News and Upcoming Events
Trutanich Taps Top Talent for Transition Team
Posted: 15 Jun 2009 11:55 PM PDT
Los Angeles, Monday, June 15, 2009
High atop City Hall, on the 27th floor, the magnificent Tom Bradley Room was the setting for the first full meeting of City Attorney Elect Carmen 'Nuch' Trutnanich's Transition Team.
Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Robert Philibosian and 64th Speaker of the California State Assembly Robert Herzberg Co-Chair the Transition Team.
In the four weeks following Trutanich's history-making election, the "two Bobs" have been working solidly to build a transition team staffed by top talent in all fields.
All transition team members willingly agreed to volunteer their valuable time to help Trutanich rebuild the City Attorney's Office. The 76 members of the Team have been recruited to encompass the very best of Los Angeles's legal, social and political spectrum.
As the Transition Team members gathered in the Tom Bradley Room, the enthusiasm was palpable.
Just after 6:00 pm. Co-Chair Robert Herzberg called the meeting to order, introducing the team members to Trutanich and members of the Team Executive.
Robert Philibosian then outlined the duties of the team members and introduced the 12 Team Leaders who will co-ordinate the working groups established to provide Trutanich with advice and guidance on areas identified as key to the successful operation of the City Attorney's Office.
The Working Groups and their Team Leaders are:
Academy of Justice - Professor Susan Poehls
Administration - William Mangan
Bureau of Investigation - Assistant Chief Gary Schram
Civil/General/Outside Counsel - Frank Cooley
Criminal Prosecutions - Jacquelyn Lacey
Environment - Barry Groveman
Gang Prevention and Prosecution - Marty Vranicar
Land Use/Code Enforcement - Amy Forbes
Law Firm Management - Gordon Bava
Proprietary Departments - Patti Tubert
Public Integrity and Ethics - David Berger
Victims' Rights - Grace Yoo
With the tasks established, and the introductions made, Philibosian then called City Attorney Elect Carmen Trutanich to the podium.
Trutanich spoke passionately about his vision for the City Attorney's Office and his belief that the working groups will develop “an action plan to restructure and reform the office of the city attorney to better serve the people.”
Trutanich thanked the team members for their public-spirited volunteerism and enthusiasm of the tasks ahead of them.
All team members were given a 72-page "Blueprint for Change" to guide them towards the goals. Each working group will produce a ten-page memo that will;
Assess the current practices,
Recommend actions for the first 100 days, first year, and long term.
Other recommendations sought include any emergency actions, reorganization of programs, sources of revenue and cost savings as well as opportunities for pro bono assistance from the legal community.
The Working Groups have until July 15, 2009 to submit their assessments and recommendations.
I've already used the term "enthusiastic" twice in this post, and I can think of no other word to describe the applause given at the conclusion of Trutanich's speech as well as the mood in the room that followed. Team members remained in the room to connect with their counterparts and leaders, while Trutanich, Chief of Staff Bill Carter and Executive Assistant Jane Usher (two of his thus far identified executive staff) circulated amongst the working groups.
As the sun was setting on the panoramic views from the Bradley Room and the crowds thinned, Trutanich, whose (dare I say it again) enthusiasm is surpassed only by his seemingly tireless energy, suggested dinner at La Parrilla, a modest but excellent Mexican Restaurant a short drive from City Hall.
Over diner the conversation never wavered from the tasks ahead, and the means to those ends. Even at this early stage, many great ideas from the Transition Team members were discussed and the overall verdict was that the "action plan" for the City Attorney's Office will be exciting, innovative and remarkable.It was, perhaps, fitting that the evening that marked an early and significant milestone in Trutanich's amazing journey from San Pedro to City Hall ended on a "no frills," good food, good company, and a "down to business" note.
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Billboards/Sign Ordinance Goes to City Council
On Tuesday, May 26, the City Council is expected to act on far-reaching revisions to the
city sign ordinance that would ban all digital billboards and signs, forbid the huge
supergraphic signs that drape entire sides of buildings, and levy severe financial penalties
on companies putting up illegal signs.
The scheduled vote comes less than a month before the expiration of a 6-month
moratorium on any new digital billboards and supergraphic signs, so passage is urgently
needed. However, the Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight and others are still pushing for
changes to close loopholes that could allow the proliferation of more of these types of
signs in some areas of the city.
The biggest loophole is the provision allowing digital and supergraphic signs in special
sign districts. This provision in the current ordinance has been a mechanism for sign
proliferation, as well as a point of attack for sign companies that have sued the city
multiple times in an effort to overturn its 2002 ban on off-site advertising signs.
The revised ordinance as approved by the City Planning Commission in March
significantly tightens the sign district criteria, in particular requiring the takedown of
existing billboards in the surrounding community at a greater than one-to-one ratio
before any new digital or supergraphic signs could be put up. The commission also
rejected a move to “grandfather” a number of sign district applications pending with the
city planning department, which would have allowed them to be established under the
current, much more lax, criteria.
Unfortunately, the City Council’s PLUM committee decided to grandfather ALL the
pending sign districts, a move that could potentially result in more than 100,000 sq. ft. of
new digital and supergraphic signage (the equivalent to 150 full-sized billboards) to be
erected in sign districts without the removal of a single existing billboard in the
surrounding community.
One of those proposed sign districts is the Metro Universal project at the north end of the
Cahuenga pass. According to the draft EIR for the project, some 50,000 square feet of
digital and full animated signs would be part of the project, as well as supergraphic signs
of unlimited size. Since one of the buildings in that project is 26 stories, a supergraphic
the height of the building could result.
Councilman Tom LaBonge, with the support of Councilman Bill Rosendahl, has
introduced a motion to restore the City Planning Commission action and forbid the
grandfathering of any existing sign districts that haven’t received commission approval.
LaBonge has also introduced a motion limiting sign districts to the downtown area only,
as opposed to some 20 areas of the city now zoned as “regional center” or “regional
commercial.”
In conjunction with the Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight, LaBonge and Rosendahl are
holding a news conference and rally on the city hall steps at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in support
of the amendment. There is strong opposition to these proposals from well-heeled
developers and big business interests, so it is important that as many people as possible
come to the rally to show their support for protecting the city’s public spaces and visual
landscape from being filled with commercial advertising.
For more information, contact the Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight at
info@banbillboardblight.org. And for news and views about many signage issues, visit
the website at www.banbillboardblight.org.
Dennis Hathaway
Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight |
L.A.'s Budget Crisis
On May 18, the L.A. City Council approved a $7.1 billion budget for the 2009/ 2010 fiscal year.
- The good news: Our City budget was approved on-time and balanced.
- The bad news: Expect significant cuts in services and staffing.
- The very bad news: With the failure of the State’s ballot measures on May 19, City officials expect the State to take anywhere from $30-160 million in our local tax money to balance their own budget. Once we learn of the real impact, the City Council will likely be back to another round of budgeting. Add to this the fact that our “balanced” budget is based on a set of economic assumptions about the economy and projected revenues. If the economy continues to falter, we’ll have to revisit the budget and make more cuts or find more revenues. The alternative would be to simple run out of cash.
- The very, very bad news: While this year had “only” a $530 million budget gap, the projected budget deficit for next year is in excess of $1 billion.
A few budget highlights:
Mayor Villaraigosa has asked the Council to declare a Fiscal Emergency to grant him authority to layoff and furlough thousands of city workers. In his letter to the Council, the Mayor stated: "The gravity of the fiscal emergency that we face is enormous…Unless we act with urgency, the city will face a cash flow crisis, raising the prospect of running out of cash between November and February." The City and labor leaders are trying to reach agreement on cost cutting and early retirement. The Council’s budget may require 26 furlough days for each civilian employee (a 10% paycut) and 1,200 civilian layoffs.
Departmental budgets are being reduced, and there is a hiring freeze imposed in the City -- resulting in a reduction in City services. Library and pool hours will be cut, trees may only be trimmed every 12 years and the City will be cutting sidewalk repairs, installations of speed humps, and varied transportation improvements.
The budget provides funding to replace the 480 LAPD officers that we expect to retire or leave this year. The budget also seeks to add a few additional firefighters. Funds to fight gangs through prevention and intervention have largely been spared for now.
Neighborhood Council budgets – currently $50,000 per Council will be reduced to $45,000. That amount was cut to as low at $11,000 per Council during the Council’s Budget & Finance Committee meetings – but agreement was reached to limit the cut in funding to just 10%.
If 2009 /2010 revenue shortfalls are anything like the shortfalls in 2008 / 2009, L.A. could face an even deeper crisis. For example, actual revenue for Documentary Transfer Tax in 08/09 was 25% less than projected in the 08/09 budget. Hotel tax revenues were 10% less than estimated, vehicle license fees 37% less than estimated, and parking users tax 10% less.
It is estimated that within a few years our obligations to the City Employee and Fire & Police Pension Plans will exceed $ 7 billion.
In short, the current budget is sobering – and the outlook for the near term is even more so. With crisis, however, comes opportunity. It’s now time for all L.A. residents and businesses to get better informed and involved in protecting and preserving our City and its future.
Ron Galperin
Crests Neighborhood Association
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Mountain Bikes in City Parks:
Ten years ago a group of mountain bikers tried to change the city ordinance which prohibits wheeled vehicles off road in Los Angeles city parks. The bikers had worked behind the scenes for five years before taking their proposal to the Department of Recreation and Parks. The proposal was defeated by a coalition of community groups including the Hillside Federation.
Now the issue of mountain bikes in city parks has resurfaced--this time in the guise of a means of transportation. A small mountain bike lobbying group, Concerned Off-Road Bicycle Association (COBRA), is working this time with the Dept. of Transportation (DOT) to change the code to allow off-road biking as a way of commuting, when the fact is, that mountain biking is an extreme sport, a form of adrenaline-driven, high-impact recreation that should not be confused with street cycling.
There is already a bike path adjacent to the LA River and many bike commuters use Crystal Springs Dr. The bikers got the city to hire the consulting firm Osprey from Colorado to mediate the issue in closed meetings with no public comment permitted. DOT is not the agency that should be making park policy; that should be done by Rec. & Parks.
A motion by Councilmembers LaBonge and Garcetti was discussed at the April 15, 2009, meeting of the Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee chaired by LaBonge.
07-3494-S1: Motion (LaBonge-Garcetti) relative to directing the Department of Recreation and Parks to remove Griffith Park from future off-road mountain bicycle use and work with the Departments of City Planning and Transportation, through the development of the new Bicycle Plan, to continue to explore the possibility of mountain bicycle use at other City parklands and related matters. (Also referred to Transportation Committee)
Asst. General Manager of Rec. and Parks (RAP), Kevin Regan, stated that RAP is not driving this change in policy because of the conflicts between park users. He said that RAP needs to be part of the process. One representative at a closed meeting isn’t good enough; the meetings should be open with community involvement. He does not want RAP to be mandated a change that doesn’t fit its plan.
Mountain bikes have been prohibited in city parks by municipal code for many years. Wheeled vehicles are not compatible with hikers, strollers, and horses on the same trail and create dangerous situations. Off-road mountain bikes cause extensive erosion to trails and additional environmental damage when they go off-trail. There are many nearby trails available to mountain bikers in the Santa Monica, Santa Susana, San Gabriel, and Verdugo Mountains. A recent Needs Assessment by the Department of Recreation & Parks showed no need for off-road mountain bike access.
The current city ordinance which prohibits wheeled vehicles off road (MC Sec. 63.44b16 states:
“No person shall ride or drive any cycle or vehicle, whether powered by a motor or by human power, except on paths, roads, or drives designated and provided for such purposes.”
Michelle Mowrey, the Bike Coordinator for DOT, said they are addressing the transportation element. DOT expects to have the Bicycle Plan ready by June. Mowrey thinks that mountain bikes can work in some parks.
LaBonge is considering leaving the ordinance as it is. He heard from the equestrians. Therefore he is removing Griffith Park from the proposed changes. He asked that the motion be held for 30 days. He requested the City Attorney to report on the transparency of the public process. He also asked to see the contract for the consultant and will talk to Gail Goldberg, the head of the Planning Department.
During public comment, Jim Hasenauer of the International Mountain Bike Association stated that he wanted the process (of closed meetings) to continue. He said the trails in Griffith Park are wide so it is appropriate to share the trails with bikes. Other speakers in favor of the motion all referred to the need for mountain bikes as a new form of recreation in the parks; none claimed it was a means of transportation.
Speakers against the motion included the Sierra Club’s Joe Young who pointed out the fact that at the closed meeting the week before, safety and environmental issues were not discussed. The Sierra Club supports maintaining the current city ordinance. Numerous other speakers representing a variety of community groups encouraged the use of bicycles for commuting but opposed allowing mountain bikes off-road in city parks and supported the current ordinance.
We strongly urge the Federation and its affiliate groups to support the existing city ordinance prohibiting off-road bikes in city parks. Please write to Councilmembers LaBonge and Greuel, to the Department of Recreation and Parks General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri, 221 N. Figueroa St., Suite 1550, LA 90012, and to Rita L. Robinson, General Manager , Department of Transportation, 100 S. Main Street, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Marian Dodge
Los Feliz Improvement Association
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