HOLMBY NEWS
July 23, 2021
From the Holmby Westwood Property Owners Association, serving the Holmby Westwood community since 1960.
1. Holmby Westwood Green Team Update
2. Housing Bills Update – SB 9 & SB 10
3. Catalytic Converter Theft Prevention
4. UCLA Fall Plans
5. Hammer Museum – Become a Member
6. Activities & Things to Do
7. HWPOA Communication and Ad Policy
8. Resident Ads
9. HWPOA Contact Information
1. HOLMBY WESTWOOD GREEN TEAM UPDATE
The Holmby Westwood Green Team is addressing issues related to our parkway trees in the HWPOA newsletter. In addition to focusing on our parkway trees, we will address the work of the Green Team, efforts by the City of Los Angeles related to urban trees as well as resources for tree care and maintenance. Please send your questions to Marnie Bodek at mossbodek@msn.com or Allyson Bunting at Allyson.bunting@gmail.com
This month, the Green Team is pleased to share some summer tree reading with Holmby Westwood residents. These articles are all short, easy to digest and very informative. Learn about tree equity across the country and in Los Angeles. They’re all good reminders of why Holmby Westwood needs to maintain and enhance our beautiful tree canopy.
Note: Access to some articles below may require subscriptions to each media source.
- New York Times: “What Technology Could Reduce Heat Deaths? Trees.” At a time when climate change is making heat waves more frequent and more severe, trees are stationary superheroes. They can lower urban temperatures 10 lifesaving degrees according to scientists.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/climate/trees-cities-heat-waves.html?smid=em-share
. - Bloomberg: “US Neighborhoods with the Greatest Tree Inequity Mapped”. Historical discriminatory policies have left low income, redlined communities across the country hot and bare. Nationally 522 million new trees are needed for every city in the US to have an equitable balance of greenery. LA is among the cities with the greatest need for planting new trees.
https://apple.news/APg21wa79RtGgeDj1o-ZWGw
. - New York Times Opinion: “Since When Have Trees Existed Only for Rich Americans”. Mapping redlined neighborhoods across the country that lack trees.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/06/30/opinion/environmental-inequity-trees-critical-infrastructure.html
. - National Geographic: “Los Angeles Confronts it’s Shady Divide”. This is an excellent history of trees in LA and our current situation.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/los-angeles-confronts-its-shady-divide-feature
. - National Geographic: “How L.A.’s Urban Tree Canopy Reveals Hidden Inequities”. The story of LA’s tree inequity shown through maps.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/graphics/how-los-angeles-tree-canopy-reveals-hidden-inequities-feature
2. HOUSING BILLS UPDATE – SB 9 & SB 10
Thanks to our neighbors in WHPOA for writing this summary:
The state legislature went on summer recess at the end of the day last Friday, and returns on August 16. Neither SB 9 (Atkins) nor SB 10 (Wiener) made it to the Assembly floor for a vote of the entire Assembly before the recess.
Both bills have been approved by the Senate (where they originated). SB 10 has been approved by the two Assembly committees it was referred to, and is awaiting a floor vote in the Assembly. SB 9 was approved by two Assembly committees, but must still be considered by one more committee (Appropriations) before it will be eligible for a floor vote.
The HWPOA board has voted to oppose both bills, along with WHPOA and many other homeowner associations in the area. Trying to use the affordable housing crisis as cover, these bills would eliminate single-family neighborhoods as a housing option in the state of California. If either of them pass and are signed by the Governor, then regardless of what our local zoning laws say, every neighborhood will become multifamily. Here’s a quick summary:
- SB 9 would permit 4 to 8 units to be built on a single-family lot. SB 10 would permit 10 to 14 units on a single-family lot. Both bills permit building “by right”—which means that when the house next door to you is sold to a developer who builds a 10-unit condo building, with little or no parking and only 4 feet from your lot line, neither you nor our local government can stop it. Although these bills purport to apply to urban areas, the definitions are very broad (towns with more than 2,500 population) so will cover even small towns like Avalon and Bishop (for a more complete list, go to https://www.livablecalifornia.org/will-sb-10-target-your-town-surprise-yes-find-your-town-here/ )
- Neither bill requires that any new units be affordable. In fact, Wiener has amended SB 10 to delete the one reference to affordability (which had appeared in the explanatory policy section of his bill)—so he is no longer even pretending that SB 10 is about affordable housing.
- Neither bill requires developers to provide any upgrades to infrastructure to handle the increased density—where will the extra water, power, sewer, roads, schools, fire, police, etc. come from? Neither bill even requires any analysis of what the impacts would be.
- These bills will first destroy low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods and communities of color, where land values tend to be less, making them cheaper for developers to buy—leading to high-density gentrification and displacement of long-established communities.
- Environmental, life and safety issues—these bills ignore the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), reduce green space and tree canopies, permit building in high fire risk areas.
- SB 10 violates the California Constitution and most city charters by providing that voter initiatives can be overturned by 2/3 vote of the local governing body, without going back to the voters.
- SB 10 is being called “optional.” Wiener admits that local jurisdictions can already rezone, so there’s really no need for this bill—except that with this bill, local officials can ignore CEQA and other democratic procedures, and unilaterally rezone existing neighborhoods without analyzing impacts, and without public notice, hearings or other forms of public input.
We know it’s been a long and tedious process, and we thank all of you who have sent emails and made calls to Senators and Assemblymembers. But we’re coming down to the wire, so your help will again be needed to defeat these bills once the legislature reconvenes on August 16.
3. CATALYTIC CONVERTER THEFT PREVENTION
The Greater Los Angeles Area has been experiencing thefts of catalytic converters, machinery underneath the car made of precious metals, that requires your car to run properly. It can cost up to $2,000 to replace your catalytic converter if stolen, and it is illegal to drive without one.
The attached PSA explains how to tell if your catalytic converter has been stolen as well as tips to prevent catalytic converter theft.
4. UCLA FALL PLANS
From UCLA Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck:
We are requiring faculty, staff, and students who come to campus to work, learn, or live are fully vaccinated, with a limited exceptions for medical and religious belief.
We are planning about 80% in person courses and full occupancy in campus housing.
5. HAMMER MUSEUM – BECOME A MEMBER
Art and ideas for a more just world
Support an essential Los Angeles museum and cultural center by becoming a Hammer member today.
The Hammer Museum at UCLA is more than an art museum; it is a cultural center, a forum for the ideas of the nation’s #1 public research university, and a platform for the most innovative thinkers of our time.
Through our unwavering commitment to free admission, timely programs, and groundbreaking exhibitions, audiences trust us to deliver experiences that provoke, surprise, and inspire every time.
6. ACTIVITIES & THINGS TO DO
WESTWOOD LIBRARY – LIFE STORIES OPEN MIC
Tuesday, July 27
6:00 – 7:00pm (via Zoom)
Join us on Zoom this Tuesday, July 27th, at 6:00 p.m. for our Life Stories Open Mic. Come share something that happened to you, or just listen and enjoy. The stories can be funny, sad, or simply slice-of-life. This is your opportunity to express yourself!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lapl.zoom.us/j/89884427213?pwd=b3pQOWNyUFQvdVliWk9yWXQvTGZHQT09
Meeting ID: 898 8442 7213
Passcode: 322766
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DISCOVER LAWN BOWLING AT HOLMBY PARK!
Saturday, July 24, 2021 at 10 am.
Happy times are here again! The Holmby Park Lawn Bowling Club invites you to an Open House event on July 24.
- Free refreshments & Bowling lessons!
- Easy to learn – Healthy Exercise
- Free equipment – Meet New Friends
For more information, please visit our website:
losangeleslawnbowling.com
7. HWPOA COMMUNICATION AND AD POLICY
Please direct all comments, questions or issues regarding the Holmby News to hwpoa@aol.com.
Ads for plumbers, housekeepers, garage sales, etc. will be posted in the weekly News. Emergency situations such as lost and found pets, traffic alerts and similar situations will be published during the week as received.
When placing an ad, please send to hwpoa@aol.com for the Holmby News moderator to review. Responses to ads should be directed to the ad placer, not to HWPOA.
8. RESIDENT ADS
SEEKING HOUSE PAINTER
We would appreciate recommendations for an exterior house painter at our home.
Thanks,
Jing Chang
jingc2001@yahoo.com
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9. HWPOA CONTACT INFORMATION
HOLMBY WESTWOOD PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
P.O. Box 49180
Los Angeles, CA 90049
310-470-1785
Email: hwpoa@aol.com
Web site: www.holmbywestwoodpoa.org
Pay Membership Dues: https://squareup.com/store/hwpoa
You Are Invited . . .
- To attend our monthly Board Meetings*
- To let us know your concerns about our community and your ideas about how we might work to improve it
- To become involved in our Association.
*Board Meetings are usually held the second Tuesday of each month. Please confirm prior to attending.