From the Chair

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Last year, I was asked to create a PowerPoint presentation on planning for the 2011 Congress of Neighborhoods.

It is entitled ‘Neighborhood Councils, Alliances, and the Rising Public Demand for Good Governance in City Planning’.

On the first slide, I noted Neighborhood Councils arose out of discontent over City government non-responsiveness to communities’ concerns, including development projects, as well as the perceived inconsistent delivery of services equitably to all communities.

This unhappiness culminated in a full blown secession movement in the San Fernando Valley, and, ultimately, approval of the Charter Amendment which created Los Angeles’ Neighborhood Council system slightly over ten years ago.

Indeed, the Mar Vista Community Council will mark its 10 year anniversary as a certified Neighborhood Council on August 13, 2012, serving as conduit between the City and you.

Local planning issues impact the immediate quality of life in neighborhoods. MVCC routinely forwards concerns raised in our ‘contact us’ website feature to the applicable City agency.

MVCC championed the saving of Historic Fire Station 62 for a multipurpose community center instead of losing this valuable public asset to over in height development. Look for fundraising by the new Friends of Historic 62 not-for-profit to commence. And, be ready to volunteer your time, skills, and a bit of cash to bring the dream home.

MVCC has supported the establishment of vital neighborhood serving commercial uses while working for neighborhood protections, including Q or ‘Qualified’ conditions where appropriate.  Results: Preservation of the Barrington Corridor is under way; our Farmers' Market thrives; and 19 new businesses on our Venice Blvd corridor since 2005—in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression.

MVCC’s major yearly community events include the MVCC Green Gardens Showcase tour each April, which draws over 2,000 people to our neighborhoods, as well as our Fall Festival which pulls families to our Rec Center for fun, food, education, and entertainment every October.

Moreover, MVCC has come of age. MVCC is an active member of the Western Regional Alliance of Councils, which amplifies our voice when we join together with our fellow Councils on key issues to our region.

Lastly, MVCC also raises citizen participation and awareness of citywide, regional, and state development project policy issues: the Scattergood Olympic line, Bundy Village, Playa Vista, Expo line, Santa Monica Airport, changes to CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act] and most recently Santa Monica’s proposed [multiple and massive] development projects to our north.

We citizens still have a long way to go.

The processes by which legislation is fine-tuned after public hearings close is still obscure to citizens on certain levels. Ordinances can--and do--undergo significant revisions under intense lobbying. We need to motivate and educate our stakeholders to request equal time throughout the procedures during which legislation is modified so community based solutions do not get lost in the shuffle.

We also must navigate:
• Planning imposed by state law, including single project specific legislation and the ‘streamlining’ of CEQA
• Planning monitoring and accountability, with poor incentives for effective service delivery as processes become streamlined and opportunities for public input diminish.
• Potential pitting of communities against each other for scarce services resources as budgets shrink
• ‘Planning by lawsuit’, including small claims court, when communities feel their input has been ignored; that they have been bypassed in the process; that the studies of project impacts are based on flawed, inaccurate data or methodologies.

 

As MVCC moves into its second decade, it will continue to serve you, and keep you informed.

Kind regards, and see you at the Farmers’ Market!

Sharon Commins, Chair