Congratulations and thank you to the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce and the Women’s 20th Century Club for sponsoring a very successful “Meet and Greet the Staff of CD 14” on Wednesday evening at the Women’s 20th Century Club. The event provided an opportunity for community members to listen to and ask questions of Councilmember Jose Huizar and to meet and interact with his staff members. It was a great chance to talk with the people charged with doing the day to day work in our community and the Women’s Club was filled with people taking advantage of the opportunity to do just that.

It gave me a chance to meet and thank Amy Yeager on the Councilmember’s staff for her work with TERA Board member Mary Tokita to attempt to find a preventative remedy for the type of vandalism inflicted upon the Eagle Rockdale Community Garden by taggers recently as well as to talk to the Councilmember about issues that are important to TERA.

In a letter below Brian McPherson raises some very legitimate concerns about the proposed parking ordinance that I’ve written about in past editions of the e-letter. The proposed community parking ordinance seeks to achieve a delicate balance between the needs of the commercial properties along a portion of Colorado Boulevard and the protection of the residential areas on either side of the Boulevard from adverse impacts due to the intrusion of parking for commercial uses into the residential areas. Its success depends on a number of factors.

The proposed ordinance is based on a successful program in Pasadena which allows businesses in areas where there is underutilized public parking to buy credits in lieu of building more spaces on site when there is a change of use. The parking credits are to be limited to the actual capacity of parking spaces available. Independent calculations will be made for weekday, night and weekend uses. It is intended that the revenues generated will pay for more parking in the area (valet service and public lots or parking structures). When the capacity is used up, no further change of use permits will be issued until more parking becomes available.

It is intended that the valet parking service being discussed will utilize only the public parking spaces available in the commercial areas. I am aware of individual businesses in other parts of Los Angeles that have utilized valet parking as part of a Conditional Use Permit for a restaurant and the valets park the cars on adjacent residential streets and this should not be allowed in Eagle Rock. Utilizing existing public parking lots, valets can park many more cars in the same space than can be parked by self-parking.

The goal is to make it unnecessary to park on adjacent residential streets while patronizing commercial establishments. Of course, there is always the possibility that individuals will choose to park on residential streets rather than utilize the self- park commercial spaces that are available or to take advantage of valet parking, when it is implemented. This situation exists now.

It is also important to remember that the intent is to allow these parking credits only for existing buildings. New construction projects would still have to provide code required parking or obtain an exception to the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan. Therefore, the opportunity to obtain and utilize these credits is limited. Keep in mind that one of the underlying purposes of the proposed ordinance is to encourage redevelopment and rehabilitation of existing commercial buildings such as those in which Sworks and the Coffee Table are located.

This type of rehabilitation and redevelopment has added greatly to the character of the community and the commercial revitalization of Eagle Rock. In addition, the improvements to the existing commercial properties along Eagle Rock’s boulevards has contributed to the desirability of Eagle Rock as a place to live; a place where we can walk to Fatty’s, Beaujolais, Le Petite B, Camilo’s, the Coffee Table, the Colorado Wine Company, the Blue Hen, Auntie Em’s, the Blue Heeler, Sworks, and others too numerous to name, partake of what they have to offer, and feel proud that these business are part of the community in which we are fortunate enough to live.

In closing, the proposed ordinance needs to be scrutinized and reviewed. The needs of the residents on both sides of the Boulevard need to be considered, as does the overall good of the community. I frequently walk on the side streets on both side of Colorado Boulevard between Sierra Villa and Figueroa with what seems like an ever-increasing number of dogs, and can say with certainty that what Eagle Rock does not need are more speeding cars, be they driven by valets or residents. Thank you for writing and I look forward to much more input on this issue

Thanks again to John Acevedo for his work in editing this edition of the e-letter.