The VNC Board Meeting tonight (4/20) will consider items of significant impact to Venice Beach:
The next Board Meeting of the Venice Neighborhood Council will be held tonight, April 20, 2010 in the Westminster Elementary School Auditorium at 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd. (enter from Westchester). The meeting will begin promptly at 7:00pm – and there is a lot on the agenda! Everyone is welcome – and encouraged to speak on the issues that face Venice!
Support for Use of $2.1 Million from the Venice Surplus Property Fund for Community Projects & Establishment of a Safe Parking Program
LA City Council Member Bill Rosendahl has asked the VNC to support two City Council motions that will use funds reserved for Venice before they can be swept into the city’s General Fund.
Motion one: Utilize almost $700,000 dollars from the Venice Surplus Property Fund for 7 projects. The projects and the amounts are contained in the following motion:
http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2010/10-0576_MOT_04-07-10.pdf
Motion two: Allocate almost $1,432,000 from the Venice Surplus Property Fund (and other sources) to establish a Safe Parking Program for Venice and CD-11. You can view this motion at:
http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2010/10-0011-S15_MOT_04-07-10.pdf
Council Member Rosendahl has sent a letter explaining both motions which can be viewed at: http://venicenc.org/files/CC_2010_04_15_Rosendahl_Ltr.pdf.
Motion to Oppose Bill that Restricts Coastal Commission’s Review of Overnight Parking Districts in Venice
In another item that could have long term implications for Venice, State Assembly Member Ted Lieu has introduced AB2228, which states:
“Notwithstanding any other law, the City of Los Angeles, regulating overnight parking pursuant to this section, shall not be required to obtain a permit or approval from the California Coastal Commission to establish an overnight parking restriction on public streets by nonresidents between the hours of 2 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. in the Venice coastal zone.”
The VNC will hear a motion opposing this bill on the grounds that it sets a precedent that would allow any local government the ability to prevent Coastal Commission review of local decisions regarding public, coastal-zone parking.
Report on St. Joseph Service Registry Project
Last March the VNC heard a proposal from St. Joseph Center on its plan to establish a “Service Registry” of the homeless population of Venice and we approved a motion supporting their plan.
In August, St. Joseph Center presented an update us on their progress (see http://venicenc.org/files/StJosephCenter_07022009_VCHIP_Presentation.pdf and http://venicenc.org/files/StJosephCenter_07022009_Vulnerability_Index.pdf).
At our meeting on April 20th, representatives from St. Joseph will provide us with a one year update on the Service Registry Project.
Other Items on the Agenda
Three other items on the agenda stand out due to their potential for long term effects in Venice:
Appointment of VNC Representative to Address Parking on Abbot Kinney – this motion seeks to appoint an advocate for parking issues along Abbot Kinney Blvd. Those issues include the limited parking situation for patrons of Abbot Kinney businesses, the use of residential parking by valets operating on Abbot Kinney and the recent increase in Food Trucks that park on Abbot Kinney (and in Abbot Kinney parking lots).
Cyclists’ Bill of Rights – The VNC Board has been asked to approve a list of rights that apply bicyclers. These rights relate to street safety, legal redress when safety is impaired, access to governmental processes that effect cycling and access to public transportation.
Let There Be Light in Venice – The VNC Board will consider a motion to establish a public safety campaign in Venice encouraging stakeholders to purchase and install motion detector lights for the perimeter of their homes and find ways to assist low income people to obtain such lighting.
