Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council Opposes Apartment Project

The Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council passed a motion Tuesday night to instruct the Planning Committee to write a letter to The Los Angeles Department of City Planning in opposition of an apartment project on Bloomfield Street that was presented at last month’s meeting. The council is concerned with guest parking, front yard setback, height, street dedication improvements, and other elements of the project.

The council also plans to send a letter to Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge requesting that the city halt plans to install parking meters on Riverside Drive. Currently, the Planning & Land Use Committee is conducting a parking study of the area, with the help of a consultant. At the next board meeting, the consultant will be present to speak to any stakeholders about the parking situation in Toluca Lake. The council plans to share their results with the city before the city installs the parking meters.  

During the treasurer’s report, the council voted in favor of reallocating funds toward the 9/11 Memorial Plaque at N. Weddington Park, which covers material and labor costs. Rich de Michele, the current treasurer, said that the city will withdraw any money not spent by June 30 and it is important to allocate funds to a meaningful project before that deadline. He did not have the exact figure at the meeting, but estimated that the council has over $10,000 in funding that has not been allocated. In the past, unused funds rolled over one fiscal year to the next, but that is not the case anymore, he said. Though the GTLNC received some rollover funds from the city the previous year, they cannot predict that this will be the case again in the future, he said.

De Michele is resigning from his role as treasurer in the next month due to workload outside of the council. An election in June will replace him, as well as former council president Lance King, who resigned earlier in the month after accepting a job in Camarillo. De Michele called the role a “rewarding position” and said that the board would have a difficult time if they didn’t have a treasurer. He has been on the council for over four years.

Sr. Lead Officer Rob Benavidez reported that crime was down in Toluca Lake by 40 percent, compared to 2010. Car break-ins are 50 percent lower, which was a majority of the crime in the neighborhood, he said. The only major incident in the area was a robbery at the Trader Joe’s on Riverside Drive two months ago. They have a photo of the suspect, who is a transient, and will monitor the area in case he returns, Benavidez said. Community events like the Earth Day event on Sunday lower crime, he said.

“Events that are tight-knit with the community work,” Benavidez said.