November 2021-NEWS and Zoom Meetings of Interest 

 

  • Street Vending on Melrose ~ Do's and Don'ts ~ Puppy Sales

  • Final Poll Results - Some preliminary results

  • Walk Wednesdays!  Melrose Village Walk Wednesdays at 6:30 - Join us!

  • MidCity West NC - Executive Council wants bus lanes 24/7 on La Brea
  • Melrose BID Crime Meeting  
  • Mid-City West Board Meetings dates and times
  • C-PAB. Community Police Advisory Board meeting 

 

Community involvement is at the heart of what we are trying to do.  With that said, check out the news and dates for meetings that may be of interest to you below.

Street Vending Do's and Don't

 

Some interesting information that was provided to the C-PAB at the last meeting on Oct 21.  The guest speaker was Jesus Gudino - Investigator for StreetsLA.

 

First of all, Street Vending in Los Angeles is LEGAL as of now. Thanks to former Gov. Jerry Brown, Senate Bill 946 was passed in 2018 and took effect in 2019. At the same time, in order to comply with the SB946 passing, the Los Angeles City Council followed suit in Nov of 2018 with a 14-0 vote in favor of allowing street vending to take hold in our City and it doesn't look like it'll be revised or repealed anytime soon.  Read the full article from Eater Los Angeles HERE.

 

HOWEVER - that doesn't mean a Street Vendor can do what ever they want.

 

The two most significant items discussed at C-PAB on the 21st were that Street Vendors CANNOT set up a TENT!  So why so many tents on Melrose?  Because StreetsLA only has FIVE investigators for the entire city.  Their job is limited to writing tickets for violations and informing the Street Vendors of their legal responsibilities.  Other than that, well, you can see how closely followed the rules are on Melrose.

 

Second - Licensing and Permitting requirements. All Street Vendors are required to have a Business License, Sales Tax Registration and if selling food, they must also secure a permit from the LA County Department of Public Health (DPH). But as of today, FEW HAVE LEGAL PERMITS! Check out this article to learn more. However, the idea that few have legal permits is disputed by advocates for street vendors.  But how do they prove this when vendors move from place to place and new ones show up while others move to different areas?  I suppose the street vendors that do return to the same spot every day are very easy to help...others...not so much.

 

So where are we today?  It appears that many street vendors have left Melrose and moved back to Fairfax in a game with the LAPD to avoid the heavy enforcement that has recently taken place on Melrose. But is this a long term solution? Doubtful. 

 

Currently, there are multiple board members on the Mid-City West Neighborhood Council who are advocating to PROTECT the RIGHTS of street vending on Melrose.  These board members contributed their time and resources to the fight against the No-Go Zone that the Melrose BID and the neighborhood wanted to see instituted. But there is no talk about this advocacy extending to help make the Street Vendors abide by the rules, laws and permitting requirements that are already on the books.  

 

So, why don't we ask these Mid-City West Neighborhood Council member advocates to help US too!  If we have to live with street vending, wouldn't we like to see legally permitted vendors that do not have tents blocking the entire sidewalk?  Lets advocate and ask MCWNC to propose expanding the budget for legal enforcement of codes and licensing policies!  The City already has a department set up to help street vendors comply legally with permit requirements.  But if there is NO enforcement on Melrose to get these vendors to do the right thing and obtain the proper permits, nothing is going to change.  As a matter of fact, it'll probably just get worse as this condition spreads to the sidewalks of Bevelry Blvd, 3rd Street and beyond.

 

Illegal Vending - Puppy & other Live Animal Sales

There seems to be a growing problem with puppy sales on the streets and sidewalks near or on Melrose.  This is seen most often at the corner of Curson and Melrose. THIS ACTIVITY IS FLAT OUT ILLEGAL!  Live animal sales are not allowed on the streets or sidewalks anywhere in Los Angeles.  See info below from an article found on the internet: 

"LCA joined forces with the LAPD to combat the illegal sale of animals from Santee Alley Fashion District

In November of 2009, Last Chance for Animal’s (LCA) Special Investigations Unit (SIU) began working on a joint task force with the LAPD and Voice for the Animals (VFTA), investigating the illegal sale of animals in the Santee Alley fashion district of downtown Los Angeles. This investigation led to an ordinance, signed in September of 2011, to prohibit "the purchase, offer to purchase, barter, or receive without cost, live animals on any street, sidewalk or other public places in the City of Los Angeles." In addition, SB 917, a California law, prohibits "any person to willfully sell, display, or offer for sale or give away as part of a commercial transaction a live animal on any street, highway, public right-of-way parking lot, carnival, or boardwalk." Penalties for both offenses include fines of up to $1000 and up to 6 months of jail time.

What You Can Do:

You can help by reporting potential violations and letting the authorities know that this issue is important to you!

  • If you are in L.A. call: Los Angeles Animal Services at 888-452-7381 or Los Angeles Police Department at 877-275-5273"

 

So here's the disconnect - When Kim Sudhalter from the Melrose BID spoke with our LAPD, she was told  "LAPD does not have jurisdiction when it comes to animal sales."  But animal control can't arrest people. 

 

According to this article I found, Police and several other officials only have the authority to write tickets for the infraction or misdemeanor offense.  You may have read that there is some debate over the semantics of police  “jurisdiction” in the matter of vending intervention. We want to focus on the obvious point that police have purview of any illegal activity. 

 

Poll Results - Preliminary

What Types of Stores do you want to see on Melrose?

 

Our survey is now closed. Thank you to everyone who contributed by participating and helping to provide a framework for our neighborhood.

 

Here's a preview into the top results:

 

Q1: Melrose is a safe and friendly place to shop and dine.

40% Replied: Strongly Disagree

 

Q2: What retail amenities or services would encourage you to visit Melrose Ave several times a week?

87.5% Replied: Restaurants (3-meal/family restaurants, quick-service, full-service, specialty foods)

 

Q3: What type of retail would most likely draw you back to Melrose Ave?

77.14% Replied: Arts, Music, Books, Crafts

 

Q4: What type of dining/food options would most likely draw you back to Melrose Ave?

75.68% Replied: 3-meal, Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

 

Q5: What type of retail services would most likely draw you to Melrose Ave?

47.37% Replied: Health, Fitness & Beauty

 

Q6: What daily essentials would most likely draw you back to Melrose Ave?

58.62% Replied: Grocery, Drug, Medical Cannabis

 

More details on the above to be published soon.

 

Walk Wednesdays! 

Take a walk with your Melrose Village neighbors ~ Wednesday nights - 6:30 p.m.

 

Would you like to meet some of your neighbors? Maybe you want to get off the couch and lose a few pounds.  Maybe you would just like to feel safe with a group walking our neighborhood.  We'd like to make this happen!  Regardless if you want to walk 1 block or 1 mile, it's up to you. This is designed to be an enjoyable and no stress walk.  We start the walks at Waring and Spaulding Avenues.  Anyone is welcome to join the fun and feel free to bring your opinions and concerns. 

 

Some of our walkers asked if we could incorporate a restaurant into our walks.  So, we are now dropping into a different restaurant on Melrose each week for appetizers and drinks.  If you can't make the walk, maybe you'll join us for food and conversation. Restaurant information is posted on the NextDoor app Wednesday morning before the walk.

 

If you want to skip the restaurant, that's ok too.  We have enough people walking that you can continue with that group too.

 

(As with any type of exercise, consult your physician before to make sure this is the right thing for you to be doing.)

 

Walks are on Wednesday night and start at 6:30 p.m. PLEASE bring a mask which may be needed to enter the restaurant.

 

We made it onto the local KCAL9 News!  See video below the article.

MidCity West NC - The Executive Committee supports 24/7 bus only lanes on La Brea

 

Here's another great reason to attend a Mid-City West NC meeting. 

 

At the Executive Council meeting on October 28th, Michael Schneider told his fellow EC board members that he wants to clog up La Brea as best as can be done in order for drivers to see the buses whizzing on by in hopes that more people will get out of their cars and onto the bus. It seemed to me that he has no cares at all about people in cars, commuting back to their homes and families in the suburbs, 10 to 20 miles away, having to be stuck in heavier traffic if it meant he could get a bus and bicycle lane installed onto La Brea by removing a traffic lane. He also failed to address concerns for the local residents, which his board represents, on either side of La Brea in regards to the amount of additional cars that would be coming into their neighborhood because of cut through traffic or the increased parking that this would probably create.

 

Another thing that strikes me as being odd is they won't advocate for any type of funds for additional enforcement for Parking Control, Stopped Car violations or Double Parking violations. I'm sure we all have seen the inconsiderate drivers, ride share, taxi or just plane rude people who stop in these no parking lanes during rush hour.  If they're going to have a desire to mess with rush hour traffic can't they acknowledge the devil is in the details?  Or is that just the other guys problem???

 

If you would like to review the EC meeting and hear the discussion for yourself, it's recorded.  Link here.

 

The general board is voting on this letter on Tuesday 11/9/21.  If you care to make public comment, you can follow the link on their calendar to the zoom meeting or just click here.  This is item 7(f) on their agenda.  I find that they like to place transportation issues last on their agenda in order to maybe reduce any public comment due to fatigue of sitting through their entire meeting before these items get their turn.

 

FYI - a few friends joined me on Sunday to walk La Brea from Waring all the way to Wilshire.  We went into a lot of business and NONE of the business owners new this issue was happening.  

 

These are my thoughts & opinions only. 

Shelby Blecker

 

Mid City West Neighborhood Council & Melrose BID Meetings:

Click on any of the meeting dates below to be taken to the general MCW calendar. Please double check the dates and times with MCW since it seems that they are having issues with their web site and calendar updates. The agendas are supposed to be posted within 3 days of the meetings.  If you would like to listen in, just follow the link on the site to the zoom meeting.  There is no 'sign up' required but this is a chance for you to MAKE YOUR OPINIONS HEARD!

 

Tuesday Nov 9 at 6:30 - General Board

Tuesday Nov 16 at 7:00  - Public Safety & Well Being - Our Zone 2 rep, Nasim Kablan, is on this committee and hopes to use this committee to improve our Melrose neighborhood. Email: nkablan@midcitywest.org,

Wednesday Nov 17 at 7:00 - Transportation

Thursday Nov 18 at 5:30 - Outreach & Civic Engagement

Monday Nov 22 at 6:00 - Arts and Recreation

Tuesday Nov 23 at 6:30 - Social & Racial Equity

Thursday Dec 2 at 6:30 - PLUC (Planning and Land Use)

Monday Dec 27 at 6:30 - Homelessness, Refugees & Renters Rights

 

 

Agendas, Minutes & Meeting Recordings for all the above meetings are now on a new tab on the MCW Website. 

 

WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE MCW COUNCIL TO ACT ON THIS: 

Writing a "No Confidence" letter regarding DA Gascon is something we're waiting to hear back on. None of the board seem to think this is a priority!

 

Melrose BID Crime Prevention Meeting

This meeting is usually held on the 1st Tuesday of the month at 4 p.m.

You need to email kim@urbanlegendpr.com to get on the list and receive the zoom link details.  The next meeting is July 13th due to the July 4th holiday. 

This is an opportunity to speak directly to the people who help shape Melrose Ave.Get on the list!

We have brought this up before, but feel it's worth mentioning again...

 

What brought you to sign up for our newsletters?  We want to believe it is because you wish to learn what's going on and to participate in advocating for a safer and cleaner neighborhood. Most of you who receive this email live in Zone 2 or are affected by what happens on Melrose.  This newsletter contains links to the meetings to sign up for the Melrose BID Crime meeting, most of the Mid City West Neighborhood Council meetings and the LAPD C-PAB meeting.  

 

Here's the important part:  Neither the Melrose Bid or the MCWNC meetings have neighbors, referred to as 'stakeholders' attend very often.  Most of the sub-committees for MCWNC have NO 'stakeholders' attend.  So what happens when elected representatives get no input from those they are voted to represent?  They go off and turn their attention to their own pet projects instead of advocating for the people and the neighborhoods they serve!

 

So PLEASE get involved!  If you find a meeting topic in the list above that you are interested in and if you can attend just ONE meeting to make a comment or offer support to someone making comment, it will make a difference!  Tell them you are part of The Melrose Village Neighborhood Alliance!

 

C-PAB (Community - Police Advisory Board)

Thursday Nov 18 at 7:00 p.m.

This is a great place to listen to your police officers discussing issues with the community advisory board.  You may even be given the chance to raise your hand and speak on an issue.

 
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