Venice Neighborhood Council Board Member and Social Service Industry CEO Ivonne A. Guzman has asked associates to write Bill Rosendahl encouraging him to make Venice Lots (plural) available to PATH for the “Roadmap to Housing” program. It is pretty safe to assume that Guzman will not be listening to public comment against Venice lots with an “open” ear when the VNC meets about 85.11 on April 12th.
From VNC Board Member Ivonne A. Guzman:
Hello everyone,
If you could, take a moment and write to CD11 Councilman Bill Rosendahl at councilman.rosendahl@lacity.org and/or bill.rosendahl@xxx asking him to make Venice parking lots available to PATH “Roadmap to Housing” program participants (vehicle dwellers) for safe parking.
thanks for the support and have a blessed day.
Ivonne A. Guzman
Chief Executive Officer
Reach For The Top Inc.
Tel (323)867-XXXX
Fax (310)399-XXXX
ivonne.a.guzman@…
Venice would be an acceptable place for the lots if it were not for the fact that this town is so densely residential. There are no lots which could be argued as suitable to host the program which would not negatively affect residential homeowners and renters. There are other lots in CD11 that are perfect fits for the program and this is a CD11 issue, not just a Venice issue.
This program, as originally put forth by Councilman Rosendahl before the Social Service Industry lobbyists of Venice underhandedly and falsely fought for two years in an all out attempt to keep the RV’s in this town against the wishes of the majority of Venice residents was as presented in the LA Times on January 22, 2009:
The number of cars and recreational vehicles has swelled so much over the last year that Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the city’s coastal areas, has proposed creating special zones away from neighborhoods where people can sleep in their vehicles.
“The community has been going ballistic,” Rosendahl said. “They can’t park their own cars. Some of the folks who live in their cars and in campers defecate and urinate outside and create other issues of quality of life and health.”
His proposal, similar to programs in Santa Barbara and Eugene, Ore., would allow the cars and recreational vehicles to park in select “municipal properties, parking lots of churches or community-based organizations, industrial areas and other areas that would have minimal impact on residential communities.”
While it can be argued that it would be a nice “symbolic” gesture to other CD11 communities to include a lot in Venice to dispel any notions that this program was somehow Venice “pushing their problems elsewhere”, making such a “symbolic gesture” would once again only be to the detriment of the houses and residents that immediately surround any such lot. Venice is, once again, overwhelmingly residential with no suitable large parking lots.
Hopefully the level headed professionals at the Councilman’s office will see this for what it is: The Venice Neighborhood Council is headed up and largely peopled by individuals with direct ties to the social service industry. These VNC members are lobbying against the better interests of the community and people of Venice to suit their own agendas.
The goal of this program is not to keep RV’s in Venice, but to help RV dwellers get housing.
Councilman Rosendahl: You were elected to support the greater interests of a community, not support the special interests of the Social Service Industry that will profit off of what they lobby you for.
