Venice Neighborhood Council:

The Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) will be working on a number of important issues and exciting initiatives in the coming year. The Neighborhood Council has worked through a backlog of primarily land use and planning related issues during the first part of 2006. Now with many committees up and running we should expect to see proposals also addressing issues of community, environment, traffic and quality of life from the neighborhood council. The following are examples of the VNC’s ambitious agenda. Land Use and Planning Previous projects likely to appear again in the second half of the year include the development proposal for the MTA bus lot site on Main Street and mediation between the developer and tenants of the Lincoln Place Garden Apartments. Additional development issues include the Lincoln Blvd. Community Design Overlay (CDO) and how to resolve questions of “community compatibility” for projects built within Venice Specific Plan (VSP) guidelines. The Land Use and Planning Committee has also moved to meet twice a month, on 1st and 4th Wednesdays, to handle the large volume of development proposals that they are asked to evaluate. This important and active committee will also be working to refine their internal processes and procedures. Community: Education, Ocean Front Walk and Bylaws The VNC’s Education Committee will be drafting a paper on education issues and strategies in Venice. This new committee will also act as a liaison for the VNC Council on local education issues. The new Ocean Front Walk (OFW) Committee was created to host a series of town hall meetings to address problems on the Venice Boardwalk. A new OFW ordinance went into effect March 25 and the OFW committee will now work with Councilman Rosendahl to monitor, report on problems and help refine the implementation of the ordinance with the Recreation and Parks Department. Venice stakeholders will be asked on May 1 to ratify new bylaws approved by the Neighborhood Council after a lengthy process of revision by the Bylaws Committee. The new bylaws represent a major change to the election system of the VNC and attempt to fix various organization problems. One of the important goals of the Bylaws Committee was to minimize slate politics that have in past elections led to animosity and community division. Environment: Water Quality and Disaster Preparedness Environmental issues in the coming year’s agenda include water quality and drainage problems. These issues have been a priority for President DeDe Audet and others on the council. The Disaster Preparedness Committee will also be following up a successful Town Hall Meeting earlier this year and continuing their work on disaster planning and outreach for disaster preparedness in Venice. Traffic: Building Moratorium and 90 Freeway Expansion In recognition of the significant traffic problems in Venice, the Land Use and Planning Committee is working on a Development Moratorium proposal to address the cumulative impact of traffic generated by existing and new development in the area. The issue of the 90 freeway expansion will also likely come before the Neighborhood Council. Quality of Life: Overnight Parking District A new committee formed to investigate how the Overnight Parking District (OPD) Ordinance passed by the City Council last year could apply to problems with vehicles parked overnight in Venice. In particular the OPD committee will help with outreach and information, liaison with Councilman Rosendahl’s office and generally help to coordinate the efforts of residents that wish to take advantage of the OPD ordinance for their street. The VNC Board of Officers meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at Westminster Elementary, 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd. More information can be found at www.grvnc.org or by calling 310.399.5515.