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January 2008

It seems that nearly every successful Hollywood production spawns a sequel, and in that “Give ‘em more of what they like” spirit, the Los Feliz Improvement Association is pleased to announce that it will reprise its highly popular “Night at the Movies.” The program, scheduled for Monday, February 11, 2008 at the Autry National Center, will feature more clips of popular (and obscure) films shot in Los Feliz and Griffith Park. As it is a general meeting, this event is open to all LFIA members whose dues are current. We look forward to seeing you there!

November 2007

LFIA Fall General Meeting: Colonel Griffith’s Vision of Griffith Park as an Urban Wilderness

A panel discussion followed by audience questions is going to be featured at the LFIA Fall General Meeting. With the expansion of many beloved attractions in the park, how does modern Los Angeles continue to uphold Colonel Griffith's condition that the Park be an Urban Wilderness for passive, accessible recreation?

Our panelists include : Councilmember and park enthusiast Tom LaBonge – City Counsel District Four; Deputy Director Mark Pine - Griffith Observatory (also representing the Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks); CEO and President John Gray - Autry National Center; John Lewis, Zoo Director - the Los Angeles Zoo; and Valerie Vanaman – Griffith Park Master Plan Working Group.

Come for an evening of stimulating conversation and bring your questions for our distinguished panel!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Autry National Center
4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park
Hors d’oeuvres served at 6:30 p.m. / Program begins at 7:00 p.m.

LFIA Membership dues must be paid for admittance to this program. New Member Offer (available at the door): Pay dues for 2008 and get admittance to this program and LFIA membership for the rest of 2007 free!

October 2007

LFIA Hosts Photo Day Nov. 17 At Los Feliz Library

The Los Feliz Improvement Association (LFIA) is hosting its annual Photo Day Saturday Nov. 17, from 2-5 p.m. to collect old family and scenic photographs taken in the Los Feliz community prior to the 1970s.  The event will take place at the Los Feliz Library, 1874 Hillhurst Ave. Residents can donate their old photos or have copies made on site at no charge.  Refreshments will be served. The event is being sponsored by LFIA’s History Committeee in cooperation with the Los Feliz Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.

“LFIA’s Archival Photos Project is an on-going campaign to collect old photos taken in the community so we can preserve our rich history,” said LFIA’s History Committee co-chair Norman Mennes, adding that “We’re looking for snapshots that reflect activities and events in Los Feliz from the early 1900s to the 1970s.”

The Photo Day is free and open to the public. Parking at the library is limited, but there is also street parking. For questions or for more information, call the LFIA at (323) 660-1914 or email history@lfia.org.

September 2007

Puck Liquor Variance at Observatory Decision Postponed

by LFIA President Marian Dodge

Councilmember Tom LaBonge called me at 2:55 p.m. on September 25, the day the hearing of LFIA’s appeal of the Zoning Administrator’s decision to grant Wolfgang Puck a full liquor license to serve alcoholic beverages at special catered events at the Griffith Observatory was scheduled. He advised me that R.J. Comer, the attorney for Puck was going to ask for a continuance. At the Central Area Planning Commission meeting the Zoning Administrator requested and was granted a continuance until November 13. Their Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was not appropriate, and the city attorney said they need to review different materials. The commissioners did not discuss the appropriateness of granting the continuance nor did they apologize for the inconvenience to the public. Because of the number of supporters of the appeal in attendance, each appellant was granted three minutes to speak. Doug Carstens, an attorney representing the Vermont Neighborhood Association, addressed the attempt to avoid an EIR which is required because the scheduled events have more than 200 attendees each. I pointed out the fact that there was an event the night before which is a violation while their variance is under appeal. CD 4’s Renee Weitzer requested written notification of the new hearing date although the city attorney said it was not required.

It’s going to take a lot more than 25 people to impress the commission. We need everyone who wants to keep the Griffith Observatory, a wonderful scientific and educational institution, from being turned into a private rental facility to attend the hearing. Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, November 13, 4:30 pm, City Hall.

September 2007

Hearing of Puck Liquor License Appeal

LFIA has filed an appeal of the Zoning Variance which grants Wolfgang Puck a full liquor license for special catered events at the Griffith Observatory. This license has the potential to turn the beloved scientific and educational institution into a private party place for the privileged. With 36 events a year, six lasting until 1:00 am, it will bring added noise, traffic, and congestion to an already impacted area.

We need your support at the hearing. The presence of dedicated supporters of the appeal will make an impression on the commission.

Central Area Planning Commission
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
after 4:30 pm
City Hall, 10th floor
200 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

If you are unable to attend, please send a letter of support to City Hall, Room 532, ten days prior to the hearing. They want 20 copies of the letter so that all commissioners may have a copy.

9/4/07

The Autry National Center is planning to expand its Griffith Park Campus. Phase 1 will add 79,000 square feet to the existing building and reconfigure the galleries, community room and parking. Phase 2 will add another 50,000 square-foot institute on top of a subterranean parking facility, giving them a total of 129,000 square feet of new space plus a total of 476 parking spaces. However, their current lease with Los Angeles ($1/year) does not allow them to increase their footprint to the extent they propose, and there are reasonable alternatives to the expansion. ... [continued here]

August 2007

Cheerful Thank You from Marshall's Academic Decathlon Team

July 2007

Marshall High Principal Retires

7/14/07

Zoning Administrator Albert Landini granted Wolfgang Puck a variance on June 29, 2007 to serve a full line of alcoholic beverages at catered special events at the Griffith Observatory. His decision was actually made a few days prior to the Parks Commissioners approval of RAP guidelines. Thus those guidelines were not considered at all, nor was the overwhelming public opposition. LFIA received a copy of his decision by mail on July 3. ... [continued here]

June 27, 2007

On Wednesday, June 20 the Los Feliz Improvement Association attended the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners meeting.  An amendment to the schedule of Rates and Fees for special events held at the Griffith Observatory was on the agenda.  Included in the Rates and Fees was a set of proposed guidelines to govern special events including the service of alcohol. .... [continued here]

June 2007

Find out more about the 2006 Meliora Award winners, as announced at the LFIA's General Meeting in May 2007. The LFIA's Meliora Awards are given annually to recognize outstanding accomplishments of beautifying Los Feliz. Congratulations, again, to our winners! .... [continued here]

May 2007

On May 14th we had a full house at our Annual Membership Meeting at the Autry National Center auditorium. The evening started with Asian hors d'oevres in the courtyard, and went on to standing ovations to our local firefighters who saved Los Feliz from the recent fire in Griffith Park, cheered on by Council Member Tom LaBonge.

Next on the agenda were the LFIA's Meliora Awards, given to honor Los Feliz beautification and renovation projects in four different categories. This year's winners were the Lyman Village Apartments, 1600 –1670 Lyman Place for the Best Multi-Unit Renovation for 2006, Best Front Garden for 2006 to 4031 Cromwell and Jay Smith and Marilyn Goodman, Best Restoration for a single family home in 2006 to Lloyd Wright's Taggart House at 2158 Live Oak Dr, presented to supervising architect Eric Lloyd Wright. The award for Best Public Space of 2006 went to the Griffith Observatory, accepted by Observatory Director Dr. Edvin Krupp. ... [continued here]

June 2007

Liquor at Observatory goes to Commission

The Department of Recreation & Parks will present the proposed guidelines for Wolfgang Puck's request for a variance to serve a full line of alcoholic beverages at special catered events at the Griffith Observatory at the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners on

Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at 10:00 am (This reflects a time change: Now 30 minutes later!)
Garland Building, 1st floor auditorium
1200 W. 7th Street
LA 90017

The Observatory is in danger of becoming a party rental facility instead of a scientific and educational institution. As many people as possible should attend this very important meeting to express their opinions on this very important issue. Hope to see you there.

On March 29, the Department of Recreation & Parks (RAP) held a community meeting at the Griffith Park Ranger Station regarding the guidelines it would impose on Wolfgang Puck Catering. The meeting was chaired by RAP’s Vicki Israel, Superintendent, Griffith Region. Also speaking were Kevin Regan of RAP, and Dr. Krupp representing the Observatory. No written draft of the guidelines under discussion was provided for attendees. ... [continued here]

Trashy Date

“Would you like to go on a trashy date? How is next Tuesday”, Chris asks me. “You’ve got a deal! I’ll bring everything we need; 9 AM OK?”- my response. If that sounds somewhat risqué, it’s not; because Chris Laib and I do go out there during the week--any week--to rid our beautiful neighborhood of unsightly debris; we take down all illegally posted signs from public property and paint out graffiti. We spend about 2 to 3 hours on clean-up and wish people would not throw their cigarette butts and their trash on the street but find a proper receptacle.

And we can’t just blame those people from other parts of town, just driving through Los Feliz; if property owners and businesses would only keep the area in front of their places down to the curb clean every day our trashy date would not be so exhausting!

Margret Lohfeld is the Chair of the LFIA Beautification Committee. Read more about the Beautification Committee here. Info about other Committees is found here.

The United States Census data is rich in detail and organized by each individual property. It gives a remarkable picture of the former times in Los Feliz and includes a wealth of specific information about the individuals living in each residence at the time of each census. LFIA board member Don Seligman compiled this data into an article first published in an abreviated form in the Winter 07 issue of the Los Feliz Observer. Read the full story here.

Plant a tree - plant many trees!

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has enacted a Million Tree Program and our neighborhood is eligible. Neighborhoods and streets can apply for city supplied trees to plant in parkways, open spaces, local schools, etc. The LFIA supports and commends this effort and will continue to maintain and repopulate Los Feliz Boulevard exclusively with Deodar Cedars. Details and applications for the Million Tree Program are available from the Hollywood Beautification Team at 323-962-2163 and on the web.

March 2007

A room full of community organizations and stakeholders attended a Zoning Variance meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, March 13. Wolfgang Puck Catering is applying for a liquor license for special events to be held at the Griffith Observatory. The few supporting attendees included Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks Griffith Park Superintendent Vicki Israel, Puck attorneys and special events managers, and a local night club owner. Vicki Israel stated that it was important to "showcase" the Observatory after its $93 million renovation. Councilmember Tom LaBonge supported the use of alcohol at special events at the Observatory. ... [continued here]

March 2007

2007 Meliora Awards - Call for Nominations

Each year the Los Feliz Improvement Association honors residents who help keep our neighborhood beautiful. The name given to these awards, “Meliora”, comes from the Latin “to make better.” As a previous winner stated, “These awards are a great way to recognize and reinforce that sense of pride in and responsibility to Los Feliz.” Meliora Awards are given in the following categories:

Best Renovations for a Single Family Home
Best Restorations for a Single Family Home
Best Renovation for a Multi-Family Home
Best Front Garden
Best Public Space

The awards recognize exterior or landscape work done in the last three years. This year we have an exciting new category, Public Spaces. That is, new or old public spaces that have had a recent renovation or restoration that improve our wonderful small borough. This includes areas like our library, parks, public gardens, Metro space, even small, perhaps not easily noticed spots that bring joy to our neighborhood.

Some of the winners from previous years

Meliora Awards are presented to the owners at our May general meeting. We would like you to look around your neighborhood for great examples that make Los Feliz a better place to live and submit your nominations in any or all categories.

Please e-mail your nominations to patricia.ruben@lfia.org, or mail them to Meliora Awards, LFIA, PO Box 29395, Los Angeles, CA 90029-0395. Nominations must be received by Monday, April 2, 2007.

2/19/07

The first annual “Night at the Movies” on February, 12 attracted 200 LFIA members and their families to the Wells Fargo Theater at the Autry National Center for a celebration of famous – and not so famous – films, all of which were shot in Los Feliz.  The audience was treated to clips of 11 movies ranging from the iconic John Ford western “The Searchers” to the camp horror classic “House on Haunted Hill.”  As one guest observed, there was “nothing but enjoyment and yes, education too, for attendees.”

The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was LFIA board member Rulon Openshaw.  He was assisted in the presentation of the films by Councilman Tom LaBonge, Griffith Observatory Director Dr. Edwin Krupp, and LFIA board member Christy Barrett. ... [continued here]

 

February 2007

Griffith Park Master Plan

The weekly publication L.A. City Beat published an informative article ("This Is Not Disneyland", January 18, 2007) on the Griffith Park Master Plan and the controversy around it.

The Master Plan draft ("Melendrez Draft") was commissioned by the City of Los Angeles and released to the public in March 2005. It is available for download here. The volunteer community-based Master Plan Working Group convened in July 2005 to re-write the Master Plan.

The L.A. City Beat story takes a dispassionate look at the current state of affairs, and should therefore be read by anyone who cares about the future of Griffith Park.

February 2007

Glendale-Hyperion Viaduct Improvements

An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is being prepared for improvements proposed for the Glendale-Hyperion Viaduct Complex. The complex includes six structures but only the Glendale Boulevard (northbound and southbound) and Hyperion structures are currently proposed for major improvement together with a cosmetic improvement to the Waverly Avenue Bridge. A public scoping meeting is required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to obtain the public's views of the proposed project and to gather suggestions for its improvement.

Two meetings will be held. Each will have the same content and format.

Thursday, February 8, 2007
7 - 9 pm
Glenfeliz Blvd. Elementary School
3955 Glenfeliz Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039
Thursday, February 15, 2007
7 - 9 pm
Silverlake Community Church
2930 Hyperion Avenue (near Rowena)
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Download the complete meeting invitation and the official EIR Notice.

January 2007

Vermont Triangle

At the association's board meeting on January 23rd Patty Malone, Councilmember Tom LaBonge's field deputy, presented some images of the Community Redevopment Agency's construction plans for Vermont Triangle. This is the intersection of Hollywood Blvd Vermont Ave and Prospect Ave. The plans look very promising and construction is supposed to begin in March.

Here is an image showing the plan (click on it to see it bigger):

There is also a pdf version of the the full presentation board available for download here. Please note that it's relatively big.

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