A new trail located above Sunset in Bundy Canyon and named after former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and his wife Nancy, was dedicated last Thursday at a ceremony at the trailhead on the Mount St. Mary’s Fire Road. Located on a new Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority-owned easement, the trail will weave through 300 acres of protected open space connecting the college fire road to the existing Canyonback Trail located west of Mountaingate Estates. Richard Riordan was instrumental in the development of the trail and worked with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the Canyonback Alliance, Save Our Mountains, Inc, Councilman Bill Rosendahl, and Castle and Cooke, which is developing the adjacent Mountaingate property. Castle and Cooke provided funding to build the trail, which is presently only partially complete at 1.6 miles and can be accessed, for the time being, through a guarded gate at the south end of Mount St. Mary’s College (off Bundy Drive). An additional mile of trail will provide for full public access from Canyonback Drive.

Pre-Fab In Palisades Re-writes the Rules of Mobile Homes

Slapp! Knockkk! Drrrrill! Kaslaamm! For complete accuracy, repeat eight hours per day, five days per week for the next 18 to 36 months. Pacific Palisades residents cursed with next-door construction accustom themselves on a daily basis to the familiar rhythm of belching tractors, buzzing saws and throbbing power drills. But the newest house on Temecula Street could give homeowners a reason to rethink what they know–and fear–about new-home construction. More importantly, though, it could also give them reason to consider a reinvented, if still overlooked, building alternative. Within a matter of hours on March 22, an empty parcel on the quiet, residential street off El Medio Avenue became home to a nearly completed two-story 3,600-square-foot house, sparing its neighbors potentially years of construction din. Now and forever invisible to the house’s visitors and neighbors is its bone structure: six pre-fabricated pieces that are the house. The three-bedroom, modern house was birthed almost entirely in a Chino, California factory, where it left for the Palisades replete with windows, doors, roofing and drywall atop several trailer beds. But the house’s true mother is Venice-based architect Jennifer Siegal, 40, who began re-imagining the possibilities of pre-fabricated trailers more than a decade ago. Now, perhaps more than any other designer nationwide, she is credited with re-enlivening the moribund pre-fabricated mobile into an increasingly hip, popular symbol of eco-consciousness and modernism. ‘Pre-fabricated’ has become ‘pre-fab,’ and the distinct connotation is everything. In the mid-1990s when Siegal was teaching design and architecture at Burbank’s Woodbury University, she received a grant from Southern California Edison to help the company rethink portable classrooms, with a focus on improving their energy efficiency. ‘I discovered the problem was not in the way they were structured,’ Siegal says. ‘The problem was really in the materials that were being used and in the way they were designed.’ Siegal admired the trailers’ strong steel frames, which provide more structural soundness than the wooden frames typically used for houses. And she appreciated in-factory production over at-site construction, where 30 percent of building materials go wasted, stolen or lost. But she scrapped the trailers’ heavy plastics, toxic glues, off-gassing paints and small windows. And in their place she has built what she calls more sustainable buildings that are also more livable. She uses coconut-palm and bamboo floors, recycled wheat-fiber walls and organic paints. Influenced by mid-century modernists and her own predilection for green, she pursues high ceilings, open spaces and a blurred distinction between nature and architecture. Whenever possible, she uses tankless water heaters, solar cells, radiant-heated floors and sometimes recycled steel. Not surprisingly, her work has gotten attention. In 2003, she was invited to teach at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design as a Loeb Fellow. The same year ‘Esquire’ magazine named her its ‘Best and Brightest.’ And in 2006, ‘Fast Company’ featured her firm, Office of Mobile Design, for its pioneering approach to architecture. Her prominence has won her several large-scale projects. Among them include the first pre-fab school nearing completion in North Hollywood and an office building at the Brewery downtown. But she also speaks passionately about designing homes, no less her recent Palisades house. ‘I wanted to create a strong relationship back into the garden there,’ she says of the Temecula pre-fab. ‘The whole wall has sliding glass doors. So you can really control temperature without using air conditioning. And you can have this seamless relationship while you’re cooking and your kid is playing outside.’ No walls separate the house’s kitchen from its living and dining rooms, part of Siegal’s vision for open, unencumbered spaces. With a focus on privacy, the house faces inward around its courtyard like an ‘L’ away from the street. ‘I am always trying to capture views as much as possible,’ she says. ‘There are incredible panoramic views of the mountains from the second floor. And the master bedroom has its own terrace and viewing space.’ Beyond sustainability and ‘limitless’ design potential, Siegal says there are practical reasons to buy a pre-fab home. ‘I understand construction from both worlds,’ she says. ‘I know the agonies of having a contractor giving you a cost and then the next day prices have gone up. So many people have these horror stories from construction. ‘In the pre-fab world, the price that my client gets from the factory is locked in. There are no change orders. No surprises. Most people like that,’ she says. Fewer surprises also means the costs of designing, building and transporting a pre-fab is 15 percent less expensive than standard home construction, according to Siegal, who charges between $230 to $280 per square foot. Siegal, who currently has 12 pre-fab homes under way in L.A., says that the time between placing an order for a house and moving in is half the time of normal construction. The house’s owners, who requested privacy, are expected to inhabit their new home within four weeks.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26 Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, 7 p.m., Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. Public invited. Author Matthew Jaffe and photographer Tom Gamache discuss and sign their book, ‘The Santa Monica Mountains: Range on the Edge,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books, 1049 Swarthmore. FRIDAY, APRIL 27 Palisades Beautiful will host a talk by landscape architect Don Marquardt, an expert on famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, 4 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real. The public is invited and refreshments will be served. Theatre Palisades production of ‘The Hot L Baltimore,’ at Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. Performances continue Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., through May 13. For tickets, call (310) 454-1970. SATURDAY, APRIL 28 Inaugural Independent Charters of Los Angeles Run-Walk event (in recognition of National Charter Schools Week) for all 100-plus charters in Los Angeles, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Palisades High. (See story, page TK.) Amy Stewart, an avid gardener, signs ‘Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers,’ 5 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. (See story, this week’s Spring Home and Garden supplement.) THURSDAY, MAY 3 Elham Ebiza from California Recycles, Inc. will speak on waste issues at the Palisades Rotary Club breakfast meeting, 7:15 a.m., Gladstone’s restaurant on PCH at Sunset. Contact: 482-2006. Maia Danziger signs ‘Relax & Write: Tapping Your Unconscious for Life & Art,’ 7:30 p.m., Village Books on Swarthmore. In her book (with an accompanying CD), Danziger demystifies the writing process, sharing insights and anecdotes from her experiences and those of her students. FRIDAY, MAY 4 The public is invited to participate in ‘Full Moon Hike: A Journey through Time,’ 7 p.m. in Temescal Gateway Park, 15601 Sunset. Hikers should bring water and a jacket; flashlights are optional. Meet in the front parking lot. The program is free; parking is $5. Contact: (310) 454-1395.

A new tree is coming to the Palisades Highlands: the ‘monopine.’ If it doesn’t sound familiar, it will be easy to spot. It is 22 feet four inches tall, has 60 boughs and 12 antennas. It breathes watts and exhales radio waves. Cell phones love them. Neighbors don’t. Last week, the Department of City Planning’s Office of Zoning Administration approved T-Mobile USA, Inc.’s application to install the cell-phone tower on vacant land owned by Headland Property Associates behind dozens of homes in the Highlands. Many residents in the Summit and Enclave homeowners associations opposed the plan. And more than a dozen sent letters or attended a public hearing in March, expressing their fears of the 2,000-megaHertz tower. ‘I know the dangers,’ said Lynne Henney, a Summit resident whose research on cell-phone tower radiation’s carcinogenic properties has given her reason to fear effects on her health. ‘And I don’t want that type of thing near my house. Now I feel like I should sleep with a lead blanket over me.’ Henney and like-minded neighbors also say that the cell-phone tower disguised as a pine tree will not blend into the vacant and treeless lot, which is also at a trailhead off West Via la Costa. Not all neighbors opposed the plan, however. Highlands residents like Paul Glasgall, who spoke in support of the tower at the hearing, were encouraged by the decision. Glasgall, chairman of the Highlands Presidents Council, represents the 17 homeowners associations there. He says the tower could provide residents an extra form of communication in case of an emergency. ‘I think it’s a great step forward,’ Glasgall said on Tuesday. ‘It’s a plus. There’s nothing more annoying than having a dropped call. You can’t stand in the way of progress.’ But a long-discussed land swap plan between the property’s current owner and the Summit Club Homeowners Association could jeopardize installation of the tower. Ed Miller, an Enclave resident who manages the property for Headland Property Associates, had plans to transfer the property to the Summit this year. Headland would gain a tax benefit and Summit residents would gain new property to use as they saw fit. But Summit residents say that Miller never disclosed his plans to place a cell tower on the property. Plus, they say that the company Miller manages might reap a windfall from T-Mobile before transferring the property to the Summit Club. ‘Summit homeowners don’t want one person to benefit at their expense,’ said Rebecca Wade, director of the Summit Club, who has received many calls from residents. Currently unknown to board members is whether Miller has completed negotiations with T-Mobile. On Monday, Wade said that the club will accept the property only if it is ‘free and clear,’ meaning the property is not encumbered by third-party agreements. ‘The only hope now is to press Ed Miller to back off,’ Henney said, ‘He’s the only one that can kill the deal.’ The Palisadian-Post could not reach Ed Miller. Federal and state laws have tightly restricted cities’ ability to reject cell-phone company’s applications to install towers. In fact, the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 bars local governments from prohibiting a tower for environmental effects, which includes health concerns. Cities have fought back the only way they can: often by requiring aesthetic conformity. According to the permit written by Zoning Administrator Larry Friedman, T-Mobile must use a landscape professional ‘who has expertise in working with local California natural plants found in the immediate area of the site’ to create a landscape ‘buffer area to soften the visual impact of the tower.’ Friedman also mandated that graffiti on the site must be removed within 24 hours of its occurrence and that the facility be regularly cleaned of trash and debris. ‘It looks like the city heard people’s concerns about aesthetics,’ said Arthur Zussman, president of the Enclave Homeowners Association. ‘But a pine tree will still look kind of funny’there are no pines here.’ ———– To contact Staff Writer Max Taves, e-mail reporter@palipost.com or call (310) 454-1321 ext. 28.

After more than 30 years of effort, the Palisades-Malibu YMCA has secured the rights and the funds to purchase 3.95 acres of land at the corner of Sunset and Temescal. “Thanks to the generosity of many residents in our community and a lead pledge of $250,000 from Palisadians Cindy and Bill Simon, the YMCA is now prepared to pay the full price to purchase the property,” said Carol Pfannkuche, the local Y’s executive director. On Sunday, May 6, at 4 p.m., the YMCA will host a celebratory event on the Christmas Tree/Pumpkin Patch property to acknowledge “the generations of Palisadians who have worked so hard and given of their time, talents and treasure to reach this goal,” Pfannkuche said. Everyone in the community is invited to participate. Those who have served on the YMCA Board of Managers, since the inception in 1965, will be the special guests. Honorees will include the Simons, the family of the late Corwin Davis, Everett Maguire and family, and Palisades YMCA founders, Dotty Larson and Dr. Michael Martini. The celebration will also include all capital campaign donors, annual campaign donors, YMCA members, campers, program participants and friends. ‘Our family has enjoyed the Palisades YMCA for nearly 15 years,” said Cindy Simon. “Our children have participated in the basketball program, Y-Princesses and Y-Guides, and the fitness center. I have wonderful memories of learning to swim at the YMCA in Illinois where I grew up. A YMCA is a cornerstone of a community, and Bill and I feel honored to participate in its growth.’ Pfannkuche added, ‘Thanks to the Simons’ donation, and to everyone who has supported the YMCA for these last 30 years, we will have a beautiful YMCA location for future generations to enjoy.’ In August 2006, the California Coastal Commission voted to allow the YMCA’s property purchase to proceed. Since then, the YMCA has been working with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to complete the required legal steps. “Final paperwork is now being prepared, to allow the transfer to be completed in the coming weeks,” Pfannkuche said. The YMCA will continue to operate summer day camp and hold its annual sale of pumpkins and Christmas trees on its corner parcel. When asked about two deed restrictions requested by local citizens during the protracted negotiations between the YMCA, the City of L.A. and the Conservancy, Pfannkuche said: ‘We don’t have the absolute final form of the deed because it is still being reviewed by the California Department of General Services. However, our attorney says their review relates almost exclusively to the various easements being reserved and granted; the language of the deed regarding oil drilling has not been changed over the last several drafts and has been agreed to by us. There are two aspects of the deed that relate to this issue. ‘First, the State retains all of the mineral rights, including oil and gas. Second, and more directly responsive, there will be a restriction in the deed that reads as follows: ‘SUBJECT TO THE RESTRICTIONS that shall run with the real property, that (a) no exploration or drilling for oil shall ever be conducted on, from or under said real property, a restriction that shall remain in effect in perpetuity, and (b) no construction may commence on said real property within ten years following recordation of this Deed.”

Lower Temescal Oversight Committee Formed By City; Will Meet on May 23 Seven community members have been appointed to a Local Volunteer Neighborhood Oversight Committee (LVNOC) that will oversee how $250,000 of Proposition K money is spent on renovations in Temescal Canyon Park, which lies north of Pacific Coast Highway. LVNOC?s members are Diane Goldberg, Bernard Kinsey, Ted Mackie, Stuart Muller, Susan Oakley and Harry Sondheim. The members, who were appointed by the Department of Recreation and Parks and Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, were chosen for their proximity to the park and their history of involvement in community issues. Currently, many of the park?s wooden pagodas and picnic tables have fallen into disrepair (?Temescal Renovations Approved (And Needed),? February 9, 2007). Lower Temescal was one of few parks to be allocated Prop. K money last year, but visitors may not actually see changes until July 2008, according to Neil Drucker, who helps manage park funding for the city. The LVNOC committee will meet for the first time at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23, at the Palisades Recreation Center. Protesters Decry Noise, Air Pollution at SM Airport Hundreds of residents concerned about safety and affected by noise and air pollution at Santa Monica Airport protested last Saturday. Fueled by the growth of private jets and debated federal safety standards, jet operations at the airport have increased 1,400 percent since 1983. As previously reported in the Palisadian-Post (?Airplane Noise Upsets Hillside Calm,? December 15), that explosion in jet traffic has angered residents of Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades, especially those living atop the Palisades? highest streets. Airport protesters on Saturday, including Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, said that neighboring communities are flooded with dangerous pollutants, unwanted noise and a safety hazard, reported the Los Angeles Times. They want the Federal Aviation Administration to enforce tighter safety standards at the airport, which would reduce the number of large jets that now land at the airport. They also want an environmental report that studies health effects. Palisadian Hosts Presidential Candidate Dodd On March 29, television producer Tom Werner turned over his Pacific Palisades home, which overlooks the Riviera Country Club, to Senator Christopher Dodd?s campaign to win the Democratic presidential nomination, reported the L.A. Times (?Dodd?s Backers Look Past the Polls,? April 1). Dodd, who has represented Connecticut for 33 years in the House and Senate, lags significantly behind Democratic front-runners Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards. But he, along with many other presidential candidates, has found strong financial backing from Palisades residents. About 65 people showed up at the home of Werner, who co-owns the Boston Red Sox. In late January, former gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon hosted a fundraiser for former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. ———– To contact Staff Writer Max Taves, e-mail reporter@palipost.com or call (310) 454-1321 ext. 28.

The Pacific Palisades Community Council has named Lisa Taylor and John Grosse as the town’s 2007 Golden Sparkplug winners. The award has been presented annually since 1974 to ‘honor those citizens who ignite ideas and projects into community action which affect all of us.’ Taylor was chosen for her efforts in battling persistent graffiti in the stairway between Haverford Avenue and the Methodist Church parking lot. Last September, soon after moving to the Palisades with her husband and two children, Taylor began walking her son, Jimmy, 6, up the stairs to Palisades Charter Elementary. Distressed by the graffiti and vandalism, she decided to take action. Armed with a gallon of paint from Norris Hardware, Taylor painted over the scrawl on the fence lining the stairway, only to find new graffiti on benches the next day. She learned that the Chamber of Commerce gives out graffiti-fighting materials to citizens and that the police request photographs, which she has been doing ever since. From the photographs the police are able to see whether the tagging is gang-related. If it’s not, they’re able to accumulate the same moniker on different sites, so that when the tagger is eventually apprehended they can arrest for more than one offense. Hardly a week has gone by the past eight months that Taylor hasn’t had to give some attention to the area. She has enlisted her family to help, with Moran, 3, wielding a paintbrush and Jimmy trying to think of ways to catch the ‘robbers.’ Taylor keeps a corner of the family’s garage dedicated to anti-graffiti supplies, and pays their gardener to keep garbage and leaves cleaned out of the stairwell. She plans to apply for a city beautification grant in hopes that having having a mural painted in the stairwell will deter vandals. Husband Jim, who grew up in the Palisades and graduated from Palisades High, said about his wife: ‘Lisa is not the first person to work against graffiti in our neighborhood, nor will she be the last. However, Lisa has shown a dedication to our community this is matched by few.’ John Grosse is being recognized for his ongoing efforts to ease traffic congestion and parking problems around Marquez Charter Elementary that have been generated by increased local enrollment. Residents complained about morning and afternoon gridlock to the school principal, LAUSD and city officials and received little response. Grosse decided to take action. Responding to residents on Jacon Way complaining that they were unable to get off their street during school drop-off time because of traffic, the Grosses (who live on Edgar Street) sent flyers to people in the neighborhood, seeking members for a committee to address the traffic problem. They acquired 23 volunteers. Grosse started working with former Marquez principal Lewin Dover and is now working with new principal Phillip Hollis. As a result of various meetings, a new crosswalk and a stop sign have been installed at the west intersection of Marquez Avenue and Edgar Street, as well as ‘No Left Turn’ and ‘No U-turn’ signs at Bollinger Drive and Livorno Drive to help control traffic. ‘As a resident of this area, I can attest to the fact that these changes have already made a major impact on reducing congestion in the area,’ Janet Turner wrote in her nomination letter to the Community Council. Margaret Goff, president of the Marquez Knolls Homeowners Association, concurred. ‘He deserves the award with the amount of work that he’s done towards this project. ‘His tenacity and perseverance are admirable.’ Grosse, a retired aerospace engineer, said he other traffic-calming ideas, including obtaining more on-site school parking and re-activating a DASH bus system to transport students between the Highlands and Marquez Elementary. ‘I’m going to solve this problem,’ he told the Palisadian-Post. ‘I don’t give up until I can find a solution.’

PAPA People, the volunteer group that fulfills various tasks at the Fourth of July parade and fireworks show in Pacific Palisades, will hold its first 2007 meeting on Monday, April 30, at 7 p.m. at the home of Jon and Sylvia Boyd. Coffee, tea and desserts will be served. ‘We are encouraging anybody who might be willing to work with us on parade day to attend this organizational meeting,’ said the Boyds, co-chairs of the PAPA People group (within the Palisades Americanism Parade Association). ‘This way we can fill assignments and find out where we have gaps.’ ‘We know that we need help with everything from traffic control before and after the parade to greeting people and handing out flags at the fireworks,’ said Sylvia Boyd. ‘People do not need any special skills to help us out, just a willingness to handle their assignment with a friendly attitude, knowing they are contributing to an important day in the Palisades.’ ‘This year,’ Boyd added, ‘a wonderful local Boy Scout troop will be joining our group. We welcome other older teenagers with community spirit.’ For directions to the April 30 meeting and for more information, please e-mail the Boyds at syljonboyd@aol.com or call 454-9556. ************ Meanwhile, entry forms are available for individuals, businesses, clubs, youth groups, organizations, churches and synagogues who wish to enter the parade. The festivities will begin at 2 p.m. at the corner of Bowdoin and Via de la Paz. Application are available at the Chamber of Commerce office, 15330 Antioch, and must be returned by May 25. Parade orders and staging information will be sent to accepted entries 10 days prior to the parade. As per tradition, there is no entry fee for non-commercial, nonprofit organizations, and they can apply for reimbursement of up to $500 in float expenses (excluding vehicle rental) from PAPA, the organizing committee. Float judging will be based on execution of theme, originality of design and spectator appeal. Tax-deductible donations to help PAPA defray $72,000 in expenses (for the parade and the fireworks show at Palisades High) are greatly appreciated and can be sent to: PAPA, P.O. Box 1776, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. The parade’s organizing committee is chaired this year by longtime Palisades resident Carolyn Haselkorn.