July 10, 2003 Meeting Report

Beachwood Canyon Neighborhood Association
JULY 10, 2003 MEETING
(Abbreviated Report - Minutes to Follow Soon)

1) Captain Downing made a surprise visit to this BCNA meeting, held at the Village Coffee Shop. He had some reassuring information about the recent "crime wave", informing us that every robbery, kidnapping and assault case that happened in the months of the crime spree has now been solved, with suspects in custody. Captain Downing commended the Beachwood group for its intense responsiveness, neighborhood connectedness and e-mail activism. He spent time answering questions raised by the neighbors.

2) Senior Lead Officer Bill Sollie shared a recent crime report saying that Burglary Theft From Motor Vehicles is the top crime in our canyon. He is amazed to find that most incidents happen to vehicles that are unlocked with property left in the open. He stated that every crime needs to be reported, no matter how minor, and suggested that we not leave items in the car. Officer Sollie said he was very pleased with the number of new neighborhood watch groups that formed during and shortly after the crime spree and encouraged everyone to keep them going and keep the communication tight, neighbor to neighbor.

3) Lighting: Maha Sweiss, a new neighbor in south Beachwood said she was afraid when going to and from her car because of the lack of lighting in that area. She will make a list of the addresses where lighting is a problem and e-mail that to Fran who will get that list to Hagop Tujian of the Bureau of Street Lighting to find a resolution to this problem. Fran will give a progress report in the August meeting.

4) Parking was discussed as a big problem in our area. Neighborhood organizers will invite West Traffic, Department of Transportation and the City Council reps to the next meeting on August 21, 2003 to make a presentation on Preferential Parking.

5) Zoning was discussed since there are many homes in the R-1 zone (single family dwellings) that are renting out rooms and becoming apartments. The BCNA Zoning Committee will be meeting with Building & Safety Inspector Ron Kidwell to discuss enforcement. This committee is headed by David Goggin, and many new people joined the committee at this meeting.

6) Tour buses were discussed. They are not allowed above the gates in Hollywoodland. Randi Caplan shared her experience with Hollywood Fantasyland Tours where her car was damaged by their bus. They apologized on the spot but later claimed that the incident wasn't their fault…Board Member and lifetime resident Diana Knoll will call Fantasyland Tours as a BCNA representative and instruct them not to go above the gates.

7) Website: The BCNA has an upgraded, renewed WEBSITE courtesy of Francesca Redwine. Due to scheduling conflicts, Francesca couldn't be at the meeting. People were encouraged to use the website and its new "Forum" to share their interests, concerns, get updates and give feedback.

8) Fire Station 82: The issue of Fire Station 82 was raised when Board Member and long time resident Byrd Holland made a motion to reaffirm what the Fire Bond was intended to do and what it was not intended to do. His motion passed and clarifies BCNA's resolve that tax money should not go to "relocate" our fire station when the wording in the Fire Bond is to "replace" it. Whatever the city must do to make it better, they need to do without moving the fire station away from an area that it cannot currently serve in a timely fashion - our Hollywood Hills. The entire service area is enjoying response time in less than five minutes with the exception of the Hollywood Hills.

9) Water Main: Larry Markes asked about the road working being done above the Village. George mentioned that it was the installation of a new water main being done by Public Works. Larry will call Public Works to get an official time-line and report back to all in the August meeting.

The Sprint Cell Antenna issue was tabled until next month.

This well-attended meeting ended at 9:00 p.m. and people visited for quite a while afterwards. Another positive meeting with our Beachwood Neighbors.