SAVE LEIMERT NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION
COMMUNITY NEWS AND UPDATE
April 2007
SAVE LEIMERT Neighborhood Coalition is committed to keeping you up-to-date on events and activities that impact the quality of life in our community. We want to share the following information with you and encourage your continued vigilance and involvement.
Leimert Park Village Visioning Process
After months of protest by SAVE LEIMERT – the CRA agreed to extend the timeline and turn the planning process for the development of a master plan for the Village over to the community under the direction of the CAC. As you know, SAVE LEIMERT continued to have concern for the hurried timeline and limited opportunities for public input that the CAC had imposed – but moved forward with a parallel process to develop its recommendations to the city. We believe we have developed an outstanding vision for the future of this community which we would like to share with you. The following is a brief summary:
§ The Village must be preserved as a enclave for the African American art and culture and also serve as an incubator for the development of African American entrepreneurship
§ Zoning should be limited to commercial and retail use only – no housing
§ Buildings along Degnan Blvd should be limited to 2 stories in height
§ The Vision Theater must reopen and serve as a major attraction and anchor for business development
§ The city parking lot on the west side of Degnan should be used to build a research center on African American history and culture in collaboration with local universities similar to the Schomberg Research in New York
§ The city parking lot on the east side of Degnan should be used for commercial and retail space along Degnan and the back side of the lot provide a parking structure to accommodate the Vision Theater parking needs
§ A state of the arts Library should be constructed along 43rd to replace the Angelus Mesa Library
§ The community is in need of sitdown restaurants and many other personal services that come with major retail companies– these should be located throughout the Crenshaw and Marlton Square Development project and not solely in the Village
§ Degnan Blvd north of 43rd should be preserved through a public land trust.
§ We ask that the City place a moratorium on any development of the land along Degnan Blvd for five years to allow for the plan as outlined above to be developed.
We are asking for your assistance in organizing block club meetings to present the full proposal. If you would like to support this effort – please contact Lark Galloway-Gilliam by calling (323) 295-9372 ext 212 or via email at lark@chc-inc.org.
Opportunities to Get Involved
Both the CAC and our neighborhood council will be holding elections within the next two months. This is an opportunity to make a difference in your community – get involved.
* The CAC is the advisory committee to the CRA for this area and must review and make recommendations on any and all development in the Crenshaw project area. Elections will be held at the May 10th meeting – 7;00 at the Episcopal church on the corner of Vernon and Leimert.
* The Neighborhood Council oversees a wide range of issues regarding our community and is awarded $50,000 per year to complete projects and activities that could benefit the community. The election process and timeline is as follows:
Monday, April 23 6-9pm - Candidate Info Session
Monday, May 21 6-9pm - Candidate Info Session
Tuesday, May 29 5pm - CANDIDATE FILLING DEADLINE
Monday, June 25 6:30pm Candidate Forum (Village Green)
Saturday, June 30 10am - 4pm ELECTION
Battle to Put Expo Line Underground:
Construction of the Expo line is eminent. A grassroots organization has formed to fight the building of the line at street level given the traffic and number of schools along the line. The Expo Community has filed an objection with the Public Utility Commission for the planned crossings along the line. A public hearing will be scheduled sometime in June or July. SAVE LEIMERT will be sponsoring a community forum to bring folks up to date. For more information – go to the website www.saveleimrt.org
City Planning Process
Every 5-10 years the City Planning Department is required to update its zoning and other guidelines on the use of land in the city. The Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills/ West Adams/Leimert area is now under review. A series of focus group meetings have been held. SAVE LEIMRT is asking the department to conduct outreach throughout the area in order to engage as many folks as possible. If you are interested in learning more – come to the weekly Save Leimert Coalition meeting on Thursday – 7-8:30pm at 3731 Stocker.
Join Community Coalition for an accountability session with City Planning Director, Gail Goldberg. Saturday April 28, (:30 AM to 11:30 AM. 8101 S Vermont Ave. See attachments for more information.
COMMUNITY NEWS AND UPDATE
April 2007
SAVE LEIMERT Neighborhood Coalition is committed to keeping you up-to-date on events and activities that impact the quality of life in our community. We want to share the following information with you and encourage your continued vigilance and involvement.
Leimert Park Village Visioning Process
After months of protest by SAVE LEIMERT – the CRA agreed to extend the timeline and turn the planning process for the development of a master plan for the Village over to the community under the direction of the CAC. As you know, SAVE LEIMERT continued to have concern for the hurried timeline and limited opportunities for public input that the CAC had imposed – but moved forward with a parallel process to develop its recommendations to the city. We believe we have developed an outstanding vision for the future of this community which we would like to share with you. The following is a brief summary:
§ The Village must be preserved as a enclave for the African American art and culture and also serve as an incubator for the development of African American entrepreneurship
§ Zoning should be limited to commercial and retail use only – no housing
§ Buildings along Degnan Blvd should be limited to 2 stories in height
§ The Vision Theater must reopen and serve as a major attraction and anchor for business development
§ The city parking lot on the west side of Degnan should be used to build a research center on African American history and culture in collaboration with local universities similar to the Schomberg Research in New York
§ The city parking lot on the east side of Degnan should be used for commercial and retail space along Degnan and the back side of the lot provide a parking structure to accommodate the Vision Theater parking needs
§ A state of the arts Library should be constructed along 43rd to replace the Angelus Mesa Library
§ The community is in need of sitdown restaurants and many other personal services that come with major retail companies– these should be located throughout the Crenshaw and Marlton Square Development project and not solely in the Village
§ Degnan Blvd north of 43rd should be preserved through a public land trust.
§ We ask that the City place a moratorium on any development of the land along Degnan Blvd for five years to allow for the plan as outlined above to be developed.
We are asking for your assistance in organizing block club meetings to present the full proposal. If you would like to support this effort – please contact Lark Galloway-Gilliam by calling (323) 295-9372 ext 212 or via email at lark@chc-inc.org.
Opportunities to Get Involved
Both the CAC and our neighborhood council will be holding elections within the next two months. This is an opportunity to make a difference in your community – get involved.
* The CAC is the advisory committee to the CRA for this area and must review and make recommendations on any and all development in the Crenshaw project area. Elections will be held at the May 10th meeting – 7;00 at the Episcopal church on the corner of Vernon and Leimert.
* The Neighborhood Council oversees a wide range of issues regarding our community and is awarded $50,000 per year to complete projects and activities that could benefit the community. The election process and timeline is as follows:
Monday, April 23 6-9pm - Candidate Info Session
Monday, May 21 6-9pm - Candidate Info Session
Tuesday, May 29 5pm - CANDIDATE FILLING DEADLINE
Monday, June 25 6:30pm Candidate Forum (Village Green)
Saturday, June 30 10am - 4pm ELECTION
Battle to Put Expo Line Underground:
Construction of the Expo line is eminent. A grassroots organization has formed to fight the building of the line at street level given the traffic and number of schools along the line. The Expo Community has filed an objection with the Public Utility Commission for the planned crossings along the line. A public hearing will be scheduled sometime in June or July. SAVE LEIMERT will be sponsoring a community forum to bring folks up to date. For more information – go to the website www.saveleimrt.org
City Planning Process
Every 5-10 years the City Planning Department is required to update its zoning and other guidelines on the use of land in the city. The Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills/ West Adams/Leimert area is now under review. A series of focus group meetings have been held. SAVE LEIMRT is asking the department to conduct outreach throughout the area in order to engage as many folks as possible. If you are interested in learning more – come to the weekly Save Leimert Coalition meeting on Thursday – 7-8:30pm at 3731 Stocker.
Join Community Coalition for an accountability session with City Planning Director, Gail Goldberg. Saturday April 28, (:30 AM to 11:30 AM. 8101 S Vermont Ave. See attachments for more information.
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SF Bay Area
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