To those of you who showed up at the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock last Tuesday, February 21st to hear Councilmember Jose Huizar, I apologize for the failure to communicate with you prior to the meeting time. We did not find out about the Councilmember being uncertain that he would be able to attend until Sunday afternoon. Since Monday was a legal holiday and the event was scheduled for Tuesday, we felt we had no choice but to cancel the meeting and send out notice through the e-letter. We are working on rescheduling that meeting and will let you know the date.

In the meantime, the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce and the Women’s 20th Century Club are sponsoring a meeting with the Staff of the 14th Council District on Wednesday, March 1st, 2006 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Women’s 20th Century Club, located at 5105 Hermosa Avenue, Eagle Rock, CA 90041 (northwest corner of Colorado and Hermosa). See the notice from the ERNC printed below.

I have received some inquiries as to what happened to the Eagle Rock flag that until recently flew over the intersection of the 2 and 134 Freeways, along with the California and American flags. Kathleen Long, TERA Vice President reports that the flag was damaged during the recent wind storms and has been taken down to be repaired and cleaned. Hopefully you will see it flying again soon.

TERA, along with ERCPR and the Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society, is working to convince the City of Los Angeles to follow its own Zoning Code regarding parking for buildings that have been declared historic and to not require additional parking for those buildings when there is a change of use. There are businesses right now in Eagle Rock that are attempting to open in an historic building and are being told that because the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan requires additional parking for restaurants, that the exemption for new parking for historic buildings that already exists in the Zoning Code will not be allowed. This makes it virtually impossible for viable, popular businesses to locate in historic buildings which “historically” have been unable to provide parking sufficient to meet modern code requirements. The end result of this kind of policy has been the demolition of the City’s older buildings in order to provide the land necessary to park cars for new businesses. This is contrary to the intent of the Specific Plan, which states, “To the maximum extent feasible, cultural resources, architecturally-significant or historic structures or community related landmarks shall be preserved.” As was reported previously in the E-Letter, the City Planning Department is currently drafting an ordinance which will amend the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan and allow on street parking to be applied as a credit against the needs for commercial and retail uses along Colorado Boulevard. ERCPR, with the help of Civic Enterprise Associates, LLC has been working hard to make this happen as quickly as possible to assist these businesses and others that may be waiting to locate in the remaining historic or potentially historic buildings along Colorado Boulevard. We are looking for and indeed expecting the assistance of Councilmember Huizar in pushing through this ordinance, which will be used as a model for parking in other parts of the City having the same issues. This is a collaborative effort of businesses, residents, and preservationists to do something quickly that will result in benefits for the entire community. We look forward to making it happen.

Finally, Maria Nazario, one of the co-chairs of this year’s Eagle Rock Eclectic Home Tour, called to my attention that Westways Magazine reviewed our own Blue Hen Vietnamese Restaurant, located at 1743 Colorado Boulevard, in its March/April edition, calling it a stylishly minimalist Vietnamese café with local art on the walls, good music on the stereo, and a commitment to using locally raised and sustainable foods. They go on to say that the imperial rolls are crisp and tasty, the Vietnamese-style chicken sandwich is excellent, the porridge is restorative, and the turmeric fries are a treat. Wash it all down with a glass of the organic coffee with sweetened condensed milk and you’ll be ready for whatever adventure Eagle Rock might have in store for you. As they say in the movies, let the adventure begin!

A special note of thanks to John Acevedo for his help in putting this e-letter together.