Plans to save $1.5 million by merging the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment with another agency may be put on hold amid new calls Friday for restructuring the system.

In looking for ways to resolve the Los Angeles budget crisis, officials had proposed consolidating DONE with the Community Development Department. But advocates of DONE lobbied hard to preserve the agency, which oversees some 90 neighborhood councils citywide.

On Friday, a City Council panel recommended a 90-day study of how DONE could be restructured to save money while preserving an independent voice for the neighborhood councils.

“What I’m proposing is we oppose the consolidation and start a new look at what we can do,” said Councilman Paul Krekorian, who chairs the Neighborhoods and Education Committee.

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As the chairman of the City Council’s Education and Neighborhoods Committee, I would like to congratulate you on your election to the Neighborhood Council. Through your commitment to service on the neighborhood councils, you have taken an important step toward making your community and out entire city stronger.

Today, the neighborhood council movement sits at a crossroads. Neighborhood councils were born in Los Angeles just a decade ago and we have much to celebrate in what has been a robust start. At the same time, neighborhood councils are facing significant fiscal and political challenges and my committee has been deliberating a variety of proposals for the future structure of neighborhood councils, including changes to the funding program and wholesale changes to the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE). Throughout this turbulent time, I will always be fully committed to ensuring that neighborhood councils remain a vital and effective component of the governance of Los Angeles.

Above all else, I wanted to take a moment and thank you. Your efforts to shape and strengthen your community have immeasurably contributed to making this city a better place. I look forward to working together with you to maximize the potential of neighborhood empowerment.

Please feel free to contact my office or leave a comment on our blog, cd2policy.wordpress.com. My staff and I welcome your suggestions on how we can ensure the neighborhood council movement remains as strong, transparent and efficient as possible.

Very truly yours,

PAUL KREKORIAN
Councilmember, Second District

The Los Angeles City Council approved a plan Friday for completing the long-stalled shopping center known as Midtown Crossing, bringing the total amount of city loans and subsidies for the project to $34 million.

On a 9-2 vote, the council agreed to provide real estate developer CIM Group with a new $19.3-million loan to finish the shopping center, which would include a Lowe’s home improvement center.

Under the terms of the deal, the loan would operate more like a grant. CIM Group would be able to pay most, and possibly all, of the money back using sales, business and utility tax revenue generated by the project — money that normally goes into the city’s budget.

The vote occurred nine months after the council approved a $30-million loan to help CIM Group lure Cirque du Soleil to a theater at its Hollywood & Highland shopping center.

And it came two hours after two top policy analysts released a report stating that the city’s various contributions for Midtown Crossing, when spread over a 30-year period, could exceed $90 million.

CIM Group said in a statement that the vote would allow construction to begin immediately at Midtown Crossing, spurring a “revitalization” of the neighborhood.

Councilmen Dennis Zine and Paul Krekorian, both of whom represent the San Fernando Valley, voted against the plan.

“CIM Group has not met my expectations sufficiently to justify increasing the city’s investment in this project,” said Krekorian, who sent mailers during last year’s election campaign criticizing the city’s Cirque du Soleil loan.

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Dear Friend,

Thank you for letting me know about your concerns regarding the mural at the Studio City Car Wash.
As you know, the current issue at the car wash is the result of a long series of disputes over the owner’s compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Initially, the mural at the car wash was classified as a “sign” under the Ventura-Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan. That designation was triggered because a portion of the mural originally contained language advertising the car wash business.

If the mural is considered a sign, as it was then designated, it would be barred by the specific plan which aims to limit visual blight often caused by on-site advertising.

The property owner was therefore required to obtain an exception to the specific plan from the city before putting up the mural, but he failed to do so.

In addition, the city’s zoning code prohibits murals that don’t exhibit any form of advertising from being placed on private property, unless specifically permitted by specific plans or other local means.

After the mural was painted, and after the city received complaints about it, the owner applied for a specific plan exception and zone variance to permit the mural. That request was eventually denied in March by the South Valley Area Planning Commission.

Our office would have been happy to review the case – as we do with other neighborhood issues – but the owner never asked us for help before the hearing. Moreover, the owner chose not to exercise his right to appeal the denial to the City Council. Without an appeal, the commission’s decision was finalized, essentially eliminating the City Council’s ability to provide any help on the matter.

This case arises from unusual circumstances, and if handled differently from the outset it could have been resolved more easily in a way that would permit the mural while still respecting the integrity of the specific plan. Now that I am in office, I will work with the owner and the community toward an outcome that allows the mural to remain in a way that complies with the specific plan.

This case did alert me to the city’s prohibition of murals in large parts of the city, a restriction that I believe is inconsistent with Los Angeles’ reputation as on of the creative centers of the world.

There are currently two motions pending in the council that seek to resolve the issue by amending the municipal code to eliminate this restrictive policy and instead encourage the proliferation of murals throughout this city.

I will support these motions and will continue to work hard to support public art in Los Angeles.
While I feel very strongly about the protections afforded to us by specific plans, there are changes we can make to the zoning code that will allow our neighborhoods to be enriched by public art that does not violate any specific plans.

As always, please let me know how we can be of service to you.

Very truly yours,

PAUL KREKORIAN
Councilmember, Second District
Los Angeles City Council

The Department of Water and Power should exempt the cash-strapped Los Angeles Unified School District from an increase in electricity bills starting July 1, Councilman Paul Krekorian said Friday.

He filed a motion urging the City Council to request that the utility give the LAUSD a break from the rate hike. He noted the school district is already $650 million in the red and has issued layoff notices to 5,200 employees.

“When there’s an increase in electricity charges, that eats into the limited amount in discretionary funds that any school district has left after paying its teachers and its staff,” Krekorian, a former school board member in Burbank, told City News Service.

“That means that for every million dollars more that LAUSD has to pay to the DWP, it’s a million dollars less in supplies, after-school programming, music instruction, textbooks and so forth,” Krekorian said. “It’s a direct hit to education in the classroom to increase the rates on LAUSD.”

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The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power should exempt the city’s cash-strapped school district from an increase in electricity bills starting July 1, Councilman Paul Krekorian said Friday.

He filed a motion urging the City Council to request that the utility give the Los Angeles Unified School District a break from the rate hike. He noted the district is already $650 million in the red and has issued layoff notices to 5,200 employees.

“When there’s an increase in electricity charges, that eats into the limited amount in discretionary funds that any school district has left after paying its teachers and its staff,” Krekorian said.

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Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian on Friday called on the Department of Water and Power to exempt the Los Angeles Unified School District from having to pay an upcoming 4.8% electric rate hike.

Krekorian, who represents part of the east San Fernando Valley, said the increase would only add to the financial crisis at the district, which is facing a $640-million shortfall.

The councilman, a former Burbank school board member, was unsure of the precise cost to L.A. Unified of the pending rate hike but warned that any increase would drain resources from classrooms.

“A million [dollars] that they pay in electrical rates is a million they can’t pay for supplies and athletic equipment and music instruction,” said Krekorian, who voted against the DWP rate increase, which goes into effect July 1.

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Born to an Armenian family in Kharpert-Mezreh, Dr. Hagopian has dedicated his life to the visual documentation of the Turkish extermination of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915. In all, his work encompasses nearly 400 interviews of survivors and witnesses to the Armenian Genocide and 40 years of research.

Dr. Hagopian, along with a group of Armenian-American community leaders, created the Armenian Film Foundation in 1979 as a non-profit, educational and cultural organization dedicated to the documentation in motion pictures of Armenian heritage and life. As one of its main aims, the Armenian Film Foundation seeks to preserve the visual and personal histories of the witnesses to the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

For more information about the Armenian Film Foundation, please visit www.armenianfilm.org.

April 16, 2010

The First 100 Days: A Special Report

LOS ANGELES – Councilmember Paul Krekorian released a special report yesterday to commemorate his 100th day on the City Council since being sworn.

Krekorian was elected on Dec. 8 and sworn in by City Clerk June Lagmay on Jan. 5. From the first week, when storms pounded the Foothills portion of his district – threatening homes with potential mudslides – to a series of violent acts that upset the peaceful balance of portions of CD2, his first three months have been anything but calm.

“But I expected no less, and my staff and I have done our best to address the city’s challenges with vigor,” Councilmember Krekorian said. “In my first 100 days, I stood up against three DWP rate increase proposals, took action to eliminate mobile billboards from our streets and helped get the ball rolling in greatly reducing the number of medical marijuana clinics in our community.”

The report can be read here (.pdf) via our completely new website, cd2.lacity.org.

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