Sparks flew at the monthly meeting of the Brentwood Community Council (BCC) on Tuesday April 2.
A survey by the South Brentwood Residents Association (SBRA) revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the new stop sign at the intersection of Mayfield and Bundy Dr. The sign is causing traffic to back up to Wilshire at peak hours and the congestion is driving unwelcome traffic to side streets. Chair Nancy Freedman reported that Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) is willing to remove the sign. A new survey is being sent out through Brentwood Homeowners Association, the BCC and the SBRA (South Brentwood Residents Association).
The Alliance for Regional Solution to Airport Congestion (ARSAC) board member Jim Ouellet addressed the LAX modification impact on the region. It is not just a “NIMBY†(Not In My Backyard) issue, he said. Los Angeles World Airways (LAWA), has nine alternative plan proposals and supports Alternative One, closing the Lincoln Blvd-Sepulveda intersection which could create infrastructure issues.
Westchester citizens support Alternative Two, deemed the “environmentally superior option,†and Alternative Nine to modernize, without expanding, LAX. Ouellet urged Brentwood residents to visit the website www.modernlax.com
Incumbent Candidate for City Attorney, Carmen Trutanich, spoke to the BCC and passed out a letter he wrote to Mayor Villaraigosa in support of funding for neighborhood councils. BCC Chair Nancy Freedman reminded him that the BCC is a community council and accepts no funds from the City of Los Angeles. After highlighting his role as a City Attorney in Los Angeles he was asked to address a long-standing issue about cell phone towers.
Last year his office was tasked with creating ordinances to regulate the scale of installations, such as the one proposed at the home of Brentwood residents Richard and Carol Stein. Trutanich said that his office is understaffed due to budget cuts and has not addressed the ordinance yet.
The Steins said their home on Kenter Canyon is the proposed site for a prototype of a new cell tower that includes a below ground vault (20’x17’x7’), 8 4’ antennae and a 4’ meter box. The Steins asked the BCC to support them in their appeal of the project. The BCC agreed to help.
Ray Klein presented a motion for the BCC to join his personal appeal to oppose the applicant of the RockenWagner restaurant at the northeast corner of Wilshire and Barrington. Klein said he had some concerns about the way the process had unfolded.
In a letter to the Area Planning Commission, the BCC said that they would not oppose the application if City Codes and BCC Conditions were all met. A vote was taken, Ray Klein’s motion did not pass and the BCC remained with its original intent – not to oppose the application if the codes and conditions are met.
A day after the BCC meeting, the developer agreed to take Klein’s concerns under advisement and proposed revisions to the plan that drew Klein’s objections.
