Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council Discusses Proposed City-Wide Sign Ordinance

The passed several motions Tuesday to allocate funds to two community events and to an online parking study conducted in June. The council also discussed their concerns over a proposed city-wide sign ordinance that will replace traditional billboards with electronic ones in the area near the Universal City Metro station and elected a representative for the next city Budget Day meeting.

The council voted to reallocate $2,500 from its Administrative Assistance fund to pay for an online commissioned by the Planning & Land Use Committee in the last fiscal year. The study focused on residential and commercial parking along Riverside Drive between Sancola and Clybourn avenues in Toluca Lake Village. Originally, the council had allotted $6,400 for an administrative assistant position, but as of the Oct. 18 meeting the job had yet to be filled four months into the current fiscal year. As a result, the council voted to reallocate the unspent funds toward the unpaid parking study.

The Planning & Land Use Committee expressed their concerns over the city's proposed sign ordinance that would replace traditional billboards with electronic signs in surrounding neighborhoods, particularly in the Campo De Cahuenga area between the 101 freeway and Lankershim Boulevard. Though Toluca Lake is not directly within that sign district’s boundaries, council president Andrew Westall said he will put in a request to be notified of upcoming hearings in the event “the neighborhood council should want to weigh in” due to their close proximity to the affected area.

The Public Safety Committee requested $1,800 for refreshments at six Community Emergency Response Team training courses, which has gotten “a tremendous response” from the community, said committee member Craig Strong. The committee also requested $500 to contribute to the San Fernando Valley Coalition for Gangs and offset costs incurred at the held last month. The council passed motions to approve both requests.

In his committee report to the council, Strong said 75 neighborhood council watch groups have been organized since January, and that the committee has “been looking into the possibility of security cameras being installed at private residences” in the areas the groups have been monitoring. The committee has already contacted L.A. City Council regarding the rules and regulations of installing such cameras on public streets and is awaiting a response, said Strong.  He also added the committee is closely monitoring abandoned homes, where coyotes have been taking shelter in neglected shrubbery of the properties.

The council also elected treasurer Dylan Conroy as the GTLNC representative for L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Budget Day on Saturday, Oct. 29. The meeting will take place at City Hall and neighborhood council representatives will be responsible for bringing to attention their N.C.’s budget concerns, electing Budget Advocates and reviewing or recommending issues on the city’s Budget Survey.

In an effort to “increase awareness at the committee level” of the council’s budget and “find a more efficient way to handle (finances),” each committee will now be responsible for completing a reconciliation report every month, said vice president Ryan Altoon. The reports will allow the council to maintain progress of their milestones, he said.

Community Members Speak At Open Forum

During the stakeholders’ open forum, Transit Coalition member Faramarz Nabavi urged the council to attend L.A. County Metro’s three upcoming meetings next week and demand that two transit projects connect to each other in order to provide seamless transportation for Valley residents. The Van Nuys Boulevard Rapidway would connect Sylmar to West L.A., while the proposed Sepulveda Pass Rail Tunnel would run between the Valley and Westwood in six minutes. 

“I know it sounds intuitive” for the two projects to be joined, “but it might not happen … unless we ask for it,” stressed Nabavi, whose organization is based in the San Fernando Valley.

Former GTLNC board member Eric Weinberg addressed the council and asked they consider a resolution “in favor of free speech demonstration” in support of the Occupy L.A. movement, similar to the one recently passed by L.A. City Council. Like many Tolua Lake residents, “I’m a member of the 99 percent,” said Weinberg, and he added that he was speaking on his own behalf and not as a representative of Occupy L.A.

John Lindblad, Assembly candidate for the 39th district, asked for the council’s support by signing his petition to be included on the June 2012 ballots. Lindblad, an architect, said his community planning experience qualifies him as a candidate who can create a “mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly” and green-minded city, which will in turn bring jobs during redevelopment.

The GTLNC meets every third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of .  For more information, visit http://www.gtlnc.org.