The YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles closed escrow last week on the parcel of land at the corner of Sunset and Temescal, finally exercising their option to buy after using the land for 30 years. The 3.95-acre section of the park, known as Simon Meadow, was purchased for use by the Palisades-Malibu YMCA from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy for $600,000, made possible in part by a $250,000 donation by Palisadians Bill and Cindy Simon. The purchase was celebrated at an event last Monday, which doubled as the culmination of the YMCA Scarecrow contest. The land, which the Palisades-Malibu YMCA has used for summer camps, its annual pumpkin patch in October and its annual Christmas tree lot in December, will continue to be used for similar purposes. “The YMCA has been trying for more than 30 years to purchase this property through a variety of challenges,” said Carol Pfannkuche, executive director of the Palisades-Malibu YMCA. “We’ve been delayed and now we’ve finally been successful.” The challenges faced by the YMCA in its efforts to purchase the land were primarily from community groups and community members concerned about what would happen to the park if a private entity owned the land. Groups like the Pacific Palisades Residents Association and No Oil, Inc. feared that if the land was sold to the YMCA’or anyone else’there was a possibility that new owners would begin drilling oil, and Temescal Gateway Park would become the next Beverly Hills High School. ‘At some point the matter of what the Y was going to do with the property came into question after many years when they had an option to buy the four [3.95] acres,’ said Nancy Markel, board member of the PPRA and No Oil, Inc. ‘It was very unclear what they were going to do when they purchased it.’ Still, after many years and with many uncertainties as to how the land would be used, the Los Angeles City Council approved Parcel Map 7245, which divided Temescal Canyon Gateway Park into a new 3.95-acre parcel and a 52.83-acre remainder parcel providing for transfer of 3.95 acres of public parkland into Los Angeles Metro YMCA’s private ownership. Less than one year later, though, before the land was actually purchased by the Y, the Coastal Commision granted a new hearing to address substantial issues about resubdividing Temescal property. Another year later, in 2005 the Coastal Commission approved the subdivision of Temescal, this time with conditions that would prevent new owners of the land from building structures or allowing oil drilling for 10 years. Still, the PPRA and No Oil, Inc. persisted in their efforts to protect the entrance of Temescal Canyon State Park from oil drilling activities, particularly because a consortium of petroleum officials had attempted to acquire rights to drill during the mid-1990s. Eventually, on August 21 of this year, covenant papers were recorded that prohibit oil drilling in the canyon. Coastal drilling has been prohibited since the passage of Prop O in 1988, and now, with the newly recorded covenant, Canyon drilling is also prohibited. After the inception of the new covenant, along with the remaining stipulation that no structures be built on the parcel for 10 years, community resistance eased, and the YMCA was able to purchase the land it has been using for its community activities for three decades. ‘It is the intention of the YMCA board of managers to be good stewards of the land,’ Pfannkuche said, ‘and to beautify it and landscape it and protect the plants and the environmentally sensitive habitat area.’

Planning Official Calls Appeal’s Success “Highly Unlikely”

The owner of the Sunset Boulevard Shell station who sought to replace his garage with an automated car wash and 24-hour mini-mart is appealing the City Planning Department’s rejection of his plan. Shell station owner Jin Kwak filed his appeal October 3 with the West Los Angeles Area Planning Commission. But the appeal’s success is ‘highly unlikely,’ according to Planning official Christopher Koontz. ‘It’s not impossible, but there’s a very low chance of it being overturned,’ Koontz told the Palisadian-Post on Monday. ‘I’ve only been [at the department] for a couple of years, but I’ve never heard of [the commission] overturning a denial in West L.A.’ If overturned, the 24-hour mini-mart would occupy 1,640 sq. ft., and the car wash, operating from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., would occupy 756 sq. ft. Increased lighting would be used, but the station’s eight gas pumps would be unchanged. The garage would be closed. More than 100 Palisades residents’mostly neighbors of the station at the corner of Via de la Paz’rallied against his original plans. Now, they fear that his appeal could pave the way for improvements that they say will lower their quality of life with increased noise, traffic, pollution and crime. Residents planning to fight the appeal say that Kwak’s plans threaten the Pacific Palisades Community Specific Plan, which regulates commercial development here’and as a result, the character of the Palisades Village. ‘We’re very unhappy with the appeal,’ said Via de la Paz Homeowners’ Association President Steve Carroll, who represents residents of the 107-unit condominium complex adjacent to the proposed car wash. ‘The car wash is going to draw a tremendous amount of noise and traffic. This is not just about a few people who live [nearby]. It will affect the Village too.’ The Pacific Palisades Residents Association and the Via de la Paz Homeowners’ Association are planning to hire lawyers to fight the appeal. In the strongly worded 12-page appeal, representatives of Shell owner Jin Kwak lambaste Associate Zoning Administrator Dan Green’s rejection of the plan. Kwak accuses Green of abusing his discretion and discounting pro-Shell testimony. Green based his rejection, in large part, on the Specific Plan’s clear prohibition of ‘wash racks.’ A rack, Green contended, was a broad city planning term used to refer to a large variety of car washes, including the automated wash that Kwak sought to build here. But Kwak’s appeal rejects that definition. It cites car-wash industry professionals and says that a ‘wash rack’ is not an all-inclusive term referring to all car washes but rather a narrower term used to describe ‘industrial pressure washers’ and ‘open-air racks used to wash large trucks and construction equipment.’ ‘Instead of a decision based on standards and evidence, Mr. Kwak is facing a decision based upon whimsy,’ reads the appeal. ‘As in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, words mean what the zoning administrator and the neighbors want them to mean. The meanings used by professionals in the field and their findings are simply ignored. This is the essence of an arbitrary denial of due process and fairness.’ Kwak argues that because the decision was based on a false definition, the entire decision must be reversed. Jack Allen helped write the Specific Plan and he says that preventing more car washes from being built was the intent of the Plan’s drafters. ‘It’s an outdated term, for sure,’ Allen said, referring to wash racks. ‘But that was the common term used at the time. We already had one car wash in town, and we didn’t want anymore.’ Even if the administrator incorrectly defined wash racks, the Planning Department’s Koontz says that the administrator’s 21-page decision gave other reasons to justify his rejection. ‘[Kwak’s plan] needs a Conditional Use Permit from us,’ Koontz said. ‘And I think the hearing established there is no reason for it. The zoning administrator listed other reasons why it wasn’t appropriate at that site.’ Among those reasons, Administrator Green wrote that the ‘project provided no particular convenience to this community. In fact, not one person or organization [in the Palisades] has expressed any support for this use. Apparently, existing [car wash] alternatives satisfy this population.’ An inaccuracy in Kwak’s application set the stage early for conflict. Under penalty of perjury, his engineer certified that the property was ‘surrounded by commercial operations.’ It did not mention the adjacent 107-unit condominium complex. Recent crime reports at the Village’s sole 24-hour mini-mart have only hardened opposition among neighboring residents. The LAPD says that the Mobil Station, which sells alcohol, has become a center for ‘illegal activity’ in the Palisades (Kwak has not sought a license to sell alcohol at this mini-mart). Dozens of juveniles have been arrested there in recent months for possessing alcohol and selling marijuana and crystal meth. ‘We can reasonably anticipate having problems [at the Shell station],’ says Steve Carroll. ‘The people you attract at 2 a.m. are not the most reputable people.’ — To contact Staff Writer Max Taves, e-mail reporter@palipost.com or call (310) 454-1321 ext. 28.

Three Incumbents Reelected

The results of a recent election at Palisades Charter High School promise a mini-makeover for the school’s Board of Directors. That’s because four of its 11 members are replacing long-serving incumbents, including the former chair. But voters also reelected three board members. In written candidate statements and in speeches at a forum on October 18, the 18 candidates largely echoed one another. They called for raising student academic achievement, closing the achievement gap, reducing class size, ending teacher traveling and improving dialogue among students, parents and teachers. ‘I think they’ll have a lot to contribute,’ said Executive Director and board member Amy Held, who was upbeat about all of this year’s candidates. Seven seats were at stake in the school’s election, which was held late last month. As a condition of its charter, seats on the board are reserved for the stakeholder groups that compose the school: one for an administrator; one for classified employees; three seats for community members; three for teachers; and three for parents’one of which is reserved for traveling parents. (Voting for seats is restricted to members of that stakeholder group. For example, a teacher who does not live in the Palisades can vote for a fellow teacher, but not any other seat. Students can elect a community representatives as well as one student-elected teacher representative.) Parent Representatives Michael Rogers and Darcy Stamler will replace Ros Wolfe and Patrice Fisher’both of whom chose not to run. Community Representatives John Riley, Victoria Francis and Vice-Chair Rene Rodman were all reelected. Teacher Representative Dave Suarez will replace former chair and long-time board member Bud Kling. Torino Johnson was elected to represent classified workers. Debbie Elliot and John Callas will be parent alternates; Dayle Hartnett and Bud Kling are the community and teacher alternates, respectively. Unsuccessful candidates for PaliHi’s board were classified employee and Board Member Maisha Cole Perri, community members Lynette Campbell and Steve Cron and parents Richard Saxton, Brian O’Connell and Maurice Levin. Last school year, the already high-performing school saw large achievement gains. Its API rose 15 points’more than double the statewide rate’to 781, placing it among the top 30 percent of the state’s public high schools. But during the same time period, the school board was accused of mishandling its enrollment procedure for some Revere students and misrepresenting stakeholders when it attempted to change the school’s academic calendar. And some of this year’s successful board candidates’ stated goals reflected demands for change. ‘Last year, we witnessed the problems that can occur when academic leadership is weak,’ wrote John Riley in his official candidate statement. ‘Confidence dropped and polite discussion gave way to anger and frustration. Finding the right principal to build on the experienced leadership we have this year must be our number one goal.’ Rene Rodman wants the school to adopt a more customer-service-like mindset. ‘It means we need to provide an environment that is geared toward taking care of issues at the source,’ she explained to the Palisadian-Post. ‘It also means clearly defining timelines, for example, for parents to respond to.’ In addition to finding a full-time principal this year, the independent charter faces several new challenges that its board will be charged with tackling: There are two known lawsuits filed against the school, one of which demands punitive and compensatory damages. A large but narrowing achievement gap divides white and Asian students from their poorer-performing minority and socio-economically disadvantaged counterparts. As part of an unresolved transition from LAUSD to independent-charter status, more than 50 percent of its teachers must decide whether or not they’ll return to the district. And millions of dollars must be raised to fund a Master Plan, which includes building a pool and a nearly complete renovation of its track and football field. Despite the school’s large number of eligible voters’approximately 2,700 students, thousands of parents and hundreds of teachers and staff’turnout was low. In fact, only 277 voters cast ballots, according to school records. One high-ranking insider at the school blamed the turnout on a change in school’s election schedule. In previous years, candidates spoke during the school’s Open House, virtually guaranteeing that hundreds of parents would hear candidates. But this year, a separate forum was held specifically for the race. Only a couple dozen parents attended that event. Executive Director Amy Held acknowledged that turnout to the event was low, but she said the large number of candidates running for the board made having them speak at Open House impractical. Returning board members who did not have to run for reelection were Amy Held, Eileen Savage, Steve Klima and James Paleno. The board plans to meet for the first time with its new members on November 20. At that meeting, members will select a chair and vice-chair. — To contact Staff Writer Max Taves, e-mail reporter@palipost.com or call (310) 454-1321 ext. 28.

The $2.1-million-dollar street project, which included newly constructed left-hand-turn pockets, left-turn lights and widening Sunset Boulevard at Mandeville Canyon was officially celebrated on Monday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. A podium was set up on the corner of that intersection and Councilman Bill Rosendahl officially welcomed the more than 40 people who attended. ‘Gridlock was one of the main issues I ran on in my campaign, and Sunset is one of the most gridlocked streets in the city,’ Rosendahl told the invited crowd. There were four intersections on Sunset that were targeted for improvement. In addition to Mandeville and Sunset, a left-hand turn light at Kenter was installed, the plans are done for a left-hand turn signal at Via de la Paz, and money is being raised for new light at Los Liones Drive, near the Waldorf School. According to Rosendahl, there are an additional 34 intersections on the Westside that need attention. ‘We need to find $100 billion over the next 15 years to get the massive traffic relief we need,’ Rosendahl said. ‘We need commitment from federal, state and local officials.’ In addition to Rosendahl, other speakers included Lower Mandeville Canyon homeowner’s association president Marianne Pearl, who thanked the councilman for finishing a project that began 23 years ago with Councilman Marvin Braude. She praised the city for listening to their pleas, so that instead of concrete sidewalks they were able to have decomposed granite, and redwood benches instead of cement. ‘We designed the landscaping, but the city paid for it,’ she said. Upper Mandeville Canyon homeowner’s association president Wendy Rosen said, ‘It is unprecedented that all three [homeowners] groups came together like we did for this project.’ ‘We’ve taken an intersection that was dysfunctional and now it’s functional,’ said Brentwood Hills Homeowner association president Eric Edmonds. Although the finished project cut into Los Angeles Unified School District property, no district officials were present. Before the ceremony, Art Copper, principal of Paul Revere Charter Middle School, thanked Rosendahl for fine-tuning the timing on the light at the intersection, as well as helping to get public transportation back to Revere on Tuesday and Thursdays. ‘Kids are a number-one issue,’ Rosendahl said. Copper agreed and added, ‘Safety is first: without that, the campus is not conducive to a quality education.’ For students and residents, the improved safety at that intersection is a welcome relief.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 Palisadian Darrell Ruocco signs ‘Foolosophy ‘ Humor is the Key to a Healthy Mind’ at 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. Stop the war peace vigil, 5 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Swarthmore and Sunset. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2 Calvary Christian School Holiday Boutique, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Calvary Christian School, 701 Palisades Dr. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3 Deadline for the Pacific Palisades Community Council Community Service Award. Knolls Pharmacy on Marquez Avenue is offering a flu-shot clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free matinee showing of the Marx Brothers’ Classic, ‘A Night At The Opera,’ 2 p.m., community room of the Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real. Center for the Jazz Arts to provide live jazz music at Tivoli Caf’ each Saturday in November from 8 to 11 p.m. at Tivoli, 15306 Sunset Blvd. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5 Palisadian Maiya Williams signs ‘The Hour of the Outlaw’ at 4 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. Pacific Palisades Garden Club presents botanist Bob Gustavson, who will discuss the plants of Southwest Australia, 7:30 p.m. at the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford. Members and guests invited. Dr. Angela Windholz, an art scholar and former Getty Research Institute fellow, will present a lecture on artists’ residences from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Villa Aurora in Paseo Miramar. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 Palisades business owners offer ‘Back to Basics: Marketing 101’ on how to grow a successful business in Pacific Palisades at 6 p.m. at Aldersgate Retreat Center, 925 Haverford Ave. The documentary film ‘Afghanistan Unveiled’ will be screened at 7:30 p.m. at Villa Aurora Paseo Miramar. Irad Malkin, chairman of the department of history at Tel Aviv University will lecture on the relationship between the rise of Greek civilization and the multi-directional networks the Greeks established in the Mediterranean Sea at 8 p.m. at the Getty Villa, 17985 Pacific Coast Hwy.

Less than half of the parking options proposed by residents for the unfinished 40-acre Potrero Canyon Park that extends from below the Palisades Recreation Center off Toyopa Drive to Pacific Coast Highway were approved by Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks West Region Superintendent Debby Rolland. Closing Frontera Drive, a favored option of Huntington Palisades residents, was not approved. At a Potrero Canyon Advisory Committee meeting held last week, Chairman George Wolfberg discussed the 12 options that had been presented to Rolland at a September 11 meeting and her response to each. ‘You’re not going to close Frontera,’ Rolland told Wolfberg. ‘It will remain open, because it is already an existing parking lot,’ Rolland later told the Palisadian-Post. ‘We already have parking issues because of the library, the business community and schools. We don’t want to remove what we already have; it doesn’t make any sense.’ Although closing Frontera is not an option for Rolland, she approved several other parking possibilities, including re-striping the parking lot off Alma Real, as well as adding spaces by cutting into the center island in front of the old gym and enlarging the driveway near the picnic tables. It was suggested that a driveway gate and ranger booth be added at the entrance to the parking lot in an effort to turn away non-park users. That was fine with Rolland, but she told Wolfberg that Rec and Parks did not have money to pay for a ranger. There was concern that people would park at the Rec Center and then walk the mile down to PCH and run across the highway to the beach to avoid paying the $7 state beach parking fee. Temescal Canyon Road was cited as an example. It was pointed out that since the Will Rogers State Beach parking lot re-opened this past summer, parking along Temescal had dwindled. The Coastal Commission permit for Potrero, granted in 1996, mandated certain requirements, which include no fewer than 10 and no more than 30 parking spaces, as well as restroom facilities. Rolland is hopeful that if additional parking is found near the Rec Center, the condition will be met and there will be no need to provide for parking at PCH. If that is not the case, two PCH parking options were presented. The first was parking and a restroom at the old Occidental site adjacent to Potrero Canyon. Rolland nixed that option because of public safety and the maintenance cost of the required restroom. Rolland approved the option of using existing Will Rogers State Beach parking and restrooms if a bridge could be built across PCH. Not everyone in the audience was happy with Rolland’s choices. ‘Access at Frontera continues to be a lighting rod for residents of the Huntington,’ Huntington resident Pat Ramsey told the committee. He asked Wolfberg what would happen if the Potrero committee voted for one of the options Rolland opposed. ‘She would probably overturn it,’ Wolfberg said. ‘It would be divisive,’ Rolland said. ‘We understand their concerns, but we have to look at the bigger picture. The park is for all the residents, not just the residents who live next to it, but also for those that live a half-mile a way, a mile away or further. ‘We try to mitigate concerns,’ Rolland added. ‘We appreciate the input and the advice, but that’s what it is’advice.’ ‘How much weight does she have?’ Ramsey wondered about Rolland’s authority’could people appeal to Councilman Rosendahl’s office? Wolfberg told the audience that individual council members couldn’t set policy for the Department of Recreation and Parks. There was no one from Councilman Rosendahl’s office at the meeting. His office was contacted, but had not responded by press time. ‘If the actual decision about the park is constrained by Rolland and the Coastal Commission, we may need to make the second-best alternative,’ said Richard Cohen, vice-chairman of Pacific Palisades Community Council. Wolfberg agreed with Cohen’s assessment. ‘We’re going to have to find the alternatives that are the least worst,’ he said. ‘With the way this is going with the Rec and Parks person,’ Ramsey said, ‘I would say that Friends [a street with a west border to the park] and other neighborhoods would have to share the traffic burden with the Huntington.’ ‘None of us will be alive when this project is finished,’ said Palisades resident Ted Mackie. Rolland was more optimistic. ‘It is moving forward, slowly, but it is moving forward.’ At the November 28 meeting, parking options will be voted upon by the sub-committee. During the January meeting, the entire committee will vote. For a list of options, visit www.potrero.info.