By Jeff Hall
At the Brentwood Community Council (BCC) meeting, held February 12, two new LAPD officials were introduced.
Captain Jonathan Tom, who attended University High School, is the new captain for the West LA Station; Matt Kirk is our new Senior Lead Officer, responsible for Brentwood.
Senior Lead Officer Maria Gray recently retired.
Cut this out or write this down: To contact Captain Tom, send an email to [email protected].
To reach Senior Lead Officer Kirk, email [email protected]. The numbers stand for their badge numbers.
To call the West LA Station, the number is (310) 444-0744.
Ron Galperin, LA City Controller, gave an in-depth review of city finances. He was fairly critical of LA’s efforts to house the homeless; he pointed out that after raising $1.2 billion in taxes, three and a half years later, fewer than 50 new housing units have been built.
Mayor Garcetti, Mike Bonin and others have said Angelenos are about to see a lot of progress and that the problem of homelessness won’t be solved overnight.
Galperin questioned the cost of units being proposed (some are proposed to cost as much as $500K to $700K each), with as much as 40% of this going to satisfy regulatory and approval requirements.
To find out more about the Los Angeles City budget, go to: lacontroller.org.
Michelle Bisnoff, BCC chair, said The Getty was doing a great job cutting back on brush up in the hills near The Getty, thereby reducing fire danger.
Attendee Wendy-Sue Rosen said cutting back on native bush plants wasn’t universally recognized as good for the environment or even all that beneficial when it comes to fire management practices.
Bisnoff responded by saying if the LAFD approves of what The Getty is
doing, she is happy to post that on BCC’s website.
Sheila Simmons attempted to put forward a motion that would highly curtail scooter companies (Bird, Lime, Wheelz, etc.) from parking on sidewalks, calling these “dockless” vehicles a safety hazard to pedestrians.
Several on the BCC board wanted to give the companies a chance to present their case, so this action was continued till next month’s meeting (second Wednesday of every month).
The BCC is hosting a special meeting on the issue of homelessness in the neighborhood. It will be held March 28 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Kaufman Branch Library. The meeting is open to the public.
The Brentwood Community Council is made up of stakeholder groups, including local homeowner associations and representatives of business operators, schools, religious institutions and other groups. Committees focus on issues like traffic, safety, schools and homelessness.
Input from the BCC is considered critical by elected officials and other policymakers. For more information, go to: BrentwoodCommunityCouncil.org.
