Council Marks 40 Years of Service

The Pacific Palisades Community Council celebrated its anniversary last Thursday, marking 40 years of service since its incorporation in 1973.
Formed in 1972 under the leadership of then-Honorary Mayor Robert G. Abernethy, the Council has played a pivotal role in community matters, providing a forum where residents can share concerns about issues in their town and neighborhoods. During its long history, the Council has stood for up community causes ranging from homeowner issues to crime and fire safety.
“What we created is still going strong and it still has influence,” said Bob Schibel, the group’s first legal counsel, who drew up the original articles of incorporation. “In a sense, this is the greatest legacy we could have left Pacific Palisades.”
Schibel served as the Council’s fourth chairman, after bookstore owner John Prough, Abernethy (the former NBC correspondent who now lives on the East Coast), and the late Ed Staley. He was joined Thursday by 12 other past chairs/presidents, some of whom still serve on the Council as area representatives.
“It’s quite special to have a Community Council in the City of Los Angeles that has been established for 40 years,” said current PPCC President Barbara Kohn, a longtime community activist.
Representatives from 54 Pacific Palisades civic organizations came together in early 1972 to form what would become the model for L.A.’s many neighborhood councils when they began organizing after 1999 reform of the City Charter.
During the PPCC’s formation, an ad hoc committee, comprised of Abernethy and several other individuals, formulated the Council’s core directives. These principles include acting as a forum for the discussion of all community issues, assisting organizations that need help for community projects, and serving as a contact “between the Palisades and those governmental and private organization outside of the community whose actions and decisions might affect us,” according to the original 1972 report by the  ad hoc committee.
In later years, when the City aimed to form a network of certified neighborhood council groups that could advise the City Council on community matters, the PPCC refused to join when offered a chance in 2002.
At the time, PPCC members felt that becoming a neighborhood council would take away the ability of the Palisades body to file formal appeals or sue the City over a variety of issues, including land development.
“As we all know, we have been light years ahead of most communities in the City,” Kohn noted.
When the Council first formed, one of the most politically charged issues was that of proposed oil drilling by Occidental along Will Rogers State Beach, Kohn said. Since then, the Council has remained a steady crusader for residents and their quality of life in the Palisades.
Some of the Council’s most memorable causes have included taking a stand against cell-phone towers in Marquez Knolls, supporting the No Oil! campaign, opposing the installation of street furniture by the City, fighting to keep an engine company at Fire Station 69 and standing up to problematic construction projects, especially on Sunset Boulevard where traffic and safety are such a critical issue.
During the meeting, the Council received proclamations from the offices of Councilman Bill Rosendahl, State Assemblyman Richard Bloom, and State Senators Fran Pavley and Ted Lieu.
Past PPCC President Steve Boyers joked that when past President George Wolfberg first approached him to join the PPCC, he had no idea what he was getting into, but that it has been a fun and informative ride so far.
“What I enjoy seeing is the community that this PPCC created,” Boyers said. “I have learned so much.”