Photo courtesy of PPCC
The Council Also Reviewed WRAC-Recommended Motions
By LILY TINOCO | Reporter
The Pacific Palisades Community Council covered a number of topics at its latest board meeting on Thursday, August 12, including redistricting boundaries and two WRAC-recommended motions.
The discussion of redistricting came after Council Redistricting Commissioner Michele Prichard—appointed by Councilmember Mike Bonin to the 2021 Los Angeles Redistricting Commission—previously gave a presentation about the process at the April 22 PPCC board meeting.
She explained the commission’s mission statement is “to strengthen the governance of the city of Los Angeles by empowering its communities to have their diverse needs served through fair and inclusive representation.”
The updated boundaries would be based on 2020 Census data, creating equal-sized districts in the city of Los Angeles. The commission is composed of 21 members appointed by LA elected officials, including one representative for each of the city’s 15 districts.
The PPCC Community Interest Statement for the Palisades states that community members like the current boundaries for CD-11. They would like to continue to be associated with Brentwood because of their connection to the same community plan—the Brentwood-Pacific Palisades Community Plan—and that they don’t want district boundaries to be moved further east or into the San Fernando Valley.
The statement also explains the ways the Palisades is isolated by geography, a recreation- and culture-rich area, and a “community-minded” residential suburb of the greater Los Angeles area.
“The Palisades is the small town in the big city,” according to the statement.
PPCC Secretary Chris Spitz made a motion for the board to approve the Community Interest Statement, which was unanimously approved.
“The statement emphasizes that the Palisades community wishes to remain … with other coastal communities and with other communities on the Westside (west of the 405 freeway) with whom we share common interests and goals—not with communities in the Valley,” according to an email sent out by PPCC.
The board then discussed two Westside Regional Alliance of Councils-recommended motions. WRAC is a regional coalition of councils, made up of 14 neighborhood and community councils on the Westside of Los Angeles, including PPCC.
The first motion requested PPCC’s support regarding installation of proper signage at electric vehicle charging stations. WRAC requests that the city of LA improves signage in electric vehicle charging locations to discourage non-charging vehicles from parking there.
It further requests that the city issues warning tickets and subsequent fines to vehicle owners who repeatedly park in these spots illegally once signage is installed, according to the WRAC website.
“It seems like as electric cars become more and more popular, it seems like we should have better awareness, starting with signs,” PPCC Treasurer Richard Cohen said. “Better awareness, better enforcement.”
The second motion requested PPCC’s support for a Metro station on UCLA’s campus as part of Metro’s Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project.
“Metro is making strides to improve travel between the San Fernando Valley, the Westside and Los Angeles International Airport,” according to its website. “The natural barrier created by the Santa Monica Mountains means that most people traveling between these areas are funneled primarily onto the I-405 Freeway, already ranked as one of the most heavily congested urban highways in the nation. Having a Metro Station located directly on the UCLA campus would also help transport the tens of thousands of individuals who travel to UCLA on a daily basis.
“Not having a Metro Station on the UCLA campus would be a sorely missed opportunity, and have significant negative impacts on the West LA region and regional traffic congestion for decades to come.”
Spitz urged the council to support the motion—the PPCC board unanimously approved both motions.
PPCC invited community members to attend its next meeting, slated for Thursday, September 9, at 6 p.m.
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