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NORTHWEST SAN PEDRO NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILMEETING MINUTESFebruary 14, 2005 at 6:30 PM, Peck Park1. The meeting was called to order at 6:47 PM by President John Greenwood. 2. Roll Call of Board Members: The following board members were present: John Greenwood, Diana Nave, Andrea Adleman, Guillermo Villagran, Marisa Trutanich, Philip Nicolay, Bill Upchurch, Esther Espinoza-Ek, Carlos Garcia, Jody James, Margaret Moilov, Ray Patricio, Patricia Polcuch, Capt. George Thompson, John Vladovich, and Sanni Wehbe. Chris Wickers was excused. 3. Report from Council Office. No report from Councilwoman Hahn’s office. 4. L.A.P.D. ATV Program Update. Sr. Lead Officer Steve Muirhead of the Los Angeles Police Department, Harbor Division, gave an update on the ATV program. The ATV’s were purchased last Monday and are in route from Yamaha in Atlanta, Georgia. They are scheduled to be on patrol the last week of February or early March. 5. N. Gaffey/N. Pacific Code Enforcement. David Jones from the Department of Building and Safety gave an update on the N. Gaffey/N. Pacific area. The Department is participating in a program called P.A.C.E. (Pro-Active Code Enforcement) to help revitalize the community. The program is looking for visual blight issues such as overgrown vegetation, trash, debris, buildings in need of paint, abandoned autos, graffiti, etc. They are conducting inspections of private properties throughout the neighborhood. He explained that if a code violation is found by these inspections, a notice will be issued to the property owner and/or tenant of the property which will require compliance with the applicable code requirements cited. Failure to comply with a notice may result in fines. 6. Amerigas update. Mark Thomas, Director of Logistics for Amerigas gave an update on the property on North Gaffey. He states that they ordered studies (cost of $45,000) and the last one should be done Friday. The front of the property has been cleaned up and fencing has been added, as well as cameras. They’ve hired off duty LAPD to be at birth whenever a ship is in dock for security purposes. Mark Thomas is asking for community support to allow a 30 day hold over on their lease of the dock from the port until the issue is resolved since the lease on the dock has expired. The Council had suggested that the Port, the refineries and Amerigas start meeting to work together. A task force met to focus on possible relocation sites. The Port identified Pier 400 as land that is available, approximately 10 acres but there are no plans for Amerigas to relocate there at this time. The primary purpose of the Amerigas facility on North Gaffey is to store butane which is produced by Valero's Wilmington Refinery and British Petroleum's Carson Refinery. Both these refineries were looked at to see if Amerigas could relocate their storage tanks there, but both said they did not have room. Several board members gave comments and asked questions. No motions were made. 7. Port of L.A. Update. Mike DiBernardo, Director of Planning and Research for the Port of Los Angeles gave updates. There is a meeting scheduled with the Energy Commission on March 8. Regarding the removal of the billboards on N. Gaffey, that is under study and it will take about 60 days to complete the study. Regarding the Bail Bonds site, the owner has agreed to sell the property. It will take about 4-6 weeks for the appraisal. The port wishes to purchase that property. 8. Thank You. Pres. John Greenwood extended a special “Thank You” to the business called It’s a Grind for providing the coffee at today’s neighborhood council meeting. 9. Traffic Issues Committee gave an update. First to speak was David Smith, a resident of North Enrose Avenue who was present with co-chair Patrick Hansen. They have created a website to provide information on their neighborhood issues (www.neantic.org). The main issue is the excessive level of traffic being funneled through their neighborhood. Due to a huge population boom and street closures, an unacceptable amount of traffic is being funneled through their neighborhood. They consider it a quality of life issue. They request that the NW San Pedro Neighborhood Council support them and recognize them as a group. 10 members from this group attended the meeting today, they provided a 14 page handout containing their “Points of Discussion” and also possible plans to assist with this problem. No motion made at this meeting. 10. Public Comment: A representative from the Consensus Planning Group invited the community to a seminar to be held on Thursday, March 3, 2005 at 6:30pm at the Marina Hotel. The Port of Los Angeles is hosting the seminar to discuss the environmental review process for the Bridge to Breakwater Master Development Plan for the San Pedro Waterfront and Promenade. The seminar will cover the environmental review process, environmental impacts and how the community can participate in the EIR/EIS process. 11. Issues Committee Report. Diana Nave gave an update on the Issues Committee. The first item related to the use of goats as a viable method of vegetation management and brush clearance. The following motion was made: That the NW Neighborhood Council encourage the Department of Recreation and Parks develop a pilot project for the use of goats at Peck Park as part of this year’s brush removal effort. The motion was seconded and passed with all board members present voting yes, except for Marisa Trutanich and John Vladovich who voted no. The second item discussed was North Gaffey Planning Considerations. A motion was made to approve the expenditure of up to $20,000 for a consultant to prepare a conceptual land use and transportation plan for North Gaffey and authorize the issues committee to proceed with the selection and contracting. The Board held a discussion followed by a vote and the motion passed unanimously. This was followed by a comment from Pres. John Greenwood thanking the Issues Committee for their excellent work in the community. The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, February 23, 6:30pm at the San Pedro City Hall, 4th Floor. 12. Motion from Budget Committee. The following motion was made: Motion to support the mayor’s proposal to give discretion over the locations of street and sidewalk improvements to neighborhood councils. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. 13. Bridge to Breakwater Project Update. Sal Zambrano from the Port of Los Angeles was joined by Stacy Jones, also representing the port, to discuss the Bridge to Breakwater Project. Ms. Jones went over the steps the Port has taken to date and then Sal Zambrano went point by point through the concerns that were previously presented by the Neighborhood Council to the Port on the project. Jan Green Webstock also talked about environmental impact. Handouts included a Project Summary Draft, Responses to Project Description Comments and a Flyer about an information meeting on San Pedro Waterfront Enhancements held Thursday, February 24, 2005 at 6:30 at the Ports O’Call Restaurant. Shannon Day made a comment concerning lighting. 14. Report from Port Committee. Philip Nicolay talked about a resolution that was made last Wednesday that is working its way through PCAC. The resolution passed by the Coordinated Plan Subcommittee is worded below: ---------------------------------------- Resolution The Coordinated Plan Subcommittee recommends to the PCAC that it inform the Board of Harbor Commissioners that the Coordinated Plan Committee concurs with the thrust of the comments and concerns expressed and approved by two of San Pedro’s Neighborhood councils, Coastal and Nortwest, and under consideration by the third, Central. Accordingly, the Coordinated Plan Committee agrees that the Gafcon/EEK Draft Project Description, dated January 27, 2004 includes more commercial and residential development than desired for the San Pedro waterfront from the bridge to the breakwater, and that they are, in the long term, not fully consistent with the vision, spirit, and key elements of the San Pedro Waterfront Framework Plan adopted by the PCAC and the BOHC. Therefore, the Coordinated Plan Subcommittee requests that the PCAC request that the Board of Harbor Commissioners direct Harbor Department staff to work with this Subcommittee and the San Pedro NCs to develop an alternative Project Description that focuses more on developing open spaces for public use and less on commercial and residential development with their related infrastructure needs. This revised baseline Project Description would not preclude the Port from submitting other options that envision more development within the constraints of the revised baseline Projedt Description. Furthermore, the Coordinated Plan Subcommittee recommends to the PCAC that it request that the Board of Harbor Commissioners direct Harbor Department staff to revise their planning time frames to accommodate this effort in a reasonable period of time before submission to the Corps of Engineers. Resolution was passed by a majority of the Coordinated Plan Subcommittee. -------------------------------Resolution Regarding the Bridge to Breakwater Ongoing Structural Improvements and San Pedro Waterfront Enhancements, a Motion was made to accept the following resolution: WHEREAS, the Port of Los Angeles has undertaken to begin construction of structural improvements and waterfront enhancements consisting of: · Pedestrian pathways · Landscaping and trees · New street lights · Various water features, and · Other waterfront improvements. WHEREAS, the NWSPNC has through past resolutions recommended that the Port of Los Angeles begin these waterfront enhancements while the overall Bridge to the Breakwater Master Development Plan is being studied and approved via the Environmental Impact Review and analysis process. We recognize that a portion of these improvements and enhancements has already been completed at Gateway Plaza, and under construction along Harbor Boulevard from Gateway Plaza to the Fire Station. We also understand that many other structural improvements are in the planning and design phase. These include: · Creation of Point Park · Extension of the Pedestrian pathways and enhancements to 22nd Street, and · Planting of sod at the former 22nd Street Tank Farm site NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the NWSPNC applauds and commends the Port of Los Angeles for the implementation and planning of the aforementioned structural improvements and waterfront enhancements that will create additional pedestrian access to the waterfront. The NWSPNC requests the Board of Harbor Commissioners continue to support Port staff in the timely implementation of these improvements including planning of sod at the former 22nd Street Tank Farm. Approved by the NWSPNC at its meeting on February 14, 2005. The motion to accept the above resolution was passed by a yes vote by all Board members present except for Esther Espinosa-Ek who abstained. A second motion was made to approve $5,000 to provide the NWSPNC Port Subcommittee with a consultant, if needed, to assist the Port Subcommittee. The said consultant would be selected by a vote of the Port subcommittee, and approved by the NWSPNC’s Executive Committee. A long discussion followed and then the motion was withdrawn. ----------------------------------------- 15. Items Tabled. Due to time constraints, Items #10 and #11 on the Agenda, (Western Avenue Task Force and Treasurer’s Report) were tabled until the March meeting. The Minutes from the January 10 Neighborhood Council meeting will be approved at the March meeting. 16. President’s Report included the appointment of Dan Dixon to the Issues Committee, the appointment of George Thompson to the Chair Elections Committee and an update on the newsletter. 17. Next meeting is scheduled for March 14, 2005 at 6:30pm. 18. The meeting was adjourned at 9:22 pm.
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