employees within a given neighborhood. They are not designed to be federations of homeowners assns.
The rhetoric in that flier reminds us of the homeowner who left a message on our answering machine over a year ago complaining that she didn't want to be "allied with a bunch of Palms apartment buildings." (We're reprinting that whole story from April 2005 at the bottom of this page.)
Unfortunately, the homeowners who read only News and Views aren't getting the full information, as you do when you read The Sun. And that is too bad; people should be well-informed, not just informed. It is simply amazing how many members of the WV homeowners assn. have demanded to be taken off our mailing list; they just can't handle the truth.
Fortunately you are getting better information through the Palms-Village Sun. Thanks for reading. And come back often for the straight scoop.
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For more on the Mar Vista boundary dispute, go to this page.
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BOTH SIDES OF THE BOUNDARY ISSUE
ARE HEARD BY VILLAGE HOMEOWNERS
Reposted from March 2006
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About a hundred Westside Village homeowners on Feb. 28 heard both sides of the dispute over inclusion of the 12,000 residents of the area within the Mar Vista Community Council.
It was the annual meeting of the Westside Village Civic Assn., the homeowners group for the area.
Richard Leib, a WVCA block captain, spoke in favor of merging the district with the new Palms Neighborhood Council, or at least exploring the idea with the help of the city's Human Relations Commission.
Charles West, past president of the WVCA, told the packed assembly room at St. John's Presbyterian Church how the organization was instrumental in bringing Westside Village into the Mar Vista Community Council in August 2002.
Five minutes for each side
It was some two years ago that Leib first asked for the opportunity to bring his desire to join up with Palms before the annual meeting. But he didn't get his chance until last month when he was given five minutes to make his case.
West was chosen to give the response.
The point-counterpoint was a surprise to most of the audience because it had not been publicized in advance and was not listed on the agenda.
There was no discussion other than some heated back-and-forth between a few of the attendees after the meeting.
(For commentary, see Hope finally takes center stage on The Sun's Opinion page.)
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Weiss and Rosendahl share the stage
Council Member Jack Weiss, who represents most of Westside Village (north of Palms Blvd.), told the audience that he is working on a "neighborhood protection plan."
This plan would include greater information about proposed construction projects and an impetus to "go after" developers who "break the rules."
For example, when a demolition permit is issued, the Building and Safety Dept. would have to notify the City Council member's office and also post the information on a Web site.
And the name of a "contact person" would also have to be posted at each construction or demolition place, Weiss said.
Council Member Bill Rosendahl (the south-of-Palms Blvd. rep) brought his ebullient populism to his listeners.
Rosendahl said that 50 percent of his constituents are renters and he noted he has formed a committee that will investigate ways to protect their rights.
As each of the council members left the room, George Garrigues of the S-U-P-E-R organization (link here) gave them copies of petitions asking that the mayor and City Council "take whatever steps are necessary" to get Westside Village out of the Mar Vista Council and into a joint council with Palms.
The signers were 206 in Weiss's district and 61 in Rosendahl's.
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ANONYMOUS PHONE CALL ILLUSTRATES A TRUTH BEHIND THE WESTSIDE VILLAGE BORDER DISPUTE — SIMPLE PREJUDICE
Reposted from April 2005 |
By George Garrigues
A woman called the other morning and left this message on my answering machine:
"Hello, I don't know if this is this George person that's putting out all this stuff in my mailbox. I really have no interest in being allied with a bunch of apartments, so you might just take yourself to Palms and leave Westside Village out of this. Please start thinking about getting something more — get a life, I guess. Get something more to do than — besides all this inflammatory stuff. It doesn't help anybody, and you can be sure that none of us really want to be allied with a bunch of Palms apartment buildings. So I wish you'd confine yourself to Palms, and not Westside Village. Thank you."
With a message like that, I don't think I have to write much more. You can reach your own conclusions.
WHAT DOES THE CITY CHARTER SAY?
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A reader suggested that I provide a little more information about the reasons that neighborhood councils are in the City Charter in the first place and who should be included.
Glad to.
CHARTER OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES
Volume I GOVERNANCE
ARTICLE IX
DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOOD EMPOWERMENT
Sec. 900. Purpose.
To promote more citizen participation in government and make government more responsive to local needs, a citywide system of neighborhood councils, and a Department of Neighborhood Empowerment is created. Neighborhood councils shall include representatives of the many diverse interests in communities and shall have an advisory role on issues of concern to the neighborhood.
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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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