Valley Village to Receive New Neighborhood Council Banners

The banners that inform drivers and pedestrians along Laurel Canyon Boulevard of the Neighborhood Council Valley Village’s Web site will soon be replaced after the city approved a new design on Tuesday.

The Los Angeles City Council passed a motion presented by Councilman Paul Krekorian to continue the neighborhood council’s street banner campaign, which directs residents to the Web site and provides their main source of outreach.

“It fosters a sense of community in Valley Village and promotes the work of the neighborhood council,” the motion stated.

Tony Braswell, president of the NCVV, said that the new design was donated by a Santa Monica artist who works at a graphic design firm.

The design shows an image of a tree with the words “It Takes a Valley Village,” and the neighborhood council’s Web site at the bottom.

“This is one of our major outreach opportunities to let people know who we are,” said Braswell.

The NCVV recently revamped their Web site to include a pet finder, news section and updated calendar section. They are in the process of launching a section to help with historical preservation efforts in the neighborhood as part of the city’s effort to identify and record historic areas of L.A.

While the banners are successful in attracting stakeholders to the Web site and the neighborhood council, the first banner campaign was implemented “just to get our name out there,” said Braswell.

Those first banners went up in 2006, and the current ones, whose prime goal was to promote the Web site, were installed in late 2008. The purpose of the new banners is to build a sense of community pride and reinforce the neighborhood council’s online presence, said Braswell.

They are trying to make the banners the primary source of communication between residents and the neighborhood council, said Braswell.

The banners are made from what Braswell terms a “plastic hybrid” and wear down after two years. The current banners have passed the two-year peak, but the NCVV, who budgets the campaign into their expenses every year, was awaiting city approval before going forward with production. 

“We have to be given the opportunity to use the poles because they are really prime real estate,” said Braswell.