The Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council is certified by the City of Los Angeles to work with stakeholders to improve the community and make your voice heard at City Hall. 

Call for Nominations: Both the Parks, River, and Open Space Committee Chair and Religious Community Representative Seat are vacant. This is an exciting opportunity to get involved in some of the GGPNC's most meaningful work.  Learn more about the positions and the process for applying here.

This Week in the GGPNC:

September 1st: 7:15 pm - Rules & Elections Committee Meeting

Next Week in the GGPNC:

September 8th: 7:00 pm - Planning, Zoning, & Historic Preservation Committee Meeting

News from the Neighborhood:

• Farm Feliz in association with The Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council Green Committee presents: EAST SIDE ECO TOUR: Sunday, October 24th, 2010.

  Do you have a home that you think ought to be on the 2^nd East Side Eco tour? We need a few more homes.  Do you want to share lessons that you have learned, with other homeowners in your quest to reduce your home’s eco footprint?
  

  It’s simply an open house. You would open your home (or some part thereof) and visitors would come a see your gray water system, your solar power, your passive cooling, your compost, your organic vegetable garden, … well you get the idea.
  

  Your home or business could be highly technical in its approach to footprint reduction or it could be some down to earth inexpensive lifestyle approach.  Farm Feliz will provide you with a volunteer to help you “host” your home on the day in the event that you are shy or uncomfortable speaking in front of groups.

  Go to see last year’s tour and the kind of sites that were on the tour.  This is a free tour. Our goal is to allow anyone to see first-hand how they can begin footprint reduction. 

  Contact Tomas O’Grady at TomasOgrady@ggpnc.org or 323 387 3866

• Click here for information from the Department of Water & Power on recent and upcoming construction in the neighborhood

• LAist features the Los Feliz Farmer's Market:

"The Los Feliz Village Farmers' Market is small...but mighty. Filling out two neat rows of booths in the parking lot of the Post Office on Vermont every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the farmers and vendors are joined by the Gastrobus, who make fresh fare using produce from the market, the Blue Bottle Coffee cart, and live music (on the Sunday we visited it was from the folksy duet Ampersand).

Stroll the aisles and ogle the giant croissants from France bakery, taste samples of nuts and dried fruits and chat with the representative from Farm Feliz, a group that is working to bring gardens and trees to schools and the community and more. A shaded tent gives people a spot near the music stage to sit and enjoy the corn flapjacks and scrambled eggs from the Gastrobus. And of course, pick up your eggs, fruits, veggies, and bread for the week here, too. Bring your own bags!"

and the Barndall Park Farmer's Market:

"The last days of summer may be rushing up behind us, but the season’s harvest still overflows in Los Feliz, thanks to the two (yes, two!) weekly farmers' markets that serve this community. One is the Los Feliz Farmers' Market, while the other is the LA Medical Center Farmers' Market, which visits Los Feliz every Wednesday from 12-6pm in the lower parking lot of Barnsdall Art Park on Hollywood Blvd.

The booths of the Wednesday market burst with organic goodness, including fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, dried fruit, baked goods, free-range eggs, and plants and flowers. Among the special treats are the homemade cheeses, hummus, and pitas of Ari’s Foods (as well as Ari himself, who will make you a delicious Middle Eastern hors d’oeuvre sampler), tamales, pupusas, corn-on-the-cob, sweet potato pie, fruit juices, and—a new addition—the Marigold Café, which cooks up delightful vegetarian Indian fusion foods, including their award-winning chili.

All of this makes the LA Medical Center Farmers Market a perfect midweek lunch stop. And the grassy lawn of the Barsndall Art Park on the upper level provides an ideal picnic area, complete with panoramic views of LA and the Hollywood Sign. So, bring your shopping bags and if you stay for a picnic lunch, and say hi to your neighbors!"

• The Garden is Blooming at King Middle School thanks to financial support from the GGPNC and the tireless volunteers from Farm Feliz!

 

• Chalk Repertory Company Premiers FLASH Festival in Los Feliz September 18th - October 10th

The FLASH Festival is an invitation for theatrical artists in Los Angeles to explore Chalk Rep’s defined and award winning style of theatre. Using unconventional venues, Chalk Rep shows audiences how space can transform theatre as well as theatre transforming space. For Chalk Rep’s first FLASH Festival, playwrights, directors, and actors will reinvent three different sites at Mount Hollywood Congregational Church in the heart of Los Feliz village.

Performances run September 18 – October 10, 2010, Saturday and Sunday nights at 8pm at Mount Hollywood Congregational Church, 4607 Prospect Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027. Five plays will be presented per weekend and a schedule of plays will be announced September 1st. Admission is by a suggested donation of $10. Reservations can be made in advance by calling 323-274-7737 or filling out an online form at ChalkRep.com.

• Full Length of the L.A. River declared "traditional navigable waters"

This designation by the Environmental Protection Agencies means that the L.A. River will be subject to the protections and regulations under the Clean Water Act.  The designation overturned an earlier ruling by the Army Corps of Engineers that only four miles of the river were navigable, which would have made it easier to develop its upper reaches by eliminating the need for certain federal permits.

• Check out the latest information on sewer projects in your neighborhood:

1.  Going to LASewers.org
 2.  Click "Current Sewer Construction Information"
3.  Select "Click to Look Up Project by: Council District"
4.  Select Council District No.
5.  Click "Project Information Report for each Project in Council District No."
6.  Select and click project name in the list

Los Feliz Village Featured on Lisa's Luck Travel Video

Viral Vimeo Features Views of Beautiful Los Feliz!

 

  New Mural Chosen for Myra Ave

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NEXT MURAL DESIGN
 

Since 2005, the GGPNC and the Franklin Hills Residents Association have sponsored three murals to grace the walls of the underpass that carries Sunset Blvd. over Myra Ave. For the fourth mural King Middle School students, inspired by teacher Kirk Palayan created 20 new designs. Click here to see all the 2010 designs.  At the FHRA Annual Meeting on June 19, 2010, student Michelle Kim's design "Soar" was announced as the winner.

Former Public Safety Committee Chairman Dan Sandman

Honored by Tom LaBonge and the LA City Council

Huge Turnout in GGPNC Elections

DISTRICT "A" Jeff Gardner=554 Laura S. Howe=551 Mio Vukovic=782 Frank W. Masi=796 Robert J.  Menz=109 DISTRICT "B" Christina Khanjian=851 John F. John Jr.=555 David Uebersax=516 Ron Ostrow=825 DISTRICT "C" Alex DeOcampo=914 Daniel Sandman=190 Andrea Iaderosa=158 Dominic Patten=89 Harpreet Malhi=821	DISTRICT "D" Sarah Napier=537 John Q. Lee=105 Thomas  Wilson=516 LeslieVanKeuren=795 Tomas O'Grady=849 DISTRICT "E" Jessica Kornberg=862 James McEwen=529 Mark F. Mauceri=798 Charley Mims=548 Candidates are listed in ballot order prepared by the City Clerk.

A BIG THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO VOTED

Over 1300 voters turned out on Saturday, March 20, 2010, to vote in the GGPNC Elections to choose 10 district representatives from among 23 candidates. It is by far the largest turnout in GGPNC history and one of the largest citywide. The official results above were released on Friday, March 26, 2010, by the City Clerk.  The new board members were automatically seated on May 8th, 2010. 

Even before the polls opened at 10am over 50 people were waiting in the morning sun, and the line to vote continued to grow during the day. At times almost 100 were in line and waiting over 20 minutes to get registered and get their ballot.

Once inside Durkee Hall at the Hollywood Lutheran Church, voters' registration forms were checked and then most joined a second line to receive their ballot. The City Clerk brought in extra help and extra voting booths. 

Late in the afternoon the lines grew and when the polls closed at 4pm there were still about 70 people in line the last of whom cast their votes after 4:30pm.

GGPNC Graduates First Community Emergency Response Team

About 90 GGPNC stakeholders (not all shown above) celebrate completion of Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). Their dedication during the 7 week course held early in 2010 makes all of us a bit safer. In the event of a major disaster their newly acquired skills in firefighting, medical triage, search and emergency co-ordination can help fill the void until other first responders arrive. For more  on CERT go to the GGPNC Public Safety Committee page.

A NEW Hollywood Community Plan
Coming to our Neighborhood

Very few of us have crystal balls that allow us to see into the future. But we can all see what our City Planners have in mind for our area in the latest draft version of the Hollywood Community Plan*. and your vision of what our neighborhoods should look like might, or might not include the proposed increases in density along streets like Vermont, Hillhurst and Hyperion or the reduced parking requirements in residential areas.

Luckily there is still time to make your views heard. The GGPNC Board has made comprehensive recommendations aimed at preserving the best of our area and improving areas in need. And in the coming months likely will weigh in again on the revised plan after studying the documents and hearing what you have to say. The city Planning Department is also planning public meetings on this latest City Hall vision of our area's future once all the documents are prepared, probably sometime this fall. We'll keep you adivised.

It is a complicated process that boils down to a simpler decision: is this going to help or hurt the quality of life in my neighborhood? We urge all stakeholders to look at the documents, come to the meetings, let your voices be the community's crystal ball to the future. Who knows better what we need, want and expect on our home turf.

*Please note this is a large file download of more than 13Mb

 

GGPNC Recommendations and info on Hollywood Community Plan Proposals

 THANKS for YOUR HELP AT BIG SUNDAY 2009

Landscaping at King Middle School

LA River Cleanup

click links below photos for more info.

Billboards In Los Angeles

On August 7, 2009 the City Council passed a ban on new billboards including digital and supergraphics to avoid the possible effects of an expected court ruling.  Click Here for more info and to see the GGPNC's Area Billboard Survey and Community Impact Statements plus other links.  

Griffith Park Wins

Van Griffith, great grandson of Griffith Park's donor, along with Councilmember Tom LaBonge reach new photo-op heights as everyone celebrates the dedication of Griffith Park as City Historic-Cultural Monument # 942. The dedication ceremony speakers repeatedly noted  the overwhelming support from the community through hundreds of letters, e-mails and appearances at  commission and council meetings as an important element in making protection of Griffith Park a reality. As Van Griffith said, "this is not for us but for those who come after us...for a 1000 years." Click here for background on the battle to preserve Griffith Park as a city Historic-Cultural Monument.

To visit the discontinued website click here