Krekorian Cautiously Optimistic About Valley Plaza Development

Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian of Council District 2 was the guest speaker at Tuesday night's North Hollywood West Neighborhood Council general meeting. 

He addressed the attendees on several topics of importance to the community, including some evolving changes in local government.  Some of these upcoming changes will give neighborhood councils and residents more power at the local level to better handle their day-to-day safety and environmental issues that directly affect their lives.

With the new reforms, L.A.'s neighborhood councils will gain more authority to service their communities as downtown city bureaucracy, which hinders community progress, is stripped away, said Krekorian. 

Krekorian also discussed another community-level program in the works called "Administrative Code Enforcement" (ACE),  a program proposed by Councilmember Paul Koretz and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich. Administrative Code Enforcement (ACE) will provide quicker and more efficient enforcement and prosecution of city code violators by circumventing the standard judicial process for low-grade "quality of life" violations. This program will maximize public safety efforts and generate revenue for the City’s general fund without additional personnel or costs, according to Krekorian. The way the program is designed, these violations will not be prosecuted inside the Superior Court system ,but rather be handled locally, in a new "real-time" administrative process. The councilman said the program will eliminate the tedious bureaucracy and lessen the city burden in taking offenders to court. In cases sent to the Superior Court, the city does not benefit because the majority of all court fees go to the state of California.

(See below for a list of proposed codes subject to ACE.)  

Krekorian answered a question from a North Hollywood resident about sidewalk repair, and explained a reason why some neighborhoods appeared to get a better response from the city in fixing sidewalks, and also why those same communities seemed to be environmentally "cleaner-looking." Krekorian said that communities like Porter Ranch and Northridge may benefit from its residents having more financial resources to take advantage of the City's fund-matching sidewalk repair program, and its residents may have more time to be the "squeaky-wheel" that gets the attention.

In contrast, a neighborhood like North Hollywood West is much older and more established, with bigger trees that crack apart concrete, and where its infrastructure is more likely to be in disrepair, or at the "end of its life cycle." Krekorian also said that income levels and "pride of ownership" could possibly play a part in why one neighborhood is well-kept, and the other is not.

Krekorian also talked about preserving jobs and creating new jobs in the region, and expressed how a portion of CRA funds should be used to revitalize existing small businesses. Krekorian was especially passionate about and gave a cautiously optimistic update on his talks with the plaza's new owner, IStar Financial.

Also, the North Hollywood West Neighborhood Council plans a community clean-up day on November 5th.

Please see the COMMUNITY CRIME ALERT posting (PDF)  

PROPOSED CODE SECTIONS SUBJECT TO ACE

To be enforced by the Los Angeles Police Department:

112.01: Excessive noise (Loud parties) 41.18/41.22: Loitering 41.23/41.24: Trespass 41.27:  Drinking in public/Open container 41.47.2: Urinating or defecating in public 41.49: Failure to maintain motel registry 41.50: Smoking violations 41.57:  Loud & raucous noise 42.00:  Illegal vending 42.15: Illegal vending at Venice Beach 43.01: Gambling 44.00: Solicitation without permit 47.11: Unlawful display of aerosol spray paint 47.15: Spectator at speed contest 63.44: Park violations (various) 112.04: Powered equipment in residential areas (gas powered leaf blowers)   

To be enforced by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety 12.21A7 & 14.4.10: Sign violations (other than billboards & supergraphics) 80.71.3: Parking on required front lawn 91.103.3: Violation of Order 91.106.1: Construction without permit 91.8903: Violations related to vacant buildings 12.21: Illegal use of land (illegal auto repair, illegal storage, etc) 12.29: Violation of Conditional Use Permit  

To be enforced by the Los Angeles Housing Department 12.21: Illegal use of land (various) 151.00 et. seq.: Rent Stabilization Ordinance 91.8102: Failure to maintain premises  

To be enforced by the Department of Public Works/Street Services Division 41.46: Failure to keep sidewalks clean 80.73.2: Storage of vehicles on street 85.01: Vehicle repairs on street  

To be enforced by the Department of Public Works 62.132: Street banners without permit 62.49: Failure to clean construction materials from street 62.96: Painting curb numbers without permit   

To be enforced by the Department of Transportation 71.02: Operating Taxi without permit 

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