Minutes Detail
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Urban Design & Preservation Advisory Committee (UD&PAC)
Chair – Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov
Governing Board Member, Representative At-Large

Regular Monthly Meeting Minutes
May 12, 2010, 6:30 PM

Citibank/ Community Room
2450 Glendale Bl., Los Angeles, CA 90039

I. Call to Order 6:30 p.m.
II. Introductions 6:31 p.m.
In Attendance (35)
Governing Board Members (9): Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov (Chair of UD&PAC, At-Large Representative), Rusty Millar (Co-Chair of SLNC Governing Board, Region 4 Representative), Leonardo Chalupowicz (At Large Representative), Scott Crawford (Region 1 Representative), Charles Herman-Wurmfeld (At Large Representative), Amanda Berman/ not voting (Region 5 Representative)
Gale Jaffe/ not voting (Region 4 Representative), Faisal Alserri/ not voting, (Region 3 Representative),
Sarah Dale/ not voting (At Large Representative)
Committee Members (2): Leni Fleming, Wes Joe (leaves at 7:05 p.m.)
Applicants (2): Mike Groszkruger (Agenda Item #2), Ben Pohlmeier (Agenda Item #3)
City Representatives (1): Ryan Carpio (Field Representative for Council President Eric Garcetti, CD13)
Stakeholders for Agenda Item #1 (6): Stephanie Vendig, Jenna Martin, Nina Eliasoph, Olivia Lichterman, Leo (Ms. Eliasoph’s son), Ron Alejandro, Stakeholders for Agenda Item #2 (1): Eric Knutzen
Stakeholders for Agenda Item #3: (14) Anita McMillan, Bill Murphy, Larry Kronish, Ann Bradley, Tom Thompson,
M. Delory, Sarnowski, Michelle Poulik, Nick Melli, Nick Mellis, Dorothy Gill, Ron Evans, Ron….
General Stakeholders (2): Ronald Van Ammers, Laura Dwan
Recording Secretary: Edith Darling

III. Announcements 6:35 p.m.
Scott Crawford – Come to Silver Lake Jubilee on May 22 and 23.
IV. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items (2 min. each) 6:36 p.m.
Amanda Colligan – Representing Imagine Silver Lake, a group interest in extending hours of street closure in the farmer’s market area. The market would close up, and the area would
become a pedestrian plaza. Business owners are interested.
Response – Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov –Recommends to it to the SLNC Governing Board
directly. Motion should be presented no later than May 22 in preparation for June 2SLNC Gov. Board meeting.
Response – Sarah Dale – Recommends having the businesses there to speak in support of the Motion.
Response – Amanda Berman: Go to Bureau of Street Service’s website for more information.
Leonardo Chalupowicz: In full disclosure, Charles Herman-Wurmfeld and I participate in Imagine
Silver Lake.

V. New Business:
1. Proposed Sustainable Practices: 6:40 p.m. Suggested voluntary items to be implemented, at their discretion, by businesses,
property owners, institutions, utilities and the City of Los Angeles to promote walking, cycling, and public transit riding as viable alternatives to driving in Silver Lake.
1. Support the expansion of the Los Feliz DASH to Silver Lake
2. Support efforts to increase public transportation service to Silver Lake
3. Champion the expansion of protected bicycle lanes and installation of bicycle racks.
4. Promote ride sharing and carpooling
5. Provide free deliveries and/or rides home for pedestrian shoppers
6. Collaborate in the creation of a park or living street in front of business or nearby
7. Plant and maintain low water trees along the street in front or nearby to promote foot traffic
8. Install sidewalks where missing and improve existing ones

Leonardo Chalupowicz – List can be expanded to accommodate each business. Hope we can leave today with a vote to bring it before the SLNC Governing Board.
Scott Crawford – The Restaurant “Local” agreed on the condition of having bike valet. I visited the restaurant and asked about it. Employee knew nothing about it. How do we ensure that the businesses follow through?
Response – Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – Any condition put in a motion at committee level will be voted upon Governing Board level. If approved, that motion with all the conditions are sent officially in a form of a SLNC correspondence to the Department of City Planning/ Zoning Administration. Most of the time, our conditions have been included into the final disposition of the ZA, AA, etc. It becomes a part of the disposition for granted variance and is enforceable by the City.
Amanda Berman – Supports the motion. To better enforce, the people need to communicate with business owners and demand the promised improvement. Suggests adding to the list that businesses can place recycle and trash cans on sidewalks.
Sarah Dale – City is negligent of trash cans that exist and doesn’t add more. Trash goes into the gutters. We should form a trash can committee. Perhaps in cooperation with a non-profit.
Laura Dwan – Building parking structures will allow visitors to park their cars and walk the community.
Wes Joe – Emphasize improvements that do not depend on the government and on enforcement. Was upset that DASH extension did not go south of Sunset. DASH needs to go into higher density and lower income parts of Silver Lake. This would require 1 million dollar subsidy. Not possible until the city has its financial house in order. Volunteer options would be more successful.
Leonardo Chalupowicz – We went with that route because businesses were the ones funding it. The extensions served the businesses. Would have to find corporate sponsorship.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – Please, remember that we do not sponsor corporate business in Silver Lake.
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld– Could we include in the motion that DASH should extend south of Sunset?
Leonardo Chalupowicz – Believes that DASH should be a separate motion.
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld– Trees by bus stops would be important.
Eric Knutzen – City sees Silver Lake as a thoroughfare for people going from Arcadia to Koreatown. We’d have to go in a large group to a Department of Transportation (DOT) public hearing. Also, “A Safe Route to School” money is getting lost. It is federal money filtered through the City. LA is not using the money.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – Add to the motion that the UD&PAC will form a task force handling this topic. Propose that Leonardo Chalupowicz and Eric Knutzen can work together.
Sarah Dale – Proposed Sustainable Practices for Businesses – Work closely with the SL Chamber of Commerce. We could promote sustainable businesses on the SL Chamber of Commerce website. It’s important to do it in a positive way. “Did you know the city will give you a free tree?”
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – We have worked with the SL Chamber of Commerce since the formation of this committee in 2003. We invite the businesses as a partner. It’s been successful in many ways. The SL Chamber of Commerce is part of community and they are at the table.
Faisal Alserri – I like this idea. These items would be suggestions to businesses. You cannot enforce the suggestions, but you can offer a carrot by highlighting the businesses that do these things voluntarily. We could post information about them on our website.
Leonardo Chalupowicz – Everyone with ideas can come at 10 a.m. on Sunday to the Coffee Table. Outreach Committee meeting.
Motion that UD&PAC supports the Concept of Greening and that the SLNC will provide local businesses with menu of suggested voluntary items to be implemented at their discretion, by businesses,
property owners, institutions, utilities and the City of Los Angeles to promote walking, cycling and public transit riding as viable alternatives to driving in Silver Lake.
1) Support the expansion of the Los Feliz DASH to Silver Lake
2) Support efforts to increase public transportation service to Silver Lake
3) Champion the expansion of protected bicycle lanes and installation of bicycle racks.
4) Promote ride sharing and carpooling
5) Provide free deliveries and/or rides home for pedestrian shoppers
6) Collaborate in the creation of a park or “living street” in front of business or nearby
7) Plant and maintain low water/ canopy producing trees along the street in front, or nearby to promote foot traffic
Install sidewalks where missing and improve/ repair existing ones
9) Installation of water fountains.
The UD&PAC will establish a task force with Leonardo Chalupowicz and Eric Knutzen to move on the implementation of this effort.
VOTE: Unanimous. Motion carries.

2. Proposal for Rowena Ave. Planted Median 7:10 p.m.
Presentation, Discussion and Possible Action (40 min.)
Mike Groszkruger:
Presents packets of information on proposed road diet. The project would be digestible. Could be part of a beta project as well. Project is divided into three phases.
Three areas would include:
1) Rowena between Hyperion and Glendale.
2) Glendale Blvd. between Rowena and Riverside.
3) Glendale Blvd. between Rowena and Fletcher Dr.
Glendale and Rowena is a very dangerous intersection because the layout encourages high speeds despite the 35 mph speed limit. This is a residential area with three schools nearby. Road diet would be cutting lane down from two lanes each way to one lane each way. There would then be a central safety lane and bike lanes. Mike has presented the proposal to Concilmember Tom LaBonge, and he indicated to be in support of it. The measure improves the neighborhood by providing a sense of place. It could save the City money, as well. It would create opportunity for extra metered parking spaces. Work could be done concurrently with the DWP’s Rowena project. DWP will be doing some sort of construction on all of the involved streets in this proposal. City was talking about ways to spend 3.5 million dollars. The City is looking for shovel-ready, pedestrian oriented and bike access projects. The proposal provides for the crucial link between the bike paths on LA River and Atwater and those existing lanes on Glendale Blvd., Silver Lake Blvd., and Hyperion.
Q&A with Board and Stakeholders:
Leonardo Chalupowicz – Traffic lanes could be 10 ft., not 11. Bike lanes could be 5 ft. instead of 4 ft. What about a safety island? It does not include a parkway. There are no bulb outs on the sidewalks.
Mike Groszkruger – We could dress it up more lately. This version would be at minimal cost to the City and done concurrently with the construction on Rowena. A lot of the project expenses would be fobbed off to DWP.
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld – Would advocate the possibility of placing bicycle lanes between parked cars and sidewalks.
Mike Groszkruger – There’s nowhere to go between the sidewalk and the parked car. It’s more dangerous.
Ronald Van Ammers – Would an example be what they did on SL Blvd. 15 years ago?
Mike Groszkruger – Not sure of that exact project. Many examples of road diets done in other places.
Ronald Alejandro – Big fan of bike lane between cars and sidewalk. They have parking bumpers. They put parking bumpers in Eugene, OR.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – Can you present an illustration of this?
Faisal Alserri – Opportunities to maximize what we can do. Worked hard to get city to dedicate 10% of measure R funds to biking. There will be 1.6 million dollars for bicycle and pedestrian projects. State has regulations that slow down the city’s progress.
Mike Groszkruger – At this point this is the most basic plan. It was designed that way to take advantage of a rare opportunity.
Nina Eliasoph –Any research on safest location for bike lanes?
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – Planted median between traffic lanes and bike lanes. Unfortunately, our roads in SL are not wide enough for such approach.
Mike Groszkruger – Timing is right now. Less than one mile for all three phases. It’s a small portion of the 3.5 million. People in Eagle Rock or Glendale might be upset about their commute route being slowed down.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – Silver Lake is not a thoroughfare for Eagle Rock or Glendale. The roads in SL currently function like a highway.
Mike Groszkruger– Packets have more information on the specifics of the road plan as well as on road diets in general.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov offer motion that UD&PAC supports the proposal on committee level to bring it to June 2 SLNC Gov. Board meeting agenda. The UD&PAC move that Mike Groszkruger to be the point person for this task.
VOTE: Unanimous. Motion carries.

3. Silver Lake Junction Theater 7:50 p.m.
Proposal for Theater Company and Community Space to be established at the Korean Church – Corner of Griffith Park Blvd. and Lucille Ave.
Benjamin Pohlmeier – Outlines plans for the conversion of Korean Church into Theater-Based Community Center. No application with the City, so he is here seeking feedback from UD&PAC on the project and advice for an efficient application to the City. Plans include a theater-in-the-round, other rooms for smaller productions, room for band practices, dance classes, a tract of administrative offices, and a small food service area.
Other ideas included. Biggest issue when trying to create new use for established property is parking.
Parking conditions are the same for both uses. They won’t be changing the sizes of the rooms. Parking that had been allocated for the Church will serve the Center. The restaurant will require extra parking. Jonathan would like to reiterate for the issue of parking that the problems are alleviated.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – Have you talked to Fandango Salon for leasing their parking after hours?
Benjamin Pohlmeier – Not yet.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – How many parking spaces will you need to provide for the restaurant? The Code asks for 100 SF per 1 space.
Benjamin Pohlmeier – Has to look into it.
Leonardo Chalupowicz – We shouldn’t be talking about the cafeteria right now. Process would come later.
Amanda Berman – Discloses that she’s working on this project with Mr. Pohlmeier. It’s not really a restaurant that they plan to have. It’s more of a catering cafe. Silver Lake Wine would have a place where they serve wine. Food would be light.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – Suggests calling it a cafeteria in the application. Contact a land use consultant to get an idea of the language.
Scott Crawford– You’ll be the landlord and you’ll sublease the restaurant. Eliminate it from your presentation entirely.
Faisal Alserri – We should be looking at projects holistically. We should also be dealing with issues of health and safety. Parking absolutely falls into this realm.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – Believes it’s a doable project because Fandango Salon might be able to provide parking in the evenings.
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld– Great idea. Asset to neighborhood. It’s a wonderful idea to be located by the Farmer’s Market and the rest of the business establishments along Sunset Bl. Re: parking, we threaten the health of people by sustaining the car culture. 4000 people die every year in automobiles. This is a unique location with three bus lines nearby.
Faisal Alserri – When you don’t provide parking, people circle and cause more emissions.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – We can work with people to educate them, but we still need to offer parking.
Leonardo Chalupowicz – This is a perfect project to encourage pedestrianism.
Scott Crawford – You haven’t addressed basement. Another location for seating. We are a creative community. We don’t have a theater in our neighborhood.
Amanda Berman – The most visible use of the space would be for theatrical productions. Could be a gathering space, a Community Center. This is a strong idea. We have to start t build the brand and look for funding.
Leonardo Chalupowicz – Have you talked to neighbors yet?
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov recommends doing that. That is a crucial and important support for the project. The nearby neighbors are number one witness. SLNC might be able to help link this Applicant with organizations that get funding. When you have more information necessary for presentation, e-mail Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov.

4. 931 Micheltorena Street – Notification for installation in the public right of way of T-Mobile 8:30 pm
48 feet high cell communication phone tower with an associated on the ground utility cabinet.
Nick Noella – He is here for the information of a cell tower coalition. T-Mobile has notified us saying they plan to put a cell tower in front of our houses. The homeowners here are the six they notified via certified letter. We have close to 100 signatures in opposition from the community. We can’t fight the tower, but we can fight the electrified box.
They served Jeffrey Landau from City Planning Dept. with letter of protest demanding a proper public hearing. They’ve followed a case described on a website called www.getthecelloutofhere.com. Faxed to City Attorney’s Office 23 letters of protest. No response from T-Mobile at all.
Ryan Carpio – Introduces himself as the SL Field Deputy for Council President Eric Garcetti, CD13.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – The proposal is on the public right-of-way. That makes impossible for the SLNC to intervene.
Neighbor- Private construction company came with large equipment and began to get set up. He came out and asked about a permit. They left in the time it took for him to go into his house and get a camera. Regrettably, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) still does not accept that health-based concerns are valid, despite of numerous recent studies which suggest some treat. Only noise, obstructed view and damage to property values are recognized for the time being.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – Been involved in two previous cases like this. She went with the effected homeowners to a public hearing before the City Wireless Communication Facility (WCF) Commission. It took lots of negotiations but the neighbors lost. The UD&PAC have been successful with 909 Kodak T-Mobil Application because they wanted to put their facility on top of a building. That was case was not by-right and it required variance. This case now is by-right. The only people who qualify for any action are the neighbors, notified by the City officially, not the SL Neighborhood Council. The SLNC is considered a City entity, so they cannot oppose anything that’s By-Right.
Speak to Chris Spitz. This woman can advise you as to how to proceed.. If your Council Member can support you, maybe he has some power. Encourage everyone to get together and start fighting with the City.
Ron Evans – Six owners who have been notified. They have to send certified letter demanding a public hearing.
Rusty Millar – What’s the radius that they have to notify people?
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – In general, it’s 500 ft., but in this case it may be just the immediately adjacent property owners.
Faisal Alserri – Worked on a couple of these. One of them was T-Mobile. Process issue was that the FCC and local governments do not have the authority to say that the tower can’t be here based on location. You can oppose it based on the aesthetics. We had a case where an above-ground square facility where it was documented that children play in front of it. They moved the tower and put it underground. (?) The second case was that they did a fake tree.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – Emphasize on terms of quality of life.
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld – Stuck on the idea why they can’t resist the pole. Perhaps we can resist T-Mobile’s territorial approach in our neighborhood. If we ascertain that they are inappropriate, we can put forth a motion.
Rusty Millar – [asks Ryan Carpio] If the SLNC takes a position and send it into the City, what would Council President Garcetti’s position be?
Ryan Carpio – City of LA can’t prevent it. We have tried to co-locate T-mobile and AT&T to one pole. City Council wouldn’t necessarily let’s take a stand. It would take a lot of people and a lot of organizing. You’d have to make a showing that says we support this kind of movement.
Rusty Millar – The SLNC Gov. Board can take a position demonstrating its support of residents in these cases.
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov – The company (T-Mobile or any other company) has to send letter of notification only. They don’t need anyone’s approval.
Gale Jaffe – T-Mobile said their wavelength was much shorter than AT&T and Verizon. That’s why they have to put out the little boxes all over.
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld asks Mr. Noella to come and make a public comment at the SLNC meetings over the next few months. To keep the people informed on the progress of the case.
VI. CNC Report – New Applications and Items for June 9 UD&PAC meeting 8:45 p.m.
VII. Adjournment 9:00 p.m.