Activist Richard Cohen to Chair Community Council

Richard G. Cohen is excited that he will be adding his name to the list of Pacific Palisades Community Council chairs. ‘I have the highest regard for the chairs in the past,’ said Cohen, who was elected on June 12 and will take his seat on July 1. ‘When you look back at my predecessors, you see responsible, influential people.’ Cohen, 57, then rattled off the names of some of those community leaders, including Randy Young, Shirley Haggstrom, George Wolfberg, Norm Kulla, Harry Sondheim, Kurt Toppel and Steve Boyers, whom he will be replacing. Boyers, a lawyer and 30-year-resident of the Palisades, has served on the Council for four years, and two of them as chair. He will serve as chairman emeritus. During his term, Boyers has helped to encourage more youth to become involved in the Council and to defeat a number of proposed zoning initiatives viewed as threatening to either the safety or beauty of Pacific Palisades. For example, under Boyers’ leadership, the Council defeated the Shell station’s plan to replace its repair facilities with a 24-hour mini mart and automated car wash. The Council successfully argued to the L.A. Department of City Planning that the changes would bring more traffic, noise and crime to Sunset Boulevard and Via de la Paz, where the station is located. ‘I think that my stewardship of the Community Council has further established it as the place for discussion and consensus-making on important community issues,’ Boyers said. Boyers continued that he is glad to hand over his duties to Cohen, who has served as vice chair for the past two years and has run a few meetings in his absence. ‘I think [Cohen] will be effective after a learning curve, which all chairs have to experience,’ Boyers said. Secretary Susan Nash, an attorney, will assume Cohen’s spot as vice chair, and Haldis Toppel, who is retired after a 40-year career in information systems, will become secretary. Ted Mackie, owner of Palisades Bicycles, will serve another term as treasurer. Cohen became aware of the Council shortly after moving to the Palisades in 1996. He and his neighbors approached the Council because they were concerned about a gym and multipurpose facility that St. Matthew’s Parish planned to construct on its Bienveneda Avenue campus. ‘I was impressed with how the Council helped to mediate a difficult situation, and we were able to arrive at a compromise that was satisfactory to all,’ Cohen said. Afterward, Cohen’s wife of 28 years, Patti Post, decided to become involved, and she served for nearly 10 years in a variety of roles (Area 3 alternate and representative, Temescal Canyon Association representative, and treasurer). She is currently the Council’s transportation advisor. Through her involvement, Cohen became interested in participating, so five years ago, he became an alternate for Area 3 and then the representative. ‘I think the Community Council is very important in protecting the quality of life in the Palisades,’ Cohen said. Looking ahead, he plans to continue to protect the Specific Plan, which is a guide to the future development of Pacific Palisades that became effective in 1985. A contract between the L.A. City Council and CBS/Decaux to place street furniture displaying advertising citywide threatens the sign restrictions outlined in the Specific Plan. Cohen hopes to ensure that those signage guidelines are upheld. He also expects that the Council will be asked to mediate concerns about mansionization because the city will soon be changing the hillside and coastal ordinances. He foresees addressing the problem of business owners in the Village leaving because of higher rents as well as the lack of parking for customers. In addition, he anticipates that there will be resumed discussions about the need for a dog park. On all those issues, ‘I’d like the Community Council to do what it does best: host a fair hearing and reflect a consensus if there is one,’ Cohen said. Outside the Council, Cohen is actively involved on the Temescal Canyon Association Board and the Community Police Advisory Board. He has helped to ensure that a patrol car is assigned to the Palisades at all times. ‘I fought hard for the dedicated car in the Palisades,’ Cohen said. ‘The Palisades is so isolated that we need one.’ Cohen juggles his community service with his full-time job as senior vice president of Citi Smith Barney in Westwood, where he helps high-net-worth investors with investment management, financial planning, wealth planning and estate planning issues. He grew up in the Fairfax area and attended UCLA, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1972. He returned to school shortly thereafter to become a certified public accountant, and his first job was at Deloitte and Touche as a tax specialist. He joined Smith Barney in 1992, and has since received the designations of Personal Finance Specialist, Certified Investment Management Analyst and Chartered Private Wealth Advisor. Cohen proudly displays the certificates in his office, and said he had to pass rigorous exams to earn those titles. Despite his busy schedule, Cohen enjoys visiting his two daughters, Kimberly, 23, a student at Boston College Law School, and Heather, 20, who will soon graduate from UC Santa Barbara. He also loves a form of Filipino martial arts, Doce Pares, in which he has his first-degree black belt, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is working on his brown belt at the Beverly Hills Jiu-Jitsu Club. ‘I fight guys in their 20s,’ Cohen said. ‘It helps keep me young but makes me feel old.’