Our credit cards bear testament to our commitment to patronize local businesses as much as we can.  But occasionally we are looking for what cannot be found in Eagle Rock.  There are times our friends from outside the 'hood suggest we meet for dinner in areas surrounding Eagle Rock.  This has caused me to reflect on the larger picture of Eagle Rock as a home in a larger community, and how we are surrounded by other great communities that help Eagle Rock meet the test of location, location, location. 

Drawing a circle around where we live so that it represents 10 - 15 minutes away from home, we are treated to a treasure trove of shopping and dining and entertainment options beyond what the small town scale of Eagle Rock can offer.  During a recent trip to Glendale (Galleria and Americana) to buy a pair of shoes, I reflected on how beautiful both venues were and what an incredible array of major merchants are there.  I had the choice of buying shoes for $600 at Bloomingdales or $50 at JC Penny.  Suddenly Cole Haan didn't seem so pricey.  Ladies trendy fashions can be found at rock bottom prices at H&M and Target or break-the-bank prices at Nordstrom.  Traveling East to Pasadena, still within just a few minutes, once again you will find an abundance of restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues 

Traveling just a little further we can easily reach Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, the most convenient airport in the greater Los Angeles area.  Avoid rush hour and a trip to downtown LA is only 20 minutes.  And, if you know the surface streets (forget the freeways) you can reach downtown in less than half an hour, even during commute times.  I know it's a radical alternative for many, but we also have great bus service to downtown.  Eagle Rock is a great example of the importance of location on so many levels. 

A New Neighborhood Council is in Town

The fact that the election for the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council proceeded with considerably less drama this year is a good thing.  However, it is very sad that out of a population of approximately 40,000 residents, only 246 residents chose to participate in the election.  Acknowledging that some portion of the residents are children and not potential voters, each person who did vote was representing 163 residents. 

Outreach to the community could have been better.  Mailings from the Council were only sent to residents of the 90041 zip code.  However, Eagle Rock residents also live in portions of 90042 and 90065.  The relocation of the "Meet the Candidates" meeting from City Hall to the Center for the Arts probably also influenced the community outcome since the number of candidates exceeded the dozen attendees at the meeting.  The lack of the election being highly controversial, which is a good thing,  certainly also contributed to the lackluster turnout.   

All seats are full now and David Greene has been chosen as the new president.  We owe a debt of gratitude to David and all of those who have agreed to serve on the Council.  Please make it your business to identify your representative which you can do at the ERNC website -  www.eaglerockcouncil.org.  Also, please consider attending a Council meeting.  They are held the first Tuesday of each month, 7PM at Eagle Rock City Hall.  Check the ERNC calendar at http://www.eaglerockcouncil.org/calendar/ to confirm the scheduling. 

Specific Plan Update / Business Hours

As reported in the April newsletter, TERA voted to work with the Council Office to revise the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan so that businesses would not be required to close at 9PM or to go through an expensive process to acquire an exception to this requirement from the City.  As I drove up Colorado Boulevard about 9:30PM on a recent Saturday night a large number of food / beverage locations were doing a brisk business.  The Boulevard was alive and inviting.  I suspect that some merchants have made the large investment in securing business hour exceptions; I also suspect many have not. 

A first meeting has been held to move this effort forward.  Michael Nogueira, representing the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce, David Greene representing the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, Michael Tharp and Bob Gotham representing TERA, and Zenay Loera and Kevin Ocubillo representing the Council Office participated in this meeting.  The primary goal of the meeting was to reach agreement on the goal(s) that would be pursued by this initiative.  The Chamber of Commerce and TERA support limiting this effort to the issue of business hours, although there was discussion of other possible revisions beyond the topic of business hours. 

Previous understandings that the only way to alter a Specific Plan was to open the entire plan for a lengthy, expensive and comprehensive review may not be true today.  It is possible that requests to make limited, straight-forward revisions to the plan may be possible on a more expedient basis.  The Council Office is researching this possibility and will report back to the team at our next meeting.  Should this be true, it provides further support to the notion that the change to the plan should be as straight-forward and simple as possible. 

Should we discover there is an expeditious way to revise the Specific Plan, community outreach will not be compromised.  It has been agreed by everyone at the meeting that however the business hours might be changed, the process needs to consider community feedback and be sensitive to residents who may be impacted.  Opportunities for the community to chime in will be scheduled once we have a clearer administrative understanding of how this goal may be approached. 

As a side note, it is interesting how the current Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan very conservative business hour requirement (must be closed between 9PM and 7AM) so strongly conflicts with the overall Specific Plan goal to extend a warm welcome to small individually owned businesses.  A $20,000 fee for a business hour exception would not be an insurmountable expense for a national chain but could be a decisive factor when a small business is deciding whether or not to locate on Colorado Boulevard.  

You may view the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan on TERA's website at www.tera90041.org.

Mark Art Not Trash - Chapter II

One of TERA's most popular community projects was the construction and deployment of unique trash can containers, each designed by an Eagle Rock artist.  Based on requests from merchants, who agreed to maintain the trash cans, they were installed in front of business locations throughout town. 

Today a small number of the trash cans are seeking a new home.  Merchants interested in exploring the possibility of having one of these works of art at your place of business should email president@tera90041.org.   Please note that TERA will manage the relocation with no expense to the merchant. 

Real Estate Update

Thanks to TERA Board Member Marina Rimer, for providing the following statistics. 

Based on these statistics Eagle Rock continues to enjoy a very positive place in the real estate market.  We recently celebrated with a friend who had just closed on his new home in Eagle Rock.  He had wanted to move here for some time.  One lesson he learned early on is that the market is very competitive, multiple offers are common, and if you find something you like at a decent price, it is essential to act quickly; otherwise, it will be gone tomorrow.  Let's hope now that the market does not once again get too hot, house prices do not get too high (many think they already are) and that we don't experience another housing bubble. 

Who is Paying for Your Copy?     If you are getting this newsletter, and you are not a TERA member, then you should thank someone who is a member for their financial support.  Although digitally publishing a newsletter is far less expensive than the paper versions we used to publish, it is still involves unavoidable expenses.  Likewise, TERA's recent decision to act as fiscal agent for Dogs of the Rock will involve some modest amount of expenses.  At the State of the Town meeting, attended by approximately 75 people, less than $20 was contributed to defray the costs of that meeting.  Over and again, we rely on the generosity and support of our members to do what we do.  Please make the decision to become a member now.  Thanks to all the TERA members who made this possible.  If you are not a member, please take action now!  Email me at president@TERA90041.org and I will send you a membership packet.  Otherwise, please go to http://www.tera90041.org/join_tera_or_renew_using_paypal0.aspx and join using PayPal.  Become a member now!