Council discussion concentrated heavily on Westside traffic with some positive long-range forecasts. The new Metro Expo Line, Phase One, is complete from Culver City to LA Live serving approximately 60,000 would-be car drivers daily. Both the Culver City and La Cienega stations are park-and-ride and the Big Blue Bus lines connect with the Culver City station. One man attending the meeting praised the Expo line by saying, “I will never drive to LA Live ever again because this exists.†All persons who have used the Expo Line agreed it “can’t be beat.†Phase Two should be operational in early 2016.
Phase Two will incorporate a bicycle path along the route and stations will be decorated by local artists.
A proposal to move school bus stops away from Sunset Blvd was discussed. This is in response to the death of 13-year old Julia Siegler who was struck by a car as she crossed Sunset to catch her bus. Any safety changes must be approved by the California Highway Patrol Commissioner, Joe Farrow, whose office is working with the Brentwood Council to decipher the labyrinth of vehicle code regulations.
The intersection at Darlington and San Vicente remains an issue and residents are reminded that they must wait for the green light before making left turns onto San Vicente as they head north on Darlington. The Darlington intersection is known by residents to be hazardous and they are reminded to heed the new signal to help reduce accidents.
A representative from LADWP explained that Brentwood residents can receive a rebate up to $2000 after installing an Electronic Vehicle, or EV, car recharging unit in their home. It was brought to council’s attention that no EV charging station exists anywhere in Brentwood.
Attorney Don Burris informed council that the Brentwood Art Center, or BAC, has signed a five year lease and will continue teaching west-side residents the aesthetic arts. The Center will restructure to become a non-profit organization in order to receive public donations. Council Chair Nancy Freedman said, “This is a great story for Brentwood.†Any residents who are interested in helping the BAC can contact friendsofthebac@gmail.com.
Sarah Sheehy from the California Grocers Association presented reasons to vote no on Prop 37. The proposition, designed to label food that has been genetically engineered, is arbitrary, according to Sheehy. It will target certain foods while ignoring others made from the exact same product. Examples given included a bag of apples versus apple sauce and peanuts versus peanut butter.
Prop 37 places responsibility for any damages onto the retail store while the food producer is held harmless. Sheehy explained that the cost of compliance would be prohibitive and harm stores like Whole Foods and Vicente Foods.
Phillip Enbody, LAPD Senior Lead Officer for Brentwood, informed council that three criminals were caught breaking into homes in Pacific Palisades. One of the criminals told police he was watching one Palisades home for weeks to determine the family’s pattern. The criminal noticed the lights were off at an unusual time, which told him the family was not home, and he broke in. Officer Enbody cautions residents to maintain patterns, even when not home, to ward off potential home invasion. An alarm system is also an invaluable safety measure, according to Enbody. Enbody announced 17 new police officers will be assigned to the Westside.
