Be advised readers! This is going to be one of those columns that deals with real issues and may be even more boring than usual. I read in today's LA Times, with little interest, an article about Councilmember Richard Alarcon's opinion that there really was no such place as Lake Balboa. And in the California Section, which occasionally is reputed to have local news, there was the celebrity murder trial, problems between Disneyland and Anaheim, busways on Wilshire Boulevard and obituaries. But I saw nothing about my community or what would affect my life on a daily basis. There was no article about the Council of Neighborhoods, held last weekend or anything about what I think is one of the most significant events in public participation about land use decisions that the City of Los Angeles has done since requiring 500 foot notice of public hearings on development applications (that significant event didn't make the paper either). The Los Angeles City Planning Department recently granted its neighborhood councils one of the best tools available for having meaningful input into discretionary land use decisions. In a memo dated April 19, 2007, Gail Goldberg, Director of the Los Angeles City Planning Department said, "To further improve services to the communities of the City of Los Angeles, the Department of City Planning is implementing new guidelines for applicants to comply in order to better inform the Certified neighborhood Council (CNC) of development projects in their communities and to enhance their ability to make recommendations to the City in a timely manner. Effective Monday, June 11, 2007 all applicants are required to submit a duplicate file of the application for the CNC when submitting a project application. APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED IF ALL OF THE CNC REQUIRED ITEMS ARE NOT PROVIDED AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION.

"The following are required for the CNC packages:

· Applicants must submit a duplicate file in a postage paid, pre-addressed, unsealed envelope which will be mailed by the Department to the appropriate CNC. Projects in an area served by more than one Neighborhood Council must provide a file for each CNC.

· A duplicate file must contain the Master Land Use Application, Findings, Vicinity map, photos of the site and surrounding properties, and a set of plans, including plot/site plans. Radius map and/or Elevations, Landscape, and Floor Plans must be submitted when required. All maps and plans must be legible and no larger than 11 x 17 in size.

· Include a copy of the Environmental Assessment Form and/or Environmental Determination. If applicable, Environmental Impact Reports may be submitted on a CD."

What does all this mean? you may ask, if you are still awake and reading. Well, here's what it should mean in Eagle Rock and other communities that have certified neighborhood councils. It should mean that when an application is filed, or shortly thereafter, the Neighborhood Council will receive a copy of that application which states what the Applicant is trying to do, gives the basic facts about the request, provides a site plan and possibly elevations, depending on the request, so that someone looking at the information can tell what the proposed project looks like (not as easy as one might think). There is usually a period of at least 3 - 4 months and frequently 6 - 9 months from the time an application is filed until a public hearing is held by the City on the matter.

This time period between the time the application is filed and a public hearing is held gives the neighborhood council an adequate opportunity to spread the word in the community about the application and to give people in the community an opportunity to come together and discuss the application in a timely fashion.

It also means that there will be a greater burden on the neighborhood council to get the information out to the community in a timely fashion and to do outreach and provide a forum in which such discussions can occur. It places the burden squarely on the neighborhood councils to notify stakeholders of those applications and provide a forum for discussion and action. This is going to be hard work and, to be successful, is going to require a high level of education and participation by various neighborhood council members and committee members to understand the applications, the processes and to get that information out to the community and to get feedback from the community prior to making its recommendations to the City Planning Department and Council Office.

The previous "Early Notification" system never worked as it was intended. Too often neighborhood councils and the community were notified a few weeks prior to the City's public hearing rather than when the application was filed. Frequently there was no opportunity to provide meaningful input or to thoroughly review a project. And in many cases, neighborhood council committees never saw the actual application, having to take the developer's word on what was being proposed and requested. All this changes as of Monday, June 11. But now the burden falls on the neighborhood councils to get this information out in a timely fashion. TERA wants to be informed and participate and wants copies of the applications. It's not our place to make the request for others, but I also think such community groups as ERCPR and the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce should also receive this information and all groups share in the responsibility of getting the word out and providing input on the applications.

This is a great opportunity for the neighborhood councils to serve as a council for the community by facilitating this important exchange of information. As with all things involving public participation, it won't be easy but it will certainly be worthwhile.

Thanks to Gail Goldberg and the City Planning Department for implementing this policy requirement to the benefit of our communities.