population is about 35,000. The train ride from New York City to Hyde Park, much of it with views of the Hudson River, is absolutely beautiful. We were once again warmly welcomed to our friend's annual 4th of July family reunion. Hyde Park's greatest claim to fame is being the hometown of President Roosevelt. In the past we have toured his home, which is beautifully situated on the Hudson River and feels like a real home in spite of its grandeur. Eleanor's more modest cottage on the property depicts a lady who lived well but simply. The 4th of July it rained almost the entire day. But that did not deter the Hype Park Parade from stepping off on-time. Even in the rain the parade included great representations from the PTA, the fire department, the Elks, the local towing company, a regional radio station and so many other Hyde Parkers. It was so nice to be in a community that cherishes its small town qualities as much as we do in Eagle Rock.

The next step on our month long journey was to return to New York City and board the Queen Mary 2, becoming temporary citizens of a community of approximately 3,800, traveling from Brooklyn, New York to Southampton, England. Launched in 2003, the QM-2 is the first major ocean liner built since the Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1969. It has a different feel than the many cruise ships we have experienced. Most significantly, it is considered an ocean liner rather than a cruise ship since it was built expressly for trans-Atlantic crossings. The design includes a heavier hull, sleek upper decks with no pools or other passenger amenities that might be an issue in high seas, a high bow and other structural considerations that are designed to deal with severe weather on the open seas. The combination of the stately interior design and the hierarchy between passengers based on cabin class supports Cunard's goal of preserving the elegance and the overall experience of ocean travel of the past. The first time I saw a passenger walking her poodle on the deck, I knew this would be a different experience. There is a full kennel on board. Pets have documentation, similar to passports, removing the need for them to be quarantined when they reach Southampton. Our cabin was moderately priced, comfortable, attractive, and with a veranda, located low on deck 4 - which is considered almost steerage. Because of our low level in the passenger hierarchy, we were restricted from entering certain restaurants, lounges, and areas of the deck. However, those areas open to one and all (only 15% of passengers book upper-priced cabins) were quite nice. There was a wonderful level of camaraderie everywhere on the ship. A brief ride on an elevator often resulted in conversation and sitting at a bar ensured you would learn another's story before your cocktail was finished. Almost every night a big band played and ballroom dancing was re-born. The ballroom was staffed with several Cunard employees, there to trip the light fantastic with ladies who lacked a partner. Mike got to enjoy the dance floor (he's a great dancer) but sadly I know nothing about ballroom dancing other than loving the big band sound. The crossing was lots of fun, met many new great people, and the ocean was so smooth, we rarely saw a whitecap. After seven days at sea we arrived in Southampton with no jet lag. How great is that?

 

Scholl Canyon Landfill Extension - No!

Since TERA's birth, over twenty five years ago, this organization has focused on a broad array of issues that risk the quality of life in Eagle Rock. We have fought the demolition of historic properties, opposed development (residential or business) that was inappropriate for the area, opposed the growth of billboards, and fought many other issues. But none of those issues had the long-term potential to impact the health of Eagle Rockers as does the proposal to expand the life of the Scholl Canyon landfill.

 

TERA was one of the first to proclaim its opposition to the landfill expansion plan. Virtually all other community organizations quickly joined the opposition effort. In response to requests from Councilman Jose Huizar's office, the comment period was extended to August 29, 2014. Keeping the message out there, TERA conducted a joint press conference with the Council Office and other community leadership on Wednesday on August 20. At the press conference, which was held at the entrance to Scholl Canyon, TERA joined Councilman Huizar and other community leadership to proclaim our united opposition to the planned expansion of the landfill. Go to KNBC_08-20-2014_1700.wmv  to see news coverage regarding the Press Conference.

In addition to make our voice even little louder, TERA is encouraging a statement of opposition, not just from the Council Office, but from the entire City of Los Angeles.

 

There are those who have the opinion that Glendale will do what Glendale wants to do, and there is little we can do to influence the outcome. We wouldn't be working as hard to make our voice heard if we believed that. There is more than one way to make this a bit more equitable than it is now. But, in the unlikely event that our efforts have no impact on the outcome, I think it is better to fight the good fight for a worthy cause than roll over and give Glendale tacit permission to diminish the quality of air in our community. Many thanks to Michelle and Luis for finding the time in their very busy lives, beyond family and work, to fight the good fight for Eagle Rock.

 

More information regarding this important topic is found below in the Land Use Section.      

 

Recently the TERA Board voted unanimously to support the elimination of business hours from the Specific Plan. Our vote was based on the strong consensus for this action at the August 6th community meeting, the knowledge that business hours will still be regulated as they are city-wide, and the feeling that in order for our commercial corridor to be especially welcoming to small businesses, the playing field should be level for all businesses. Many thanks to Michael Tharp for providing an informed and detailed explanation (see the Land Use Section). In addition, I am pleased to share Jeffrey Samudio's email As one of those involved when the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan was developed, I think Jeffrey's comments provide an important historical perspective.
 

From Jeffrey Samudio:

As an original Community Advisory Committee (CAC) Member who spent the years 1985-1992 working to draft the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan, I can attest to regressive attitudes amongst some members of the Public who submitted strong commentaries leading to the inclusion of very limiting hours of operations for some businesses within Specific Plan areas.  I was also the first person elected to serve on the ERNC from District 5, 2002-2004, and a co-founder of the Eagle Rock Association (TERA), and I would like to state for the record that limitations on businesses hours of operations should be repealed.  

 

It was not the intent, nor the desire, of the Committee or Planning Department to be so limiting for businesses to operate successfully on the Boulevard, it was rather the unfortunate past experiences of no regulation on nearly any business that led to the restrictions on business hour operations.  Eagle Rock now has a successful main street and community sentiment has now matured to understand that more progressive measures to restrict negative impacts of businesses can be activated via other means and measures.  Therefore, I applaud the efforts to overturn restrictions to business hour operations within all zones of the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan Area.  

 

Respectfully Submitted, 

Jeffrey B. Samudio, Principal

Design Aid, Cultural Resource Management & Sustainable Design

 

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

 

Do it Now!

Try as I might, I am not able to come up with a better way to say it than "we need your support." Many thanks to all (listed below) who have already responded to our annual membership renewal campaign. If you haven't responded, please take the time to do so now. If you have never been a member, now is the time to show your support. For a membership packet (renewal or a new membership), please send an email to Marina Rimer, our membership coordinator at membership@tera90041.org or go to our website (tera90041.org) and use Paypal to join immediately.  

For over 25 years, the financial support of our members has allowed TERA to continue to work for the quality of life in our neighborhood. The most recent major expenditure has been a $5,000 grant to support maintenance of new trees recently planted throughout the neighborhood. Without funds for the first two years of watering and care, those trees would not have been available to our community. It is the modest individual contributions of many TERA members that made the grant and therefore the prospect of new trees possible.

If you are not a TERA member, and you appreciate TERA's presence in the community, then do your share; step up and become a member now! A family membership is only $35. Email Marina, our membership coordinator, at membership@TERA90041.org and she will send you a membership packet. Otherwise, go to http://www.tera90041.org/.

City Hall is Getting a Facelift

One of the goals of Take Back the Boulevard has been to make historic buildings on Colorado Boulevard a more prominent part of the streetscape. Arguably, historically the most important building on the Boulevard is Eagle Rock City Hall.

 

 

New Trees on the Boulevards
Have you noticed the many new trees up and down our boulevards. They are especially noticeable on Colorado Boulevard. Be on the lookout for these important additions to our streetscape.

At the July 31st community meeting hosted by the City of Glendale the following talking points were made by Luis Lopez on behalf of TERA and the entire Eagle Rock Community.

 

More than 53 years after opening and 36 years after the site was supposed to become a large park, the Scholl Canyon Landfill (SCLF) in the City of Glendale is requesting more room. Since it was first conceived in 1958 by Los Angeles County Supervisors, the landfill's creation has pitted cities in LA County against each other. Then, as now, tension centered on the dump's access road from Los Angeles rather than Glendale.

 

However, TERA's concerns today are much broader than just Figueroa Street and Eagle Rock.

• Today Los Angeles is struggling to relinquish its reign as America's most polluted region.
• Today there is a new waste management paradigm which prioritizes waste prevention and recovery, and sees disposal in landfills as only a last resort.
• Today there are best-practices in landfill operations and technologies that both extend the lives of landfills and greatly reduce their pollution burden on neighboring communities.
• Today residents no longer require their governments to bear solely the burden of waste recovery. We embrace Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Compost. We want to use our local talent to transform waste to energy. 

We oppose expanding the Scholl Canyon Landfill because today we know the City of Glendale, Los Angeles County and the Sanitation District can do better.

 

History

• Opened in 1961, with 397 acres. Now approximately 525 acres.
• Located in and owned by Glendale but accessed from the City of Los Angeles.
• City of LA cannot dump there. Pasadena and Glendale largest users.
• Opposed by past and present LA Councilmen, including Jose Huizar, John Holland, and Edward Roybal.

Expansion Proposal

• Two options for expansion: vertically as much as 17 stories and horizontally. Life extension from 2021 to at least 2040

Environmental Impact Report says Adverse Impact to Air Quality is "Unavoidable"

• LA has worst air in the country, and per American Lung Association too many pollutants harmful to health, including ozone, and particle pollution or particulate matter.
• State and local regulation have helped LA reduce by 1/3rd its unhealthy ozone days in past 15 years.
• Eagle Rock is more burdened by pollution than 80% of California Census Tracts. Contributing Pollution Burdens Percentiles are Traffic at 95%, Solid Waste 93%, Ozone 63%, Particulate Matter 70%, Diesel 54%, Toxic Releases 68%, and Hazardous Waste 62%. Source: Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment CalEnviroScreen
• CalEnviroScreen shows Glendale is equally burdened.
• DEIR find expansion would exceed ozone and particulate matter legal thresholds, and negate air quality improvement plans.

Because SCLF hasn't implemented best practices, Scholl Canyon is worst polluter than comparable County landfills

• When compared to similar LA County Landfills, SCLF was the worst polluter of particulate matter, diesel, and toxic releases. Source: Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment CalEnviroScreen analysis

• City of Pasadena finds that DEIR is deficient partially because it doesn't conduct a health risk assessment.  They state, "Simply declaring the impacts significant and unavoidable without analyzing and disclosing the potential health risks of this exceedance is not appropriate."
• City of Pasadena Public Works Department provides specific suggestions to improve idling on-road vehicles queued at the entrance gates and vehicle congestion.

Where will the trash go?

• LA County has "New Waste Management Paradigm," which prioritizes waste prevention and recovery (Reuse, Recycle, Conversion/Compost, Transforming Waste to Energy), and sees disposal in landfills as last resort.
• Los Angeles County has Conversion Technology Efforts, including an anaerobic digester project, like Glendale advocates suggest
• Councilman Huizar leads City of Los Angeles Alternative Technology Effort

Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan - The Community Spoke

by Michael Tharp, TERA Past President   

What does Eagle Rock's Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan have that can't be found in any of the other 48 Specific Plans posted on the Department of City Planning web site? The Colorado Boulevard Specific plan has one sentence in it that says that any business that operates between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. between the northwest corner of Windermere Avenue and Colorado Boulevard on the north side of Colorado Boulevard to the intersection of Eagle Rock Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard and from there on both the north and south sides of Colorado Boulevard to Eagle Vista Drive on the north and Holbrook Street on the south are prohibited. In addition, businesses operating between the hours 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on both sides of Colorado Boulevard from the Glendale/Los Angeles border on the east to the northwest corner of Windermere Avenue on the north side of Colorado Boulevard and southwest corner of Colorado Boulevard and Eagle Rock Boulevard on the south are also prohibited unless approved by the Northeast Area Planning Commission. This type of language is found in no other Specific Plan in the City of Los Angeles.

Whew! Now that some of the technical stuff is out of the way, what does all this really mean? It means that with a few exceptions, no businesses on most of Eagle Rock's portion of Colorado Boulevard are allowed to operate between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. What about those exceptions? We all know there are businesses along Colorado Boulevard within the Specific Plan Area that are operating after 9:00 p.m. and before 7:00 a.m. Some of them are operating in violation of the rules and regulations of the Specific Plan. Some businesses were in operation before the Specific Plan became effective (August 9, 1992) and their operating hours were grandfathered, allowing them to operate after 9:00 p.m. and before 7:00 a.m. Some businesses have applied for an exception to the Specific Plan restriction on operating hours, gone through a public hearing process, and been granted an exception to operate later than 9:00 p.m. and earlier than 7:00 a.m. This process can be costly; sometimes exceeding $20,000 with no guarantee the exception will be approved.

The uneven application of this Specific Plan regulation has led to a great deal of discussion over the last several years. At the urging of a number of community groups, Councilmember Huizar introduced a motion before the City Council requesting that the Los Angeles City Planning Department, in consultation with the City Attorney and Council Office, report back on the feasibility of amending the hours of operation within the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan area. In May of 2014 TERA, the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce, the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan Design Review Board (DRB), and the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council (ERNC) and CD 14 began discussions on whether or not this regulation should be modified to extend working hours, eliminated or left alone. The five groups agreed to sponsor a public meeting to solicit comments from Eagle Rock Stakeholders. The meeting was held at the Center for the Arts Eagle Rock on August 6 at 7:00 p.m.

Turnout was good, with more than 50 stakeholders at the meeting. 13 people chose to speak and 40 of those present submitted comment cards. Of the 40 who submitted comment cards, 15 stated they believed the hours should be changed, 2 stated the hours should not be changed, and the majority (23) stated they believed the restrictive hours should be eliminated from the Specific Plan. Of the 13 people who spoke, 9 favored expanding the hours in which businesses would be permitted to operate and 4 favored doing away with the limiting hours altogether. At the end of the meeting an informal show of hands was taken. Four people favored expanding the hours; one person favored leaving the current hours in place; and the all the rest favored eliminating the hours altogether.

For the record, I personally support eliminating the restrictive hours of operation for businesses from the Specific Plan. I've given the matter a great deal of thought and feel that this alternative most benefits all of Eagle Rock. When I first moved to Eagle Rock, in the 1980's, Colorado Boulevard was home to many rundown businesses and empty store fronts. Restaurants consisted of Chinese takeout, Casa Bianca, Colombo's, Pete's, Tommy's, Cindy's, Taco Bell and a few others. There's nothing wrong with any of these restaurants but it's a pretty limited choice, especially if you're coming home from work late and want to eat something other than fast food or Italian. Fortunately, over the decades (does that ever make me feel old!) new restaurants, offering a variety of choices, have opened. These restaurants, old and new, have made Eagle Rock a more desirable place in which to live and work. As Colorado Boulevard has cleaned up, home values have gone up. Where once there were only a few cars parked on Colorado Boulevard, because there is no need to park in front of empty storefronts, now one might actually have to walk a block or two.

Removing the limited hours for business operations within the Specific Plan area along both sides of Colorado Boulevard will allow businesses to operate just as they do every place else in Los Angeles! It will create a level playing field rather than forcing those businesses who would like to locate along Colorado Boulevard to do so at a disadvantage to other businesses. Like the rest of the City, those businesses on Eagle Rock Boulevard south of the intersections of Colorado and Eagle Rock Boulevards have no limitations placed on their operating hours by a Specific Plan.

In taking the position that the limits on business hours of operation should be removed from the Specific Plan, I did take into consideration the concerns voiced by Phil Barbaro, a member of the committee which provided citizen input to the original Specific Plan and a former member of the East Area Planning Commission and Rebecca Niederlander, a resident of Eagle Rock for many years, who lives a few houses off Colorado Boulevard. Mr. Barbaro pointed out that the reason the limitations were placed on the hours of operation of businesses in the Specific Plan area was to protect the residents near Colorado Boulevard from adverse impacts caused by those businesses. He went on to state that times had changed and it was now time to re-examine the hours of operation and if changes were made, to proceed cautiously. Ms. Niederlander also voiced concerns about the change, wanting to be sure that controls were available to protect the neighborhood before changes were made.

Removing the business hour limitations from the Specific Plan does not mean that business hours are no longer regulated. One of the biggest concerns is the location of businesses selling alcohol for on-site (restaurants and bars) and off-site (liquor stores, markets, and mini-markets) consumption.   In order for any business to serve or sell liquor, including beer and wine, a Conditional Use Permit must first be obtained from the City.   This means filing an application with the City, which is sent to the ERNC for its recommendation, a public hearing before a representative from the City Planning Department, with an opportunity to appeal the decision to the East Area Planning Commission. If a Conditional Use Permit is approved, the City usually places limitations on the hours alcohol can be sold, limits the hours the business can be open, and requires the applicant to apply for a new Conditional Use Permit or submit to a review through the Plan Approval Process after from one to five years of operation. This gives both the Community and the City an opportunity to review the operation of the applicant and determine if there have been any problems. If there have been problems, the Community can ask for additional conditions for its protection, or that the Conditional Use Permit not be extended. In addition, if there are problems with the operation before the review period, the City can initiate revocation of the Conditional Use Permit.

In addition the community is protected by regulations the City places on Commercial Corner Developments. A Commercial Corner Development is defined as any commercially used corner lot located in a C or M zone in Height District Nos. 1, 1-L, 1-VL or 1-XL, the lot line of which adjoins, is separated only by an alley adjacent to, or is located across the street from, any portion of a lot zoned A or R or improved with any residential use (except in an M zone). The entire Specific Plan area is zoned for Commercial uses and a large portion of it is in Height District No. 1-XL.

A Commercial Corner Development which contains a commercial use not otherwise subject to a conditional use approval which operates between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.; contains an amusement enterprise (video games, pinball machines, etc.), and does not comply with the requirements of Section 12.22A.23 of the Municipal Code, which deals with height of buildings, percent of windows on the street frontage, and front yard setbacks, must go through a Conditional Use process. This means that any corner property in most of the Specific Plan area that would be open later than 11 p.m. and does not have to go through a Conditional Use for the sale of alcohol or other required conditional use, would have to go through a Conditional Use process based on being open after 11 p.m. It is the case that businesses in between the corner lots could remain open later than 11 p.m. if they were not otherwise restricted, but one has to ask why would they?

It is also important to remember that the regulations of the Specific Plan regarding uses, setbacks, height, facade design, and signs, among other things, would continue to apply and would supersede less stringent requirements of the municipal code. New mini-mall developments would still be prohibited by the Specific Plan.

Based on a collaboration and joint sponsorship between TERA, the DRB (Design Review Board), the Chamber of Commerce and the ERNC, a public meeting was held on August 6, dedicated specifically for the community to provide feedback on this topic. All four of the sponsoring organizations actively promoted the event, seeking a broad based community response. According to David Green, President of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, there will be another discussion and vote on whether or not the operating hours of businesses in the Specific Plan area should be changed at the next ERNC Meeting on September 2, 2014 at 7 p.m. at the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock. We all heard the various speakers and saw the community speak very strongly in favor of eliminating business hours from the Specific Plan. It seems redundant to hold a second community meeting to address a topic on which the community found such consensus. Of course there is no harm in making sure everyone has the opportunity to express their view. I am urging you to participate in the ERNC meeting. When the ERNC determines its position, it should give the voice of the community, as heard at the August 6th meeting, the importance it deserves and not make a decision based only on the opinions expressed at the ERNC meeting.  

Please contact Councilmember Huizar and his staff, and the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council and tell them how you feel about the limited hours of operation in the Specific Plan. Should businesses in the Specific Plan area be required to close between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.? If not, should the restriction on operating hours be removed, giving businesses in the Specific Plan area the same advantages permitted in other commercial zones in Eagle Rock and the rest of the City? If you believe limited hours of operation for businesses in the Specific Plan area should be imposed but should be changed from those currently in effect, what should those operating hours be? Make your opinion known!

Councilmember Jose Huizar: councilmember.huizar@lacity.org
Kevin Ocubillo, CD 14: kevin.ocubillo@lacity.org
David Greene, Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council:  david.greene@eaglerockcouncil.org Robert Gotham, President, TERA: president@TERA90041.org

 

 

Mailing addresses are as follows:

 

Councilmember Jose Huizar,

CD 14, City of Los Angeles

Room 465, City Hall

200 North Spring Street

Los Angeles, CA 90041

 

Mr. Kevin Ocubillo,

CD 14

Eagle Rock City Hall

2035 Colorado Blvd.

Eagle Rock, CA 90041

 

Mr. David Greene, President

Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council

P.O. Box 41652

Los Angeles, CA 90041

 

Mr. Robert Gotham, President

TERA

P.O. Box 41453

Eagle Rock, CA 90041

 

Please copy TERA on your correspondence so that we can keep track of how the community feels about this issue.

 

For its ninth tour, the Garfield Heights Neighborhood Association (GHNA) celebrates the 15th anniversary of its landmark district designation with a special home tour featuring five extraordinary residences.

 

Scheduled for Sunday, October 5 from Noon to 5 p.m., the tour will capture the diversity of Garfield Heights' residential architecture.   Pasadena's leading architects designed homes in the District, which reflects a variety of home sizes and types including Arts and Crafts, Period Revival, Queen Anne, Italianate, and Transitional styles.

 

All proceeds from the Home Tour support neighborhood improvement projects.  Advance tickets are $20; day of event tickets are $25.  Children's tickets (age 10 and under) are free.  Tickets may be purchased before September 20 by mail to GHNA, P. O. Box 90322 , Pasadena, CA 91109, or by Pay Pal through the GHNA website, www.garfieldheights.org.  Tickets will be held at Will Call at the ticket house, 1207 N. Marengo Ave., starting at 11:45 a.m. the day of the tour.

Garfield Heights is located one mile north of the I-210 (Foothill) Freeway, north of Mountain Street between Los Robles and Marengo Avenues.   The neighborhood traces its history to 1881, when two Iowa farmers purchased raw acreage in what is now Garfield Heights.  The neighborhood began to take shape by 1893, and the district joined Pasadena in 1904.  Many of the area's homes, built between 1890 and 1920, exude the sense of grace that permeates the district today.

For more information, call 626-345-9796 or e-mail ghnaboard@garfieldheights.org.  Full details are available for viewing at www.garfieldheights.org.