Community Council Discusses Bus, Sunset Boulevard Signage

The Pacific Palisades Community Council held a meeting on Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. at the .

Council Opposes Santa Monica’s Digital Bus Signs

The council passed a motion opposing AB 607, a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) that would authorize a five-year pilot program allowing city of Santa Monica buses to display advertising on illuminated signs that change or stream across under certain conditions. Brownley attended the meeting to discuss the council’s concerns.

“I want to be respectful of everyone’s opinion, even those who want to oppose this,” Brownley said. “City buses already have advertising. The only difference is it would be advertising that could change and be more marketing specific.”

Because of that flexibility, Santa Monica would be able to be more strategic in its advertising and could greatly increase revenues, Brownley said. But the council felt the changing advertisements would be a distraction to drivers and opposed the bill for both safety and aesthetic reasons. Board member Jack Allen authored the motion opposing the passage of AB 607 and requesting that should it be approved by the Assembly, Gov. Jerry Brown veto it.

“We banned electronic signs in the Palisades for a reason,” Allen said.

Sunset Boulevard is a scenic highway

The council passed a motion requesting that organizations keep commercial signage off Sunset Boulevard in areas outside the business district. The city code requires that any signage for commercial purposes must have a city permit, so the motion basically asks organizations to obey the ordinance that is already in place. According to the council, the ordinance applies to nonprofit organizations, including churches, that are advertising fundraisers.

Representatives from Palisades Lutheran and Palisades Presbyterian churches attended the meeting to determine exactly what types of signage would be allowed. The representative from Palisades Lutheran said that most of the church’s banners relate to church activities and not fundraisers. But Board member Harry Sondheim, author of the motion, said that the city ordinance applies even to nonprofits.

“We have to be consistent in the way we enforce the ordinance,” Sondheim said. “There are other places to advertise community events besides Sunset Boulevard.”

Amendment to Civility Code

An amendment to the council’s current Code of Civility was passed that states, “Board members shall not solicit business at board meetings or by using the aggregate email distribution list of the council.” The code also requires the following:

1. Honor the role of the chair in maintaining order.
2. Practice civility, professionalism and decorum in discussion and debate.
3. Continue respectful behavior before and after board meetings.
4. Be welcoming, respectful and courteous to members of the public and speakers.

“We just don’t think, say, a real estate agent, should send an open house announcement to the board’s email list,” said board member Richard Cohen. “We don’t think it’s proper for people to use us for things like that.”

Redistricting puts Palisades in District 26

Board member Marguerite Perkins Mautner presented an update on redistricting, saying that Pacific Palisades has been moved from District 23 to District 26. As a result the new district does not include Malibu, but rather goes from the Palisades down south to Torrance. Representative Henry Waxman will remain the Palisades’ congressman, but state Sen. Fran Pavley will no longer represent the Palisades. Beginning in 2013, the Palisades will be represented by state Sen. Ted Lieu, Mautner said.

“He’s relatively new, so I think we should invite him up here, because I don’t know if he knows anything about the Palisades,” Mautner said of Lieu. The council members said they believed that the Palisades had more in common with its previous district, but the decision to make the change was made by a state commission.

Board alternates approved

The council filled the following alternate seats during Thursday’s meeting:

Area 3 second alternate: John Glasgow

Area 7 first alternate: Cathy Russell

Area 7 second alternate: Ernie Meadows

DUIs up in West L.A.

Amy Kalp reported on the West L.A. Traffic Meeting saying that DUIs are up in the area so there are going to be five DUI checkpoints in West Los Angeles starting Sept. 15.

Vehicle thefts are still a problem in the area, particularly along Temescal Canyon Road, so officers are going to be concentrating their efforts there. 

Jaywalking has also been a problem. There have been two fatalities recently due to jaywalking, so officers would like to get the word out that people should use crosswalks when crossing the street.

New committee

A new committee has been formed to study the homeless in Pacific Palisades. “It’s an issue here, so we’ve been talking to Zev Yaroslavsky’s office and we are looking forward to finding out what we can do here in Pacific Palisades,” said board chair Janet Turner.

The next Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting will take place Sept. 8.

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