Porter en Los Angeles.

For the first time ever, Porter (Guadalajara, JAL,MX.) will perform in the U.S. & they're playing in Los Angeles first! They crept up as far as Tijuana & Mexicali but now they're finally coming to L.A. This is going to be one hot azz show.

Fri. October 12 at 7:30 p.m. @ Ford Amphitheatre

Very cool... (from Elva Yanez a couple minutes ago)

In a unanimous victory, 15 to 0, the City Council voted to assert authority over the Board of Public Works’ recent action to approve the building permit and related items for Tract 35022, the controversial development of 24 luxury homes on Elephant Hill in El Sereno. This matter will now move to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

In a powerful show of unity, the Council expressed its displeasure with the Board’s disregard for their legislative authority and action that made an already complex issue even more complicated.

Please take a moment and thank all the Councilmembers for their vote today (see email addresses below). Special thanks and recognition are due to Councilmember Huizar for his persistent and courageous defense of his constituents’ right to environmental protections under the law from those agencies responsible for land use and development. Many thanks are also due to Councilmember Reyes for his eloquent defense of equal environmental and public safety protections for eastside residents while simultaneously addressing open space conservation and watershed improvements.

Approximately 70 people showed up for the hearing including many residents from El Sereno (including among others Ramona Chavez, Olga Quinones, Michael Carreon, Sylvia Wallis, Tom Williamson and Casey Reagan) and greater Northeast LA. Many thanks to Stephanie Taylor, Jonathan Parfrey and Glen Dake of environmental coalition GREEN LA for helping organize the educational outreach and the mobilization for this hearing.

Special thanks also for the groups who turned out numerous attendees including Latino Urban Forum, SCOPE/AGENDA, Northeast Trees and LA-32 Neighborhood Council.

Local elected officials also sent representatives to the meeting including:

• Assemblymember Kevin de Leon (District 45)
• Assemblymember Anthony Portantino (District 44)
• Senator Gloria Romero (District 24)

Helping us fill out one entire side of the chamber were individual representatives from the following organizations:

• Audubon Center at Debs Park
• Baldwin Hills Conservancy
• El Sereno Residents for Responsible Land Use and Development
• Glassell Park Improvement Association
• Greater El Sereno Chamber of Commerce
• Hillside Environmental and Safety Coalition
• LA Community Garden Council
• Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority
• Mujeres de la Tierra
• National Resources Defense Council
• Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
• Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
• Save Elephant Hill
• Scenic Arroyo Seco

Stay tuned for the details on the actual motion language, the upcoming PLUM hearing and formation of a formal coalition. A replay of the actual hearing will be aired by City of Los Angeles ’ Channel 35 tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Thanks to all those who wanted to attend but had to work, but were at the hearing in spirit. Words cannot capture our gratitude to the many individuals and organizations who submitted letters, emails, and calls, and also offered encouragement and support to help us keep pressing on with this campaign.

Mil gracias!

Elva Yanez

· Ed Reyes (CD 1) – jill.sourial@lacity.org

· Wendy Gruel (CD 2) – dale.thrush@lacity.org

· Dennis Zine (CD 3) - jonathan.brand@lacity.org

· Tom LaBonge (CD 4) – renee.weitzer@lacity.org

· Jack Weiss (CD 5) – lisa.hansen@lacity.org

· Tony Cardenas (CD 6) – vanessa.soto@lacity.org

· Richard Alarcon (CD 7) – jose.sigala@lacity.org

· Bernard Parks (CD 8) – dilara.rodriquez@lacity.org

· Jan Perry (CD 9) – greg.fischer@lacity.org

· Herb Wesson (CD 10) – andrew.westall@lacity.org

· Bill Rosenthal (CD 11) - grieg.asher@lacity.org

· Grieg Smith (CD 12) – nicole.bernson@lacity.org

· Eric Garcetti (CD 13) – sam.siegel@lacity.org

· Jose Huizar (CD 14) – jessica.wethingtonmcLean@lacity.org

· Janice Hahn (CD 15) - frank.hong@lacity.org

Route 99--San Fernando Road in their own words

A couple of my friends, San Fernando natives, are doing various mini-stories on the communities of the Northeast San Fernando Valley. This is the first of a series that they are producing, from this side of L.A.

San Fernando Road

Zoé Performs Outdoors--John Anson Theater

¿Who says LUF is pura cosa seria? For those fans of excellent indie, peep the always kick ass Zoé at the outdoor Anson. Muy nice. It's great seeing these bands getting space at this particular venue. I saw Nortec Collective perform here as well for the LA Film Festival two months ago & it was off the rails!! No doubt, Zoé will bring that same vibe to the hills of hollywood.


14.Septiembre.2007 / Zoé en Los Angeles
Venue: John Anson Ford Amphitheater
Ciudad: Los Angeles, California
Info: Zoe with Los Abandoned at Ford Amphitheatre

Fourh Street Bike Ride

The 4th Street Bike Ride (A potential Bike Boulevard)

The Fourth Street Bicycle Ride with Councilman Tom Labonge was very inspirational. Right when you think it is impossible to create a sustainable transportation system in car-crazy LA, this bike ride gives you hope for the future.

I started the evening after work at Union Station by hopping on the Purple Line, bicycle in tow. I rode the train to the Wilshire/Vermont Station. From this station I rode my bike a few short blocks to Shatto Park on Fourth Street near Vermont.

After a few remarks from Councilman Labonge on the importance of bike riding to solve LA’s congestion problem, 25 to 30 cyclists set off on a six-mile bike ride along Fourth Street. The nice ocean breeze cooled down the asphalt and made it a very pleasant ride. We rode over the gentle rolling hills of Mid-City LA.

Our bicycle police escorts made us feel very safe on the otherwise dangerous streets of LA. I would have never done this bike ride otherwise! They helped us ride through the many Mid-City streets without stopping and made it easy cross busy streets like Vermont, Western and Highland.

The pace of the group allowed us to talk to each and make new friends. Someone even brought music for the ride. For a few seconds it was great to reclaim Fourth Street as a pleasant temporary open space.

By a stroke of luck of pure, much-welcomed luck the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has not molested Fourth Street by removing parkways to widen it. Fourth Street is narrow and comfortable by LA standards and is a treasure trove of urban history, architecture, and diversity. The street changes from straight to nice gentle curves resembling the street of a nice Mid-Western historic suburb. The landscape along Fourth Street improves drastically from a landscape-poor street to a nice tree-lined street. Biking through the narrow streets of Hancock Park reminded me of riding on the bike boulevards of Palo Alto.

Lining Fourth Street in Mid-City are Gothic, Spanish and other eclectic multi-family buildings built in the 1920’s , with a new few stucco boxes thrown in for good measure. The dense neighborhoods house many Latinos and Asians. Many of these residents were gathered in green spots in the front or side yards, parkways or on their balconies, out enjoying the cool breezes. These dense neighborhoods of Mid-City then gave way to single-family homes in Hancock Park.

We rode along until we reached Park LaBrea and made a quick pitstop at the Fire Station on Third Street. From here we rode back and stopped at 31 Flavors ice cream shop, in Larchmont Village, for some free ice cream cones. By than it was dark and we proceed back to Shatto Park. As a cyclist I realize how important it is to have lighted bike paths, because in the dark it hard to spot the pot holes!

Fourth Street has the potential to become the City’s first bike boulevard. This bike route is a great east-west linkage in Mid-City, that can connect downtown with places like the Grove trendy Westside places.

The bike ride made me realize what a great biking city LA could become with the proper infrastructure investment. The bike movement in this city has been dominated by athletic males who can out smart cars, and feel we do not need bike lanes, paths or boulevards. For a vast majority of Angelenos, however riding a bike in this city is seen as a death wish. People act so surprise when I tell them I bike to work through downtown streets. I always reassure them that I bike very slowly on sidewalks making eye contact with every car driver on my way to work. It’s not worth getting hit by a car. Downtown needs bike boulevards!

As a transportation planner it is important to understand the geography of LA, how people move through it and what the mobility trends are.

Because this bike ride was a success, Councilman Tom Labonge will be hosting a bike ride on the last Thursday of the month. I will keep the team updated on this rides.

For more information, contact Carolyn Ramsay at (213)473-2340 or Carolyn.ramsay@lacity.org.

pe.com article from Lys Mendez

Lys Mendez [lysmendez@hotmail.com] has sent you a story from pe.com.
(Page at: http://www.pe.com/localnews/southwestarea/stories/PE_News_Local_S_sbikes22.3e6e4a9.html)

An opportunity for a suburban city to plan ahead may be lost to, again, revolve around the car.
======================================================================

Planned bike lanes causing problems for Temecula
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, August 21, 2007
By CLAUDIA BUSTAMANTEThe Press-Enterprise

TEMECULA - A small item on the city's master plan to promote quality of life has caused more consequences than intended.

Adding bike lanes to Meadows Parkway would force hundreds of cars off the street and into nearby residential areas, especially near Temecula Middle School, prompting school officials, parents and neighbors to question the move.

When the road is striped for bikes, cars cannot park or stop at any time. That would affect traffic and parking at three of the district's schools -- Rancho Elementary, Vintage Hills Elementary and Temecula Middle. Officials say the street is too narrow for both parking and bike lanes.

(PHOTO:

Story continues below

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Members of the Temecula City Council and the Temecula Valley Unified School District board met Tuesday at the middle school to discuss the situation and possible solutions.

The committee reached no decision but asked staff from both sides to continue working on ideas.

"I would love to see both, but I doubt it would happen," said parent May Lora, whose children attend Vintage Hills, Temecula Middle and Temecula Valley High.

Bike lanes have been planned for Meadows Parkway since 1993, when the city adopted its master plan. However, officials wanted to wait for development to arrive on both sides of the road before striping them, City Manager Shawn Nelson said.

School Trustee Barbara Tooker said officials should consider the growth the city has since experienced.

Temecula Middle School, on Meadows Parkway, is the district's largest middle school with about 1,300 students. Built in 1990, the campus doesn't have enough parking for its staff, let alone parents ferrying their children to and from school.

The school district already has decided to convert some grassy areas on campus into additional staff parking, but is still unsure how to address the traffic flow without affecting student safety or nearby residences.

Principal Rob Sousa said no access to Meadows Parkway could cause some parents to park illegally or let their children out at unsafe places. Also, students could dart into traffic.

"I am concerned that having no parking will cause people to make poor decisions," Sousa said.

Traffic from parents who use Meadows Parkway already spills onto side streets.

"In the morning, sometimes we can't get in and out of our driveways," said Gene Chalkley, who lives on Camino Alagon along the west side of Temecula Middle School.

Chalkley said the problem isn't just caused by school parents, but continues at night and on weekends when the campus converts to a city park.

"If you take Meadows away, that's going to make a bad situation impossible," he said.

Parent Carol Buck, who lives in Temecula Valley Wine Country, said parents could ignore the bike lanes.

"I think parents are still going to park there and hope they won't get a ticket," she said.

Bill Bibb, who lives on Calle Marquis near the school, said he rides his bike almost daily and sees the dangers.

"Clearly, there has to be a solution to this problem, but I don't think we should do it at the cost of either side," he said. "Bikes are going to be there and so are parents."

Councilwoman Maryann Edwards agreed.

"It's a school and it's a neighborhood," she said. "The two have to coexist."

Reach Claudia Bustamante at 951-375-3740 or cbustamante@PE.com

LAtino Urban Forum Site Redux

¡Saaaaaz! LAtino Urban Forum's website is up n' going again. Newly (and constantly updated) material ranging from stories to digital media...non-stop. Newly added features & sections that accommodate for podcasting (video etc.) and other visual forms of communication. We're planners, urban designers, architects...what else did u expect? We just ain't gonna "discuss," "analyze" or "rant" about things, we're going to create & visualize them. Bookmark and check often, shoot subscribe to the RSS feeds or whatever else is in there. Blast James on your earphone set, "what you listening to sunn? That new that new LUF Digital Panel dunn! its blaazzzin"

Saz

Latino Urban Forum

Vigil for Arellano/cry for justice on steps of federal building

About 150 supporters of Elvira Arellano attended a vigil and press conference late afternoon yesterday in front of the federal building on Los Angeles Street downtown. Reacting angrily to the arrest and deportation of Arellano on Sunday – the undocumented-immigrant-turned-activist who had been harbored at a church sanctuary for about a year in Chicago – the group vowed to continue the fight for justice in the form of green cards to the 12 million undocumented immigrants in the US.

(Attending the vigil along with immigrant-rights and social-justice groups CHIRLA and CLUE was Bienestar, a gay Latino health-services organization, which took the opportunity to both show support for the deported Arellano as well as to call for justice another, lesser-known Arellano, a yet unluckier victim of immigration authorities: Victoria Arellano, a transgender woman who died last month for lack of medical attention in a detention center while awaiting deportation. An AIDS patient, the 23-year-old’s desperate appeals for access to her confiscated medications was denied throughout the months she was held and only received medical care once it was too late. You can read about her wrongful death and the scandalous conditions of US immigration detention centers at http://www.bibdaily.com/pdfs/Denied%20Medication2.pdf. A rally protesting her death is planned next week on Monday at the same place, 300 North Los Angeles Street.)

Arellano and her 8-year-old son, who was born in the US, were on a speaking tour across the country calling for such immigration reform. Though she and supporting activists say they always knew she could end up arrested and deported, they were probably betting the Bush Administration would back off in recognition of the symbolic power of Arellano’s actions. But it looks like the strategy backfired, for the Bushies are desperate to look tough after a string of recent defeats: losing control of Congress, failure in Iraq, failure to reform immigration law, etc.

Or maybe the strategy didn’t fail. Even though Arellano didn’t get very far, the event may serve to galvanize pro-immigrant supporters and church leaders to energize the fledgling sanctuary movement and push more strongly for fair immigration reform.

Perhaps one way Arellano could continue to fight for immigrants in the US while living south of the border would be if immigrant-rights groups north of the border provide her with financial support while she presses the Mexican government to take up the immigrants’ cause. This is an issue Mexicans of every political stripe would support. Yet in his meeting this past weekend with Mexico’s NAFTA partners (the US and Canada), President Calderon’s priorities hardly included bettering the lot of poor Mexicans – north or south of the border. Instead, the conservative leaders of the three countries discussed further liberalization of their economies, which benefit their corporate supporters at the expense of the poor. Free trade is to blame for deteriorating quality of life and social security in all three countries through the loss of well-paying jobs in the US and Canada and by overwhelming Mexico’s farmers with cheap (subsidized) agricultural products that run them off the land and, ultimately, out of the country. A Mexican president concerned about the poor would defy US pressure to maintain laissez-faire policies and would begin to more-fairly redistribute the country’s vast wealth, reducing poor Mexicans’ need to emigrate. Or… he would demand that free trade in North America took after that in the European Union, where all factors of production, including labor, are able to freely cross borders.

Icy, spicy, cool

This story was sent to you by: lys mendez

The LA Times went crazy over the Pinkberry yogurt wars on the Westside, and it seems like they recently discovered the iced wonders that Latinos have enjoyed in the barrio for decades.

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Icy, spicy, cool
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Handmade

By Betty Hallock

August 22 2007

SUMMERTIME is paleta time. These Mexican ice pops -- chock-full of chunks of fresh fruit and available in a hypnotizing array of colors and clear, not-too-sweet flavors -- conjure images of hot afternoons in the park, time spent on a bench under a shady tree, clear blue skies dotted with red, white and green balloons.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-paletas22aug22,0,4238103.story?coll=la-home-middleright

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com

Sunset Junction

Sad but true Sunset Junction is no longer what it used to be. I have been going since the early nineties. The people, prices and place has changed. Back then it was $3 dollars and the crowd was very diverse. The diversity made it interesting. Families, gays, straights all doing their own thing. Today its generic hippster! It look very boring. This time around I did not bother to go inside. I guess I will have to find some where else to hang out.

James Rojas

Treepeople--11th Hour 2nd Showing

Nate commented earlier about the screening of the film "11th Hour," which will also be showing at the Arclight in Hollywood. You can also probably get it before then in front of el Mercado del Valley en Pacoima. Here's the link from Tri Peepol's volunteer e-mail.



Tri pipol Link

Wednesday, Aug. 22
7:30 p.m.
$11 admission
Arclight Cinema

Website Almost there

Between personal life, school, work, activism, and photography....its Almost there! Just working out some server/domain issues. ANyhow, check out the screenshot of the newly Added Places section. In this section we will showcase interesting destination points a la Latino urbanism in SoCal. You won't find the future Downtown LA Earth Cafe or the new hipster bar, but you will find a guide to the Murals on Broadway. Peep it.

LUF Blogger at LAist

LUF Blogger Lys has been invited to post over at the mega-popular L.A. centric site LAist!

Her first two posts feature an interview with "Departures" creator Juan Devis, and an announcement about El Vez's recent performance this past Saturday... (Hopefully, she'll not forget about the blogito.)

Sunset Junction no longer welcomes the poor

The Sunset Junction Street Fair seems to have officially departed from its original mission of bringing together and improving relations between the working-class Latino families and the gay men and women coexisting in Silverlake.

In a sad and ironic twist, the increasingly famous annual two-day event - which was held this weekend for the 27th time - had an admissions fee of $15 per person and turned away anyone who couldn't come up with the money, explaining why so extremely few families with children could be seen making their way through the multitudes. In the past, donations were asked for at the entrance but not required, allowing poorer (as well as stingier) folks to get in, though they still had pay inflated prices for a drink or a bite to eat once inside. This year, the crowd appeared to be mostly white, often gay, and between ages 22 and 50.

The event appeared to be well attended despite the entrance fee, reflecting its rising popularity among people in other neighborhoods who are willing to drive in to have a good time. But perhaps it also reflects another, sadder truth: poor Latino families have already been priced out not only of the fair, but of Silverlake and, increasingly, the city.

The 11th Hour

The 11th Hour opens in L.A. today (and New York). Last night, a pre-screening was held, followed by a "panel discussion" featuring FOLAR executive director Shelly Backlar and an air quality guy I can't remember the name of, MC'd by a guy from 97.1's Free FM. I got my free ticket because I receive updates from F.O.L.A.R. I assume that's probably where James received his invitation as well; he was a couple rows behind me and said hello as a friend and I made our way to a couple of the last remaining seats in the moments before the film started.

It's a pretty good movie. I could have done with a little less of Leo and his voice over (DeCaprio produced the film). But he honestly didn't over do it, and as my friend also argued, he'll probably help attract more people to watch this kind of necessary viewing that tends to get overlooked. It features a number of experts, and a couple of my personal favorites, including Wes Jackson of The Land Institute, and William McDonough, author of a great book, Cradle to Cradle, and others from a variety of disciplines, backgrounds, and traditions. (I actually observed one guy pumping a fist when Andy Lipkis, of Tree People, made an appeance--which I found a little amusing). I was especially glad to see the documentary get hopeful at the end. I find the gloom and doom approach to be a little ridiculous and harping in most instances. But things are in dire straits, and the movie does a good job of detailing our realities comprehensively, while the healthy stock of hope helps make it easier to confront the issues we need to.

I found the "panel discussion" at the end to be a little disappointing. Too many people shouting out their own PSAs about their own organizations (LUF refrained from doing so, thankfully), with too few really thoughtful questions posed to the panelists. The almost best one, to me, was when a woman asked, What's the most daunting challenge of the panelists' work, excluding finding resources? Backlar responded that the toughest challenge is focusing on what can be done, and what should be done by FOLAR in particular, out of the whole host of good options and work that needs to be done. Tellingly, the air quality guy said the toughest challenge is resources, resources, resources. Which leads me to what I think would have been the best question asked last night if I had been able to articulate it and pose it in time:

When non-profits have to compete with each other for resources, from constituent citizens and government and foundation grants, how are they not to get caught up in the ends game of securing money and growth?

Collaboration seems to be key. But collaboration is tough, especially considering that our systems and institutions seem to design our organizations to compete wth each other to each other's death...

11th Hour's companion action site is at 11thhouraction.com.

Community street fair in BH on August 18

Organized by Unión de Vecinos, Boyle Heights's first community street fair to feature entirely local merchants and organizations will take place tomorrow at Fickett and Cesar Chavez. Unlike other fairs around here, such as the one on the Sixth Street bridge, it is almost entirely the very señoras living in the neighborhood who are getting together to make this happen. Sweeping and scrubbing sidewalks, and picking up trash, setting up shop and cooking at home the food to be sold there... they're making the event possible.

An essential part of the event will be several educational workshops on various themes, such as tenants' rights, how to fight an eviction, how to get health and housing codes enforced and other issues faced by local residents.

Unión de Vecinos as as association of residents in BH that includes both landlords and tenants seeking to improve the quality of life in the community. A branch of the group is the Sindicato de Inquilinos, which is a tenants' union.

Anyway, it'll be worth checking out.

URGENT: Elephant Hill Update & Alert

Action Alert * Action Alert * Action Alert * Action Alert * Action Alert

Huizar Pushes Back Against Surprise Action to Approve Elephant Hill Building Permits

August 17, 2007

On Wednesday, August 15th, Councilmember Jose Huizar submitted a motion (below) under Charter Section 245 that would assert City Council jurisdiction over the surprise vote by the Board of Public Works (BPW) on August 8^th to approve the building permits for Tract 35022 on Elephant Hill. Councilmember Huizar's motion will come before City Council at 10 a.m., Tuesday, September 11, 2007.

The Board of Public Works (BPW) acted on recommendations by the Bureau of Engineering. Bureau staff testified that, because the June 20^th Council motion requiring a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) for Tract 35022 did not specifically address the building permit issue, it was OK for the BPW to approve it. Complicating matters, on July 26^th developer Monterey Hills Investors filed a lawsuit against the City Council's SEIR action.

In order for Huizar's motion to pass and the Council to gain authority over the BPW action, a two thirds (2/3) vote by the full Council is required. This means there must be 10 votes in favor of this motion. Please take action today to ensure that reason and environmental justice prevail over the developer's onerous tactics and insider politics. Together we can continue to make a difference!

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Write, email or call Councilmember Huizar thanking him for introducing this motion and his continued leadership to ensure environmental protections for the residents of El Sereno.

· Jose Huizar (CD 14) Jessica.WethingtonMcLean@lacity.org or 213-473-7014; Address: 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.

2. Write or email City Councilmembers asking them to support Huizar's motion to assert authority over the BPW building permit approval for Tract 35022 and uphold their vote for an SEIR for this project. The mailing address for all Councilmembers: 200 N. Spring St. , Los Angeles , CA 90012 . Email addresses follow:

· Ed Reyes (CD 1) – jill.sourial@lacity.org

· Wendy Gruel (CD 2) – dale.thrush@lacity.org

· Dennis Zine (CD 3) - jonathan.brand@lacity.org

· Tom LaBonge (CD 4) – renee.weitzer@lacity.org

· Tony Cardenas (CD 6) – vanessa.soto@lacity.org

· Richard Alarcon (CD 7) – jose.sigala@lacity.org

· Bernard Parks (CD 8) – delara.rodriquez@lacity.org

· Jan Perry (CD 9) – greg.fischer@lacity.org

· Herb Wesson (CD 10) – andrew.westall@lacity.org

· Bill Rosenthal (CD 11) - grieg.asher@lacity.org

· Eric Garcetti (CD 13) – sam.siegel@lacity.org

· Janice Hahn (CD 15) - frank.hong@lacity.org

3. Attend the City Council meeting where Councilmember Huizar's motion will be heard at 10 a.m., Tuesday, September 11, in Council Chambers, Room 340, City Hall., 200 S. Spring Street (enter on Main).

For more information contact: saveelephanthills@yahoo.com.

* * * * * * *

MOTION -Submitted August 15, 2007

On November 28, 2006, the City Council referred a Motion (Huizar-Hahn) to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee that requested, among other things: (1) That the Planning Department, Building and Safety and the Bureau of Engineering, with the assistance of the City Attorney, to prepare a report, to determine whether the most recent grading plans and designs for the Pueblo Subdivision, evaluated against the previous Environmental Impact Report No. 172-85 (SUB)(REC), and its associated Statement of Overriding Considerations, trigger the need for a subsequent or supplemental Environmental Impact Report; (2) Whether new information of substantial importance related to the hydrology of the hillside triggers the need for a subsequent or supplemental Environmental Impact Report; (3) Whether all feasible mitigation measures, in light of substantial changes to the project and new information, have been incorporated into the Pueblo Subdivision Project; and (4) Whether any other circumstances exist that would merit conducting further environmental review under t he California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), including CEQA Guidelines (Sections 15162-15164).

The Motion further requested that no discretionary, ministerial action or approval be granted for the Pueblo Subdivision Project, or any portion thereof, by the Planning Department, Building and Safety and the Bureau of Engineering, until the above-described report is presented to the City Council.

On June 20, 2007, the City Council took the following two actions regarding this matter:
(1) "Received and Filed" the report of the Planning and Land Use Management Committee that was submitted without recommendation; and (2) Adopted a Verbal Motion (Huizar-Zine) relative to whether a further Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is required for the Pueblo Subdivision Project, to "require that a supplemental EIR be completed for this Project."

On August 8, 2007, the Board of Public Works adopted a recommendation of the City Engineer to: (1) Complete the remaining ministerial actions of issuing a B-Permit for work specified in the conditions for both Tract (No. 35022) and Parcel (No. AA-205-0849-PMLA) maps; (2) Process the Resolution of Acceptance for the dedication of land for the Pullman Street realignment adopted by the City Council on September 28, 2005; (3) Accept the final parcel map for recordation; and (4) Issue all other ministerial permits associated with the development of the Pueblo Avenue Subdivision (Elephant Hill).

The action of the Board to issue the B-Permits and take the other described actions is inconsistent with the City Council directive that supplemental environmental review be conducted on this project before it proceeds.

I THEREFORE MOVE the City Council take the necessary steps to assert jurisdiction over the August 8, 2007, action of the Board of Public Works in adopting a report of the City Engineer recommendation to (1) Complete the remaining ministerial actions of issuing a B-Permit for work specified in the conditions for both Tract (No. 35022) and Parcel (No. AA-205-0849-PMLA) maps; (2) Process the Resolution of Acceptance for the dedication of land for the Pullman Street realignment adopted by the City Council on September 28, 2005; (3) Accept the final parcel map for recordation; and (4) Issue all other ministerial permits associated with the development of the Pueblo Avenue Subdivision (Elephant Hill).

I FURTHER MOVE that upon assertion of jurisdiction by the City Council, that this matter be referred to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

PRESENTED BY Councilmember Jose Huizar

SECONDED BY Councilmember Tom LaBonge

Affordable Housing Article--San Fernando Sun

For all the folks interested in affordable housing, but then again who shouldn't be!? There's a couple of stories on affordable housing, testimonials, stats in this week's edition. Imma start living online soon enough, the rent is cheaper here anyway. Personalized addresses, saz!
Um, the link won't post, weak. ok no such thing as free rent, cut n' paste it homies.

http://sanfernandosun.com

(EDIT: since Cowboy Galactico didn't know how, I snuck and in hyperlinked it for ustedes... and here's a link to one of the specific articles he mentioned: "Housing Remains at Crisis Stage in Los Angeles County" - Nate)

Northeast Los Angeles Planning Session

Councilman Jose Huizar's second community-based planning discussion in Eagle Rock on Tuesday focused on the future of smart growth in Los Angeles.

The panelists included: Mike Woo, city planning commissioner; Emily Gabel-Luddy of the Urban Design Studio with the city; Woodie Tescher with EIP Associates; William Fain with Johnson Fain, who all spoke about the virtues of creating transit-based development around the city.

Several noteworthy points were brought up in the discussion: If we laid out every space dedicated to parking in Los Angeles, it would cover 81 percent of the city. The average Los Angeles car carries 1.2 people per ride. Only four percent of the city is dedicated to open space, compared to 17 percent for New York City. Repeatedly, the panelist discussed the ills that we already know plague the city - that we are too car-centered, that cities weren't designed to encourage pedestrian use, and that our auto-centered culture is no longer sustainable.

I was disappointed at the lack of diversity among the audience and panelists, especially in a council district such as Huizar's, considering that these sessions are meant to make planning issues accessible to the community. I submitted several questions on the impact of so-called "smart growth" on the gentrification of our communities and it was barely discussed or properly answered. However, the awareness that issues of density, land use, how we move around, and the creation of liveable communities was actively discussed. Although no exact vision for how it will all come together was articulated, the discussion seems to be moving along and involving the various agencies with a stake in community development.

Huizar will hold two more sessions:
Economic Development - Encouraging Small Business
Wed., Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.
El Sereno Senior Center, 4818 Klamath Place

Historic Preservation - A Link to Revitalization
Tues., Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.
Center for the Arts in Eagle Rock, 2225 Colorado Blvd.

"Southland home sales hit 12-year low"

This story highlighted a few things for me:

1) People consider low-income neighborhoods as "entry-level" homes, meaning they have no interest in settling there and starting a community.

2) The housing market is a reflection of the destabilization of the lower and middle class, who can lose all the have very quickly because of the lack of a safety net.

3) An economy based on housing speculation is unsustainable.

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Southland home sales hit 12-year low
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Even most creditworthy borrowers are feeling the crunch.

By Annette Haddad
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

August 15 2007

Would-be home buyers in Southern California continued to sit on the sidelines last month, driving down home sales to their slowest pace in 12 years and pushing down prices in the region's less-expensive neighborhoods, data released Tuesday showed.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-fi-homes15aug15,1,3968915.story?coll=la-headlines-california

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