Crime and the proposed gate across Asilomar highlight the Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting on Thursday, January 8 at 7 p.m. in the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. The public is invited. Senior lead officer Chris Ragsdale will give a report on a neighborhood meeting held at Palisades High on December 15 where over 100 concerned residents showed up. Moderated by the town’s official honorary sheriff Rich Wilken, the meeting was called in direct response to an attempted armed robbery on December 9 of Palisades resident Kevin Bird. Bird told the crowd how two suspects (whom he described as male, Hispanic, approximately 5’6″ to 5’7″ in height, weighing 165 to 175 lbs.) approached him while he was walking his two-and-a-half-year-old son on Miami Way, between Erskine and El Medio, at around 5:25 p.m. “I was taking my son Alex, who was on my shoulders, for a walk, like I do every night after work,” said Bird. Next thing he knew there was a gun pointed at his stomach and the perpetrators were demanding money. They ran away when a car happened to approach, but not before hitting Bird in the face. He told the crowd that since the incident several neighbors had reported other problems in the neighborhood and he argued that the LAPD provides “zero protection” in the Palisades. Bird’s outburst came after Ragsdale gave a summary of crime and police protection, or more specifically, the lack of it, in the Palisades. “There are approximately 30 crimes committed every month in the Palisades, which is about one per day,” Ragsdale noted. “A serious crime includes burglaries, robberies, battery, car theft and rape. Believe it or not, you [the Palisades) experience an extremely low crime rate compared with most of the rest of L.A. County.” Also scheduled to speak at next week’s council meeting is Dr. Mark Kelly, who wants to install a gate across Asilomar at El Medio that would block access to the cul-de-sac on the bluffs. For several months Kelly has been meeting with neighbors to discuss the viability of installing an electronically-controlled gate that would restrict vehicle entry from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. He wants the gate because he believes it will deter crime in the area. “The five families east of El Medio, on Asilomar, have to deal with a constant onslaught of illegal, disrespectful and lewd behavior,” Kelly wrote in a letter to the Palisadian-Post in December. “Arrests have been made for sales of “crystal meth,” a highly addictive and destructive drug now available in the Palisades. Public drinking is commonplace most weekend evenings. Trash is strewn along the park and over the bluffs. Condoms and beer bottles are tossed out of departing vehicles.” Crucial to Kelly’s application for the gate is a recommendation by the LAPD detailing known crime activity in the area. The Post discussed Kelly’s concerns with Senior Lead Officer Ragsdale. “As part of the proposed gate project for the Asilomar Blvd and El Medio bluffs area, the Los Angeles Police Department conducted a crime analysis search for all crimes related to the bluffs and the surrounding area,” Ragsdale reported to the Post. “After conducting a search covering a period of the last six months, the crime search indicated no crimes for the bluffs and surrounding areas. The search was then expanded to a year prior and no crimes relating to the bluffs and surrounding areas was shown. “The reality is there is not a crime problem on the bluffs. There is a nuisance and quality-of-life problem there. Because of the nature of the overlook and park area, it attracts many people from all over the Los Angeles region. Some of those people may be drinking, using narcotics and may not respect the park or neighborhood while using the park or looking at the ocean view.” Other agenda items: 1. An update on the YMCA’s parcel-split application processes in Temescal Canyon. 2. Update from PaliDog, the ad hoc committee exploring a dog park location in Pacific Palisades and a possible dog beach at Will Rogers State Beach. 3. Guardrails on Palisades Drive (see Opinion piece, P.3) 4. Continued consideration of a motion (by Norm Kulla) and update from the LA. Department of Transportation regarding the proposed reversible lane improvement on Sepulveda, vicinity of Getty Center Dr. to Skirball Dr. For additional information about the Community Council, please visit www.pp90272.org.
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