Beachwood Canyon Neighborhood Association 

Annual Meeting February 3, 2005 

Minutes 

The meeting began with statements from each candidate: 

Jack Fitzgerald, Gary Wilmes, Mary Anne Nelson, Nina Van Tassell, and Fran Reichenbach  

There were no nominations from the floor so the board voted to accept the slate by acclimation.  

Crime report 

Cameras on Hollywood Blvd. are for crime – 5 cameras are installed between LaBrea and Vine which will be monitored from the Wilcox station by Watch Commander and have a 30-day loop. This will start in the middle of Feb. CRA is getting a grant for several zones in Hollywood. This system will not be taking police off the street.  

In July Senior Lead Officer Bill Sollie will be here 28 years.

2004 Hollywood came in the lowest in crime reduction 16.7% fewer crime. 6A15 came in as number one. When asked why we are number one, he says it’s the neighborhood watch groups.  

He spoke about the Distraction Thieves that are targeting the elderly.  

Another group like this was hitting at Forest Lawn targeting the cars of mourners. This group hit three times between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

The residents at 3100 block of Hollyridge have formed a neighborhood watch after their garage got broken into.  

When you see something suspicious, call 877-ASK-LAPD (dispatch) 

Robbers have been hitting Smart & Finals. A stake out resulted in the arrest of several with ski masks trying to hold up one of the Smart & Finals. All are in custody.  

Recent rainy conditions have kept the crime rate down. 21 (Burglary Theft From Motor Vehicle) BTMV in the service area. Burglaries are up to 9 in the area.  

Tina’s neighbor had his car stolen, his rental car stolen and another neighbor had their car stolen.  

Don Paul asked about a guy who sits next to the Bougois Pig acting like a valet and asks to be paid. He has a record and is a very aggressive begging transient. Don wrote to Sollie and Downing in December and the guy went away – he’s now back.  

March 22, 2005 5pm to 8:30pm there will be a big meeting with CPAB and is also a business symposium as well as a terrorist update – at the Directors Guild on Sunset. Free with light snacks.  

City report: Erik Sanjurjo 

Updates: Hollywood Neighborhood City Hall has been renovated. In May it will be dedicated.  

Cahuenga Peak parcels: Tom is making preservation of these parcels his top priority.  

The city council asked for the city attorney to create a ballot measure for a 1/2 cent sales hike for law enforcement and public safety issues. The City Council will vote on Feb 11 on whether or not to put it on the ballot.  Pedilla and Gruel are wavering…  Tina says that the last time we voted for more taxes, the money was diverted.  

The measure would require there be steering committees and oversight. We need an ongoing funding source for our law enforcement.  

George asked for an update on the Public works subcommittee meeting on concrete vs asphalt expenditure. (There is a study in progress to research the merits)  Private citizens can pay for concrete if they want it. Outpost neighborhood decided to go for asphalt.  

Missy congratulated the city for doing such a good job cleaning out sewers on Beachwood, Franklin and Cheremoya. 

Jack had water pouring up through the manhole on Gower. He and his neighbors had debris coming up through their sinks.  

Tina asked for street cleaning. Bill Olds asked about Canyon Drive needing to get cleaned.  

Hollywood Sign – A Hollywood Use Committee needs to be formed to discuss possible uses for the sign – committee should have reps from all the neighborhood groups. 

Dash route is being targeted for elimination. We need to participate in the workshops and suggest changes that would help save our bus.  

Missy mentioned that she and Fran rented a truck and drove around the area picking up Christmas Trees: She proposed: 1 dollar fee added to xmas trees sold in the city to pay for the city to go pick them up.  

Goals for 2005 

Larry facilitated discussion on goals for the next year: 

Mary Geary: People don’t stop at the limit line in the village.

Larry says that resources are low but that the association has been addressing it on a regular basis. We will continue to ask enforcement to be present in our village to ticket violators. 

Don Paul: Franklin businesses have their own valet guys – he has followed valet driver s who park in Mayfair and other places that they don’t have a contract with. The valets are taking advantage of the fact that the city helped them cancel out on the permit parking. They will park it in Mayfair Market and they don’t have security any longer so the cars don’t get towed.  

All the Franklin strip restaurants are probably violating their conditional use permits and the BCNA needs to blow the whistle.  

Tina Roman: She feels that the garage sales shouldn’t happen on Beachwood. People are allowed to have one every six months. Bill Olds and Tina Roman both feel that the city is losing money by not charging a permit fee for each sale conducted.  

George Abrahams Wants the apartment owners to secure their dumpsters and bins so that vagrants can’t gain access. Larry says that this is also something we’ve addressed because these folks can be scooping out the neighborhood. We will ask Kysella (City Attorney) how to proceed with this. 

Jackie McNary would like rattle snake signs posted so people won’t get bitten. 

Speed Hump Update: Jack Fitzgerald has been collecting petitions for speed humps for Gower – submitted in Nov. – he received a packet in the mail denying the petition. The city came up with a whole bunch of other addresses that he needs to now solicit. The city rep said the sheet and list that he got originally was wrong. Jack is going forward with the new rep from the city that is taking over the speed hump position. (Gower is in three segments: Scenic to Primrose, Primrose to Carmen, and Carmen to Franklin.) Jack will submit petitions by segment.