The new Planning Director for the City of Los Angeles, Gail Goldberg, has taken to conducting walking tours – “walkabouts” – in various neighborhoods throughout the city to familiarize herself with the urban terrain and to assess the planning needs and potentials of different areas.
The Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC), at its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 16, voted to sponsor the planned March 3 Goldberg walkabout in Venice. Or rather, as stated by Council officer Linda Lucks, who formally introduced the motion, to “co-sponsor” the event. When Council president DeDe Audet asked with which other organization(s) VNC would act as co-sponsor, Lucks replied, “Whoever else comes to the table.” Now that’s inclusiveness.
Of course, the needs and potentials of Venice – planning and otherwise – are many, and it is typical of that community that it does not want to exclude any of them. But there is only so much that can be brought to Goldberg’s attention between 9:00 a.m. and noon on a Saturday morning. The walkabout will be followed up with a Town Hall meeting on the subject sometime this summer at which a greater number of specific subjects might be addressed.
Suggestions for planning subjects to be identified in the walkabout – with or without “co-sponsorship” – can be sent to lupc@grvnc.org.
