If you missed TERA’s public meeting last Tuesday, you missed a great birthday cake, donated by The Coffee Table Restaurant, along with some extraordinary food, donated by our friends at Camilo’s Bistro and Isla Buffet and Grill. In addition you missed Councilmember Jose Huizar’s State of the Town Address regarding Eagle Rock. Thanks to Councilmember Jose Huizar, his staff, and the 80+ community members for coming together at the Center for the Arts Eagle Rock to talk about what’s on the minds of the Community. Here are some of the highlights from the Councilmember’s remarks:

• Juanita Martinez, an Eagle Rock resident, will be joining the staff in the Eagle Rock office;

• The Councilmember is looking for ways to open up Eagle Rock City hall to the community, turning it into a center for the community;

• Improvements have been made to Colorado Boulevard, including the implementation of a new parking program for businesses along Colorado Boulevard, soon to be before the City Council;

• He is working on improving safety along Colorado Boulevard, citing an 11% decrease in violent crimes, but noted a 7% to 8% increase in robberies and break-ins/ He is working on funding for cameras on Colorado Boulevard;

• He noted the need for another patrol car;

• He is working with the local police station to upgrade computers;

• He is concerned with building on local hillsides, planning a slow growth policy in hillside areas. He is looking hard at discretionary approvals of projects in hillside areas and possibly implementing an Interim Control Ordinance (ICO) for hillside building projects;

• The Council Office will fund two monuments marking entryways to Eagle Rock. A public design process to allow community input into the selection of a design for the monuments will be announced soon;

• The Council Office has provided funds for lights for the “Concerts in the Park” next summer;

• The dumpsters in Eagle Rock Park will be moved away from the street to an area back in the park, where they will be gated to help prevent illegal dumping;

• A bulky item pick-up program has been implemented on the 4th Saturday of every month;

• The Councilmember expressed his opposition to the proposed drug rehabilitation facility proposed for Glen Iris Street, south of Colorado Boulevard and said that the City Attorney would oppose any license which might be needed by the facility. The Council Office is exploring ways to amend the State Code regarding sober living facilities;

• The Council Office is working on setting up a forum to dialogue with the community about what is needed to make the community safer.

The Councilmember then answered questions from the audience.

• In response to questions regarding the proposed conversion of a single family dwelling at 5434 Mt. Helena Avenue to a 6-bed elderly medical facility, the Councilmember that he will oppose the license to the facility. He reiterated that he was opposed to the facility.

• Regarding early morning trash pick-up and deliveries creating noise in adjacent residential areas, the Councilmember will suggest that the perpetrators be given a warning and then police enforcement will be carried out.

• The Councilmember said that the now closed Albertson’s Market will be occupied by a (British-based) Tesco Market, but was not certain when the market would open;

• In response to a business owner’s question about the confiscation of business signs in the medians, the Councilmember reiterated that the signs are illegal and will be confiscated but he said he would find out where the signs were taken;

• The Councilmember reported that the Los Angeles International Charter School had temporarily moved to a location in Sherman Oaks and would not be occupying the Farley Building, located at Mt. Royal and Colorado Boulevard. Work was continuing on finding the school a permanent site;

• A question was raised about the repair of concrete streets and potholes. The Councilmember said he would check on whether it took longer to get concrete streets repaired but suggested that potholes could be repaired quickly and that his office should be called to insure prompt repair;

• The Councilmember responded to a question about opening up Eagle Rock City Hall, saying he wasn’t proposing changing the vintage architecture but merely making the building more accessible to more people. He has called for a historic building survey in Boyle Heights and Eagle Rock;

• He represented that he would work closely with motel owners on making sure that they received adequate training on the legal requirements concerning prostitution and how to prevent it in their establishments;

• The Councilmember stated that he wanted to keep artifacts in the Southwest Museum when it reopened and make it a more lively place.

The meeting concluded at approximately 8:30 and attendees, picketers from outside the meeting, and TERA Board members joined together to chow down on the delicious birthday cake provided by The Coffee Table Restaurant.

In addition to restating our thanks to Camilo’s Bistro, the Isla Buffet and Grill and the Coffee Table, I also wanted to thank Betty Tyndall and Renate Krump for greeting people at the door, as well as TERA Board member Keith Louie for all of his work in bringing the community meeting together and to thank Frank Parrello, Liz and John Wagner, and Carol Baker Tharp for their help in cleaning up after the meeting.

If you haven’t yet seen the October issue of Sunset Magazine, in the “What to do in Southern California section on page 51, it says, “The annual Eclectic Eagle Rock Home Tour his six (now seven) homes in this architectural gem of a classic suburb in East L.A. The tour turns toward the ‘50s this year, focusing on several mid-century houses with special flair. $20; 10-4 Oct 15; Eagles Hall, 1596 Yosemite Dr., www.tera90041.org or 323-799-1181.”

Isn’t it nice to read that Eagle Rock is an “architectural gem of a classic suburb”? And remember that TERA members get to buy Home Tour tickets for $15 in advance of the Tour. The cost to non-members is $20.00 Tickets are on sale at Auntie Em’s Marketplace at 4616 Eagle Rock Boulevard; Colorado Wine Company at 2114 Colorado Boulevard; and at Stefano’s, at 1551 Colorado Boulevard.