GETTING INVOLVED AND SPEAKING OUT
A Neighborhood Council Committee Invites me to Present
If you care about preservation issues, then I strongly urge you to go online and find out about your local Neighborhood Council. Each NC has one or more committees that deal with various issues of importance to the local community. Last week, I was invited to attend the monthly meeting of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Urban Design & Preservation (UDP) Advisory Committee. Quoting directly from their webpage:
"The Urban Design and Preservation Committee (UDP) is Silver Lake’s land use committee. The name UDP was devised in 2009 when the committee started as we do more than review land use issues: we do our best to holistically look out for the urban design and architectural preservation of our community. UDP coordinates, advises, develops alternative suggestions and provides a voice for the community with regards to Urban Planning, Design, Development, and Preservation issues within Silver Lake."
The UDP met to discuss the Conditional Use permit for the legacy nightclub Akbar, located at the intersection of Sunset Blvd and Fountain Ave. The owners gave a most interesting and heart-felt presentation as to the various steps and actions they take to ensure that their patrons have a safe time. They talked about the extensive training provided to all employees and the various security systems in place to monitor the surroundings. I was impressed and they received a unanimous vote of support.
Following the vote, most of the public left and it was just the Committee members, one member of the public, and me. I was invited by UDP co-chair Carol Cetrone to talk about the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety building demolition notification process. Or, I should say, talk about what's wrong with the process and how it can be improved. Carol saw my recent Substack post about this issue (text version or audio version) and reached out.
Since she asked me to provide a brief talk, I figured it would be 10 minutes for a formal presentation followed by a few questions and answers. Instead, the talk quickly became very interactive and ran for 40 minutes or more. Unlike a City Council meeting where you are given a minute to voice your comments and no one pays attention, the UDP committee members were very interested in what I had to say. They really demonstrated their appreciation by being so engaged.
I had a great time. It was fun getting back into the practice of pulling together a brief presentation and creating a PowerPoint handout. While a blog post lets you ramble on and on, a PowerPoint presentation forces you to really organize your thoughts and distill everything down to a few bullet points.
I urge you to check out my PowerPoint pdf presentation posted below. While based on my prior Substack post, it contains some new material. Also bear in mind that the solutions I present are possible or potential ideas, they are not absolutes. The lack of transparency in the City’s process limits the ability for anyone outside the system to propose an exact solution. At best, one can only point out the symptoms and hope that some official will one day step up and implement a cure. Is there a doctor in the house? As always, I welcome your feedback and comment.
The Silver Lake UDP holds their meeting every 2nd Wednesday of the month in the Recreation Center. Please check out the Silver Lake NC website for agenda and info about other committees. Or, if you live outside the area, then check online for your local neighborhood council. Most meetings are open to the public and they really deserve everyone's support.