“There is no functioning management that I can identify,” said Community Council chairman Kurt Toppel last Thursday night as he described his ongoing frustrations dealing with the U.S. Postal Service here and in downtown Los Angeles. In his opening remarks at the council’s meeting in the library, which was covered by Fox News 11 and Channel 13, Toppel addressed postal delivery woes in Pacific Palisades’and beyond. “For over three months now, we have tried unsuccessfully to have post office management address our council, and thus our community, to respond to specific problems. These problems started last summer with the closure of the Marina del Rey processing facility, which served some 12 postal areas. Since that time we have had three different postmasters or managers in charge, the latest of whom started Monday (January 9).” After detailing delivery complaints that are by now familiar to most Palisades households’delivery well past 5 p.m., late arrival of time-sensitive mail such as credit card statements, letters delivered to the wrong address’Toppel argued that it is “grossly unfair to try to shift responsibility for problems to the ‘worker bees’ who do an amazing job considering the lack of management and significant delays caused by outdated and ill-maintained equipment.” Noting that he had communicated with Congressman Henry Waxman’s L.A. office, Toppel said: “I have been told that so many complaints about postal services have been received, that Waxman has started an official inquiry into the matter in Washington.” Barbara Cohen, an officer of the Pacific Palisades Residents Association, described the frustrating experience her organization had last November when 10,000 newsletters announcing the group’s annual meeting were inexplicably delayed in the postal service system’ “even though we paid to have them pre-addressed and sorted by carrier route. They finally arrived in the mail less than a week before the meeting, or not at all. “We contacted Waxman’s office on December 1 and they were going to investigate. We are awaiting the results of that investigation.” In other Community Council action, members approved version one of three proposed versions regarding establishment of Guiding Principles for Planning and Zoning Variances, Variations and Exceptions, as related to land-use, structures and vegetation. The vote was taken, following a broad discussion, in order to create a consistent basis for future council action. The approved version reads: “The PPCC maintains that planning and zoning regulations, building codes, rules, restrictions, and ordinances have been established for the good of the community. They should be applied, upheld and enforced by the Zoning Administrator, Building and Safety, and other governing bodies with jurisdiction over the approval, execution and enforcement processes. PPCC’s position shall be to oppose in principle any request for variances, variations, or exceptions from established building codes, rules, restrictions, and ordinances and any other legal measures which govern land use, structures and vegetation. On a case-by-case basis the PPCC may support such requests if the proposed project positively affects health and safety, or is in the best interest of the neighborhood or the community in general. PPCC may take a formal position on an individual issue pertaining to variances, variations, or exceptions when requested to do so. PPCC expects governing bodies to notify all affected parties of any proposed developments or requests for variances from codes and regulations as well as proposed, approved or pending changes to such regulations.” Said Toppel in a statement following the meeting, “The adoption of the Guiding Principles not only benefits this community, but interest has been voiced by other Community Councils in Council District 11 to use them in a uniform manner for the district in general.”
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