Brown Act Crusader Rosendahl Could Set the Standard with His Own Transportation Committee

CityWatch, July 13, 2011
Vol 9 Issue 55

RETHINKING LA - Councilman Bill Rosendahl is to be commended for his recent attempt to force the City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Proposed Downtown Stadium and Event Center to conduct its business openly, transparently, and in compliance with California’s Brown Act.

That being said, his journey down the moral high road will be smoother if he applies the same open-door standard to the business that takes place within his Transportation Committee.
Rosendahl’s Brown Act campaign was set in motion when a representative of the Office of the City Attorney opined that “ad hoc committees of this City Council are not bound by the provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act -- the state law that guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies.”
Almost 60 years ago, an editorial in the Sacramento commented on the proposed Brown Act, saying:

A law to prohibit secret meetings of official bodies, save under the most exceptional circumstances, should not be necessary. Public officers above all other persons should be imbued with the truth that their business is the public’s business and they should be the last to tolerate any attempt to keep the people from being fully informed as to what is going on in official agencies. Unfortunately, however, that is not always the case. Instances are many in which officials have contrived, deliberately and shamefully, to operate in a vacuum of secrecy.

Since then, the Brown Act has been revised, enhanced, clarified, amplified, debated, ignored, embraced, manipulated and periodically rediscovered.

Rosendahl’s recent rediscovery of the Brown Act resulted in his opinion that “while some may argue it is legal for the City Council to form ad hoc committees that have the right to waive or ignore public notice and information requirements, doing so would break faith with a public that rightly expects and deserves transparency in its government.”

Well said! Only Ralph M. Brown could have said it better, and he did, in the introduction to the Brown Act:

The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.

Rosendahl’s role as crusader for the Brown Act set him up for a symbolic win but a practical loss as his motion for transparency failed in City Council Chambers amidst protests and shock from Councilwoman Jan Perry who prefaced her comments by saying “Mr. Rosendahl, I consider you a good friend.” Then the Brown Act hit the fan and Rosendahl’s motion was sent to committee where those who voted in opposition to Brown Act transparency will control its progress.

Rosendahl has an opportunity here, one where he moves beyond simple Council Chamber debate and actually sets a standard for City Hall, starting in his Transportation Committee.

The City of Los Angeles engages in the business of transportation in a process that is within the oversight of the City Council’s Transportation Committee. The City of LA competes for federal, state, and local funds through competitive programs that include Metro’s Call for Projects and the Caltrans administered Safe Routes to School.

For years, LA's transportation strategies, funding applications, and project implementation have been controlled by the Interdepartmental Task Force Committee (“the Committee”) made up of representatives from the Mayor's office, the Council offices, the Bureaus of Street Lighting and Street Services, the Chief Legislative Officer's office, the Chief Administrative Officer's office, Transportation, Water & Power, and the City's Redevelopment Agency.

"The Committee" typically engages in the business of the people with three motivations, desperation, deadlines, and diplomacy.

Typical recommendations from “the Committee” come with the caveat that “there wasn’t much time, we did the best we could,” resulting in proposals made with a commitment to expediency over effectiveness. This cycle of desperation is the result of an ongoing inability to plan ahead for looming deadlines.

“The Committee” then dilutes any hope of a regional commitment to a strategic transportation plan by requiring that every council district get a piece of the pie, whether or not it makes sense.

All of this takes place in secret, away from the public, in spite of the fact that the City Council and the Transportation Committee have both directed “the Committee” to conduct its business openly.

Several years ago, the City Council directed the Transportation Committee, lead department on “the Committee,” to keep the City Council informed of its planning, priorities, and performance. That display of bravado failed to yield meaningful results, a position that the DOT defended by arguing “We had no time!”

Three LADOT General Managers in a row have tendered the same defense as they exclude the public from the process of proposing, prioritizing, and presenting transportation projects for funding, all as the Transportation Committee directs them to engage the neighborhood councils in the process.

One might argue that the participation of the public in the process might slow it down, a fair point to make that fails to acknowledge the simple fact that projects with community support perform better in the competitive funding process.

Based on results, often harsh but always fair, the current actions of “the Committee” fall far short of acceptable and are starved for the infusion of accountability that would come from opening the process to the public.

Years after the LADOT revealed that the City of LA had no Strategic Transportation Plan in place to drive the funding proposal process, the LADOT still meanders without guidance.

Years after the City Council demanded to be involved in the process, “the Committee” continues to offer tepid proposals that lack commitment, vision, innovation, community support or any hope of successfully competing for transportation funding.

For too long, the City of LA has relied on the “fair share” approach to transportation funding, arguing that it deserves the money simply because of its size. This has resulted in an internal process controlled by city staff that recycles old failed proposals and debating process in order to fund projects that lack vision, support, and efficacy.

It’s time for the people of LA to raise the standard for transportation planning, to participate in the process of planning, presenting proposals for funding, prioritizing projects and evaluating performance.

Rosendahl’s role as champion of the Brown Act demands that he seize this opportunity and open business of the Transportation Committee to the public by bringing “the Committee” from behind closed doors, opening its business up to the community, and embracing the public as partners in the business of the people.

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at: Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net.)

Dennis Allen brings the Streetcar vision to the Transit Coalition

LA Streetcar's CEO, Dennis Allen, was the latest in a Rock Star lineup of transportation executives to join the Transit Coalition for its monthly advocacy session at Philippe's the Original, presenting the non-profit's vision for positioning a streetcar circulator as an integral element in the Bringing Back Broadway movement.

Allen's presentation was equal parts vision, technical, urban planning, funding strategy, community engagement and economics. His ability to address and satisfy the diverse interests of the Transit Coalition's "peer review" approach to project presentations speaks volumes to the LA Streetcar's ability to connect the many needs of the local community.

In other words, sometimes a Streetcar isn't simply a Streetcar.

Allen was joined by Russell Brown, LASI Boardmember and Executive Director of Historic Downtown BID, and together they presented the many facets of the LA Streetcar vision along with the many ways to position a streetcar as a transportation solution, as a placemaking tool, as an economic stimulus, as an opportunity to create community, and as an opportunity to connect people, neighborhoods, and transportation modes.

The proposed streetcar route is approximately four miles in length and would serve areas including Bunker Hill, Grand Avenue and the Music Center, Historic Broadway and the Historic Core, South Park, L.A. LIVE and the Los Angeles Convention Center, running seven days a week and as much as eighteen hours a day.

It has been a couple of years since community members from the downtown area gathered together for a field trip to Portland and Seattle, all in an effort to turn the theoretical into reality. First person experiences of the LA team combined with good data from the merchants and residents who participated in the Portland and Seattle streetcar projects provided the fuel for the LA Streetcar campaign which then resulted in LA's Streetcar Conference and the community based Streetcar planning process. A simple vision took on grassroots support and is now moving forward with seed money, first phase funding, a Metro partnership, and a timeline.

Allen and Brown are adept at addressing the many benefits of a simple four mile connector, moving fluidly from "last mile" solution for commuters to "park once" options for visitors. Key to the entire operation is their ability to engage the local property owners who stand to benefit from an improved streetlife but who will also be financial partners.

A recent poll in the Los Angeles Business Journal asks "How much new vitality would the downtown business community enjoy if streetcars started running again?" The unscientific poll resulted in 70% of the participants declaring "A great deal." This position is supported by the operators and the merchants of the Seattle and the Portland streetcars systems as evidenced by their participation in the LA Streetcar conference and their stories of moving from naysayer to yeasayer.

The promise of a streetcar in Los Angeles is not without obstacles but they are not technical or logistical, they are simply funding and process oriented, still formidable but certainly manageable. Allen and Brown estimate that the journey will take two years for the funding and environmental work and then two years for the construction which will be somewhat low-impact on the local community because of the simplicity. At the same time, the implementation of the streetcar improvements is also the best time to implement street level enhancements that improve the walkability of the area.

Brown estimates that the cost of the four mile Streetcar circulator at $100 million, noting "The first thing you do need is to be simple and realistic, start at one place and complete a manageable size because the startup is the most expensive period." Allen added "This is a small investment when you consider that ten thousand riders a day will be drawn to the community and engaged in the economic revitalization of the neighborhood."

The LA Streetcar presentation came the day after the 20th anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act, prompting several questions about accessibility and integration with the street design. Modern Streetcar designs incorporate nostalgic elements but on a foundation of innovation that resolves ADA access issues of days gone by. From island ramp access to streetcar designs to street bulbouts that support safer streets for peds, cyclists, and other transit modes, the ADA advocates left confident that the LA Streetcar process was focused on moving people safely. There really is no tougher challenge, nor is there a greater endorsement.

CityWatchLA - Keep on Truckin’

Nothing stirs controversy like success and the recent popularity of LA's specialty Food Trucks has City Hall scratching their collective heads as they grapple with the social phenomenon that has Angelenos tracking the likes of Fishlips, Frysmith, Dogzilla, King Kone and other expressions of LA's Food Truck Culture.

LA County has more than 4000 Food Trucks on the streets but it is the 200 specialty trucks that trigger the latest version of the traditional LA celebrity sighting. Foodies regularly Tweet the locations of their favorites and follow the rock star Trucks such as Don Chow, India Jones, Coolhaus, Dosa, Nom Nom, Buttermilk and the wildly popular Grilled Cheesed Truck.

The success of the Food Truck phenomenon is so great that some locals, from residents to brick-and-mortar restaurant operators, have cried "Foul!" and turf wars have erupted over parking spaces, traffic congestion, impact to the community and simple competition.

This prompted the City of LA to jump in feet first and the City Council introduced motions that sought to restrict Food Trucks. Meanwhile, local leaders from the community and the Food Truck industry have demonstrated the type of leadership that belongs in City Hall, embracing the confusion, conflict, controversy, and looking for the common ground.

The Downtown Art Walk regularly draws 24 thousand people to its 2nd Thursday event, challenging the organizational and diplomatic skills of the community leaders who started the event years ago in an effort to enhance the sense of community in their neighborhood. It worked. It also demanded that they respond to the needs of brick-and-mortar restaurants, the street vendors, the food trucks and the many patrons who simply wanted to spend money. With success came challenges but the Art Walk leadership looked for common ground and created a win-win-win situation.

It's reported that some operators of traditional restaurants such as the Black Dog seized on the presence of the Food Trucks, not as the enemy out to cannibalize, but as a draw. The Black Dog now features longer hours, an enhanced menu, and a unique niche that offers choices to the increased customer traffic in the community and has demonstrated the benefit of competition.

Food Truck operators have long been a staple on the streets of LA and the availability of late night tacos is part of the unique character of LA's food scene. The recent boom in Food Truck variety has led to "Restaurant Row" style events that offer a rotating selection of cuisine and enhancements that turn simple street food into a "happening!"

Last weekend, the RoseBowl hosted the LA Street Food Fest featuring over 60 trucks, a $45 cover charge and unlimited dining. Celebrity chefs, including Sue Feniger and Walter Manske, judged the participants, awarding street cred to vendors in categories that included Best Old School Street Food, Best Nouveau Street Food, The Sweet Tooth and Best in Show.

This ain't construction site food, folks.

LA's Food Truck phenomenon is part of our unique street culture and it is an expression of mobility that brings our streets to life. It is an economic boom that City Hall should embrace and support looking for win-win opportunities that connect us, not divide us.

Imagine how community events can benefit from the participation of the Food Trucks.  East Hollywood ArtCycle took place on Santa Monica Boulevard between Vermont and Virgil, featuring bands, artists, crafters, bike tours and a major street was brought to life with the presence of thousands of people. 18 Food Trucks were a vital part of the celebration and partners in a successful event.

The LA Chapter of the American Planning Association recently hosted their awards event, looking for a transit accessible, historic venue with a connection to a vibrant street life. They chose the El Portal Theatre in NoHo for its cultural legacy and for its close proximity to the Red and Orange Lines, and then they brought the street to life by stationing Food Trucks on the street and hosting the reception on the sidewalk, opening up the street and connecting.

This weekend, Food Trucks will be at the Music Center in support of Saturday's National Dance Day and they'll be at Venice High School in support of the Achievable Foundation. They'll also be at the Grand Hope Park where Outdoor Cinema Fest will be screening Moulon Rouge on a huge outdoor screen, supported by a dozen Food Trucks offering what they refer to as "the ultimate picnic!"

Through it all, there exists controversy, most often when City Hall intervenes and clouds the water.

The most recent brouhaha broke out on Wilshire Boulevard when the Museum Square restaurants encountered competition from Food Trucks and which resulted in a turf war that resulted in small platoons of motorists trolling Wilshire in the morning, seizing parking spaces and holding them for the duration of the day to deny parking for the Food Trucks.

All of which creates a scenario that begs for leadership, not simply in negotiating parking spaces, trash pickup and cooperative business practices, but in addressing the need to support small businesses and look for opportunities to support an economic boom that should be encouraged, not restricted.

The City of LA goes to great lengths to support and enhance valet parking, taxi cab parking, tour bus parking, FedEx & UPS parking, and general delivery parking, all in an effort to improve the viability of the individual operators and the customers they serve.

This isn't a restriction but an enhancement, meant to offer specific support. If anything, this is an opportunity to embrace a challenge and to support the success of the small businesses on wheels.

LA has ample regulations on the books that apply to Food Trucks, from health standards to parking to operations, and the notion that the conflict caused by the recent success warrants more regulation is folly. If anything, this is an opportunity to refine the code to support a vibrant industry and an economic opportunity.

One of the simplest barometers of social justice and economic parity is the availability of quality food.

From grocery stores to farmers markets to restaurants, neighborhoods have long gauged their "completeness" on quality options for shopping, for entertaining, and for casual dining.

The Food Truck industry offers brick-and-mortar businesses an opportunity to expand their customer base while offering start-ups an opportunity to refine their menu and connect with the community, leading some to establish fixed locations for their restaurants. In other words, it creates a symbiotic relationship that resonates through a community.

It also offers LA an opportunity to be creative, addressing situations that have been taken for granted. In the Entertainment Industry, location shoots succeed and fail based on the Producer's ability to feed the tired and hungry crew.

Many long location shoots have been saved by an industrious Production Manager who can drum up a BBQ in the middle of the night or get the Cuban Coffee served fresh to a tired crew. Would supporting the Food Trucks be an opportunity to support the Entertainment Industry?

Recent emergency events in our community have dramatized the simple need to be ready to mobilize food and the Griffith Park fire, the Station fire, and the Metrolink crash all included challenges that a Food Truck fleet can address.

In the Metrolink tragedy, local neighborhood council members simply bought all the food they could carry from local restaurants and hopped a fence in order to feed the emergency workers who went around the clock and were fading from hunger.

In both the Griffith Park and Station fires, the evacuation centers were isolated and feeding the people turned out to be a challenge that a booming Food Truck industry can address. Would connecting with our Food Truck neighbors be an investment in Emergency Preparedness?

The times are changing and the Farmers Markets that were once a novelty are now the norm. City Hall even hosts a weekly Farmers Market and on Thursdays there is a sense of place on the south lawn. There were challenges, there were adjustments but that was then and this is now. The same is true for the Food Truck boom.

The flexibility and mobility of the Food Trucks allows a partnership with underserved communities and neighborhoods that can revitalize and pollinate, providing a service that will actually reduce car trips  by servicing dense business parks with limited choice. It also allows a community to demonstrate a need, attracting traditional food service operators to partner with a community.

LA is the Capital of Diversity and the Food Truck Industry is an expression of all that is great about Los Angeles. There's the Gastrobus that partners with Farmers Markets and only serves locally sourced food and there's the GreenTruck that features a solar powered commissary, veggie fueled truck, organic food and sustainable packaging.

Ultimately, there's something for everybody and the mobile platform allows for the trial-and-error innovation that is such a part of the Los Angeles legacy.

The City of LA is faced with a rare challenge, managing and encouraging success, and it is imperative that we work together to support the dialogue and look for common ground that is good for the community, good for the small business operators and good for the customer.

LAPD HQ - now serving cyclists!

It took six months but the Los Angeles Police Department finally added curbside bike parking and sent a clear message to the cycling community that they are welcome at the $500 million headquarters on 1st Street, just across from City Hall. Critics called foul at the ribbon cutting when they discovered that the LAPD bike parking was behind a tower, hidden by planters and trees, behind a wall, all in violation of the basic Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) standards.

The LAPD's failure prompted cyclists to appeal to the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee (LABAC) who not only called on the City of LA to investigate the absence of appropriate bike parking at the LAPD monument to crime prevention, but the LABAC passed a motion declaring the Ronald F. Deaton Civic Auditorium off-limits for meetings until the situation had been corrected.

All of this was in stark contrast to the stated intentions of then-new LAPD Chief Charlie Beck who declared that one of his first priorities was to forge a strong working relationship with the cycling community and to work on developing policies to better establish, articulate, and enforce policy that protected the rights of cyclists. Unfortunately, when the rubber hits the road, or the bikes hit the racks, cyclists who attended meetings at the LAPD HQ were offered only inhospitable accommodations, even as the LAPD executed stings to catch bike thieves.

For all of the LAPD's good intentions, the simplest way to prevent bike thefts is to properly secure bikes where they are visible, something that wasn't possible at the LAPD HQ. At the last meeting of the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force, cyclists locked their bikes at the top of the courtyard, demonstrating that when it comes to bike security, location matters.

So it is that only six months after the doors opened on the LAPD HQ, the welcome mat finally goes out for the cyclists!

As for the racks, they are the larger "Bike" bike racks, 6' long and in the shape of a bike. They have the same two-bike capacity as the traditional inverted-U rack but with a clear cut message and a tad of flair. We should be pleased and I am. I'm very pleased and I'm encouraged by the message it sends.

At the same time, I think it's fair to evaluate the racks and to seize the opportunity to pursue excellence.

On that note:

1) Bike Racks traditionally run parallel with the curbline, not perpendicular. Granted, the sidewalk here is wide but there is so much real estate, why not establish a standard?

2) First Street is a "No Stopping" zone from Spring to Main so why squeeze the bikes together so tighly, why not spread out?

3) The City of LA had bike parking standards that specify a minimum distance of 48" between parallel racks and yet these four racks have distances of 48", 47", and 43". Why does the City of Los Angeles aim for the minimum requirement and then settle for falling short?

4) The bike racks are out in the open, that is certain, and pedestrians, cyclists and motorists can all see them clearly. This should discourage thieves. Yet the most important eyeline, from the front door of the buildings, is blocked. From the eastside entrance of Deaton Auditorium, none of the racks are visible. From the westside entrance of Deaton Auditorium, two of the racks are visible. From the front door of the LAPD HQ, the racks are obscured to the point that it's unreasonable to expect anyone in the lobby of HQ to notice anything out of the ordinary on the sidewalk in the distance.

Ultimately, it took some time, they might have been installed better, but the effort of the LAPD to respond to the cycling community speaks volumes and it is greatly appreciated.

CityWatchLA - The Year of the Well Connected

CityWatch, Dec 30, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 105

"A crisis is a terrible thing to waste!"

The City of Los Angeles is in the midst of a crisis of unprecedented proportions and that presents LA with a rare "do-over" opportunity. A chance for the people of Los Angeles to embark on a new direction. One embracing the tactics of other Great Cities and charting a course driven by a connection to our destiny, our vision, and our purpose. If LA Mayor Villaraigosa wants to change the City’s downward spiral, he'll quickly establish Los Angeles as the Capital of the Well-Connected. He'll appoint a Czar of Connectivity. Not just somebody to fine-tune the Mayor's Tweeting skills, but somebody to rally the people of Los Angeles around our history, our story, our legacy and our journey.

Here are a few places that Los Angeles, the land of the well-connected, can start:

1) Los Angeles needs to connect with its history. Its story. As the City struggles with the budget crisis, now more that ever, the people of LA need to define the city's purpose.

Brisbane, Australia has a museum at its City Hall, and in that museum is an exhibit that presents the "City Machine" concept and tells the story of Brisbane from its early days to the present to its vision for the future.

It is acutely clear that the city's purpose is based on meeting a hierarchy of needs that starts with public health and public safety and moves through infrastructure and transportation to education and the arts.

Brisbane's motto is Meliora sequimur, Latin for We aim for better things. LA needs to connect with its past and maintain that connection as if it were the rudder steering the ship. It's the sign of a Great City.

2) Los Angeles needs to connect with its personality and character. As the City struggles to service the many communities in Los Angeles, the diversity of people and the variety of needs is often offered as an obstacle and as an excuse for inactivity.

Sydney, Australia by way of contrast, is a city with 25% more people and it positions itself as a "City of Villages," capitalizing on its diversity and celebrating the many choices to be found.

Los Angeles is the greatest brand in the world and it is made up of people from over 100 countries and speaking over 200 languages. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we recognize the people of Los Angeles as our greatest asset and position the patch-work quilt of LA's demographic landscape as a strength, not as a weakness. It's the sign of a Great City.

3) Los Angeles needs to connect physically with itself. Our communities are bisected and divided and children learn from an early age "Stay away from the street!"

We are a city of fences, boundaries, and borders, all of which contribute to the anonymity that prevails and prevents us from coalescing as a Great City with a shared purpose. There is no better time to embrace the development of open space, green space, and public space as tools for connecting the people of Los Angeles.

The Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council recently hosted a team of Planning Gurus from around the country as part of a sustainability survey and their recommendation for LA was to create "zippers" of public space that united neighborhoods and communities. LA needs to embrace the concept of streets that are designed for people. It's the sign of a Great City.

4) Los Angeles needs to connect with its clearly defined vision. The Mayor can talk about issues all day long and he even has a section on his website labeled "issues" but he does not have a clear VISION for Los Angeles.

Shame on us for waiting. It's acutely apparent that LA is currently a city focused on symptoms and that it is up to the people of LA to imagine the future and to create a vision for Los Angeles.

The East Hollywood Neighborhood Council has commissioned an "Imagine East Hollywood" project that is collecting the stories, experiences and visions of the individuals who make up the community. From the schools, the library, the streets, the transit hubs, the businesses and the churches, people are being asked to "Imagine!"

It is imperative that we as a community can collectively answer the questions "Where do you see LA in 5 years? Where do you want to go? What's your vision for Los Angeles?" It's the sign of a Great City.

5) Los Angeles needs to connect with its legacy. I appreciate Villaraigosa's enthusiasm but he has declared LA the Commercial Capital and the Culture Capital and the Biotech Capital and the Creativity Capital and the Eco-Fashion Capital and the Solar Capital and the Green Technology Capital and the Basketball Capital and the Electric Car Capital. Whew!

When reality sets in, it's apparent that LA is actually the Capital of Homelessness, Unemployment, Traffic Congestion and Air pollution.

We're also vying for titles in Unaffordable Housing, Wage Disparity and Failing Infrastructure. Toss in the fact that the City is in the middle of an economic meltdown and that the City staff is in the midst of an induced exodus and LA's legacy is now the Crisis Capital.

Almost fifty years ago, President-Elect John Kennedy quoted John Winthrop's sermon to the colonists as they prepared to settle in the new world. ""We must always consider," he said, "that we shall be as a city upon a hill—the eyes of all people are upon us."

Kennedy warned that history sits in judgment based on the answers to four questions: Were they truly people of courage? Were they truly people of judgment? Were they truly people of integrity? Were they truly people of dedication?

The eyes of all people are upon Los Angeles. It is imperative, now more than ever, that the people of LA connect with their legacy as the Do-It-Yourself Capital and take responsibility for introducing courage, judgment, integrity and dedication into the governance of Los Angeles. After all, it's the sign of a Great City!

(Stephen Box is a transportation and cyclist advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)

CityWatchLA - We've got no Vision!

CityWatch, Dec 11, 2009
Vol 7 Issue 101

The Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council's Sustainability Committee grabbed the future by the horns and took a step toward self-sufficiency by bringing eight planning gurus to town for a "Community Greening" initiative that involved politicos, non-profits, developers, activists and planners, all committed to turning LA's landscape of obstacles into the land of hope.

Led by Ashley Zarella Hand and Veronica Siranosian, the project was funded by a grant from the Center for Communities by Design, supported by the American Institute of Architects.

It consisted of a Dream Team of Urban Planners from all over the country who toured the downtown community, walked with stakeholders, debated, moderated, interviewed, brainstormed and grappled with the hardscape and the softscape … all the while asking the question nobody could answer "What do you want LA to look like in five years?"

For the professionals in the crowd, and there were many, the elements of sustainability are academic and simple, "Environmental, Social, Economic!" But for the neophytes and casual participants, the idea of defining sustainability was wide open and that made the discourse very interesting. What makes a community sustainable and where do we start?

The Sustainable Development Assessment Team (SDAT) offered their preliminary evaluation and recommendations before they left town to return to their homes in Seattle, Portland, New York, Chapel Hill, Pittsburgh, and Oklahoma City.

The final and formal results and recommendations of the SDAT initiative will be presented in March 2010 with hard action items that can be accomplished within the scope of the neighborhood councils, including both low-hanging fruit and broader visioning goals.

Ashley noted that the SDAT typically works with Mayoral Commissions and that this was the first time they had partnered with a neighborhood council.

"Our intention is to learn from other successful communities so that we can maximize our assets and connect our stakeholders and revitalize our community.

To do that we must shift from a developer-driven vision to a community-driven vision and this SDAT process is the first step to making that happen downtown."

The SDAT team was led by Walter Sedovic, a rock star planner who engaged and inspired and encouraged the exchange of anecdotes as if they were precious gifts while reminding the project participants that real change requires hard data, often cumbersome and difficult, but critical as a tool for change.

In a landscape surrounded by data collecting assets, he threw down the first partnership challenge saying "Find the data collecting experts and make them part of the team!"

Seattle's Jim Diers, the author of Neighborhood Power: Building Community the Seattle Way, was stunned by the environment of "No!" that he encountered during his visit.

He held nothing back when he yelled "Yes We Can!" and shifted the discourse into the establishment of "Yes!" zones that focused on possibilities and relationships committed to creating a vision for accomplishment rather than the acceptance of "We don't do it that way in Los Angeles."

While the hard recommendations won't arrive for a few months, the SDAT team offered a few observations that were challenging and eye-opening including their puzzlement over a neighborhood council system that creates a structure and then attempts to populate it, as opposed to a system that looks for activity and energy and then supports with training, funding and structure.

Paula Reeves noted that "Paperwork should never become the substitute for real community work and it's sometimes messy, but it's important to keep in mind which one is the process and which one is the vision."

It quickly became apparent that messy was the friend of sustainability as Portland's Robert Yakas recounted tales of guerrilla tactics that brought pilot projects to life, creating a real tangible vision and a focus point for change.

"Pick something, focus on it, engage the people around you and make it happen. It's messy, it's fun and it'll change the world!"

Sara Geddes, also of Portland, echoed his comments and recommended blurring all boundaries, going so far as to introduce the "Zipper" as a replacement.

"In our tour of the downtown community, we noticed so many lines separating communities and projects and people. Blur the lines, replace them with open space that brings people together, create "Zippers" of green space and open space that knit the human fabric of the neighborhoods into a larger community!"

To follow the DLANC DIY journey to sustainability and their pursuit of a community vision for Los Angeles, visit www.downtownsustainability.com.

(Stephen Box is a transportation and cyclist advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.netThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ) ◘

An Open Letter to Antonio Villaraigosa

It's always an honor to receive an email from the Mayor, especially when it includes an invitation to a party. But I was dismayed to open the most recent invite, only to discover that the Mayor simply can't get away from encouraging bad behavior and ignoring the city's real transportation solutions, those who take mass transit, those who walk and those who ride their bikes.

Attached is San Antonio's invitation and my reply.

**********************************************

Hello Friends,

This month is Latino heritage month, and I just wanted to invite you to take part in the exciting opening ceremonies we have planned for this Friday, September 4th, at City Hall.

The ceremonies will be featuring Brazilian dance and samba music, food, and special honorees Jaime Escalante, Sheila E., and Jimmy Smits.

Latino Heritage Month is an opportunity for all Angelenos to learn and share the creativity and enterprising spirit that have been the hallmark of the City of Angels since its foundation. I hope you’ll join me Friday and celebrate the vibrant culture that has helped make Los Angeles the greatest city in the world.

The event is completely free but please RSVP at SP-RSVP@lacity.org. Parking is also available. Here’s all the information you need:

What: 2009 Latino Heritage Month Celebration: "Embracing Our Roots & Cultures: the Tapestry that Built Los Angeles"

When: Friday, September 4th, 10am -12:15pm

Where: City Hall Council Chambers followed by Program and Reception on the South Lawn

RSVP: SP-RSVP@lacity.org.

Parking: when RSVPing, request parking and include the following information.

Driver's Name
Vehicle Make
License Plate Number

Parking is located at 201 N. Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

I look forward to celebrating Latino Heritage Month with you!

Best,
Antonio Villaraigosa

**********************************************

Dear Mayor Villaraigosa,

It would be great if you could set a sustainable transportation standard for the city by making sure that all invitations to city sponsored events include Mass Transit, Bicycle and Pedestrian instructions.

You've probably never watched as pedestrians approach the "real" front of City Hall for the first time, frustrated when they realize that the public enters through the "service" entrance.

Likewise, you've probably never watched cyclists circling the block for the first time, looking for the bike racks that don't exist.

As for Mass Transit, stand at the Civic Center Red Line stations (2) sometime and watch people come from underground, circling around and looking for City Hall, a big building not readily visible to the disoriented. (Wayfinding opportunity!)

Anyway, the event looks great, it's just too bad that the invitation encourages people to bring their cars downtown!

Stephen

p.s. Seriously, how is that traffic congestion relief plan coming along?


photo (top) by Zach Behrens photo (bottom) by Mr. Rollers