The Larchmont Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Conservancy and many other publications and community organizations have highlighted the mansionization trend in Los Angeles. Houses are torn down and new, much larger structures are built in their place with little regard to the impact on their neighbors and the existing neighborhood. Homeowners wake up to an oversized structure next door to them that blocks their light, view and invades their privacy. Because of our Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) this is not a problem for Hancock Park. An HPOZ controls what kind of changes can be done to houses and limits the size of additions. It preserves the look and feel of our neighborhood keeping Hancock Park the beautiful area we all live in. It does take some planning and work, though, on the part of homeowners. It’s important that before making any changes to the street visible part of your house that you consult the Hancock Park HPOZ Preservation Plan (http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park) and contact our City Planner, Kimberly Henry (kimberly.henry@lacity.org. Kimberly has a helpful online form that will start the process – http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening.checklist.

The HPOZ Board (all volunteers), is made up of Hancock Park residents, and a professional architect. It meets the first and third Wednesdays of every month, 6PM-8PM, at the John C. Fremont Library at June Street and Melrose. If you’re planning a change, contact Kimberly, and come in for a consultation, even if all you have is an idea and a sketch. The meetings are open and anyone interested in how the HPOZ process works in Hancock Park is invited to attend.

Our City Council seat is open and the election is coming up soon. Attend the GWNC Candidate Debate on February 8th at 11AM at John Burroughs Middle School and learn more. Now is the time to plant a parkway tree. With all the rain we’ve had, the trees are looking wonderful, and a new tree will help purify the air, provide shade in the summer and make our streets beautiful. Contact the Tree Committee on our website for more information.

Unfortunately, crime is still occurring in Hancock Park so please take precautions and sign up for the e-Policing newsletter – http://www.lapdepolicing.org/. Report street light outages to the city at: http://bsl.lacity.org/. Report potholes by submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htmBe sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org . Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System – http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming – contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

Remember in the classic film It’s A Wonderful Life when George Bailey sees how different the world would have been if he hadn’t been there to change things? Well, we’d like to take this opportunity to share a few scenarios you’ve likely never imagined, but would absolutely be true if it hadn’t been for your Homeowner’s Association:

• There would be a freeway running through the northern part of Hancock Park – In 1968 the HPHA fought the City and won, stopping the “Beverly Hills Freeway”.
• The surrounding neighborhood may have become a sea of enormous commercial buildings – The HPHA helped develop the 1969 Master Plan for Wilshire Blvd. creating the land use protections that are still in place.
• There would be no Highland Ave median – there would now be six lanes of traffic running down Highland from Melrose to Wilshire – In 1972 the HPHA was successful in saving the median by having it declared an Historic Monument.
• There would be no HPOZ to protect our beautiful historic homes – From 1998 to 2007 the neighborhood and HPHA worked with the City to have our neighborhood designated an HPOZ (Historic Preservation Overlay Zone). This stopped teardowns and preserved the beautiful street visible facades of our historic homes.
• There would be no neighborhood communication system, including email and Block Captain communications – Our email system is 800+ strong sending out important information, including helping hundreds of neighborhood pets find their way home.
• Cut-through traffic would render parts of the neighborhood unlivable – The traffic mitigation on Melrose and Beverly would not be in place, and cut through speeding traffic would be even worse than it is! There would be no Crossing Guard for Third Streets School and Yavneh Academy.
• Our neighborhood beautification projects would not be in place – Parkway trees would not be trimmed; stumps would not be removed and replacement trees would not be planted or maintained; Local School beautification of JB and 3rd Street would not have occurred and without our aggressive graffiti removal system, graffiti would be rampant.

Please do your part to support this important work to ensure Hancock Park remains a wonderful oasis in a crowded city! The HPHA board is comprised of volunteers, but we need our residents to pay their dues to support our efforts on your behalf.

You can now pay dues on line. Go to www.HancockPark.org and click on the DONATE button. Or use the dues envelope which will be included in our mailing! Don’t forget to include your email address!

As those who read our Senior Lead Officer David Cordova’s weekly crime report will know, crime is still occurring in Hancock Park. In particular there have been a number of robberies of pedestrians and motorists near Melrose and continuing home break-ins, particularly in north Hancock Park. With the holiday season there is also an unfortunate increase in crime, so please take precautions. Never open your door to someone you don’t know, keep your home alarm on (if you have one), even if you’re home and always call 911 if you see any suspicious activity. Security chair, Peter Gorelick, is happy to organize security/neighborhood watch meetings for any block in Hancock Park. Just email the Security Committee if your block wants to have a meeting. If you have any questions or concerns about ongoing problems contact our Senior Lead Office, Dave Cordova. His cell phone number is (213) 793-0650 and his e-mail is 31646@lapd.lacity.org Finally, be sure and sign up for the e-Policing newsletter – http://www.lapdepolicing.org/.

The residents living in Quadrant One (Lillian Way/Cahuenga/Wilcox), have been considering a number of options presented by the city to improve safety and reduce commuter traffic. There will be a neighborhood meeting in early January to come up with a recommendation to the City. If you have questions please contact Susan Grossman – SEGrossman@sbcglobal.net or Indy Flore – iflore@gmail.com . Finally, the Association wishes everyone in Hancock Park a wonderful holiday season and is looking forward to moving forward in many areas next year, including a plan for concrete street repair.

Don’t forget, if you’re considering any changes to the street visible portion of your house, contact our City Planner, Kimberly Henry (kimberly.henry@lacity.org) and fill out the online form – http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening.checklist to start the process. The Preservation Plan for Hancock Park can be found at: http://www.hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org/ or http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park ).

Report street light outages to the city at: http://bsl.lacity.org/. Report potholes by submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htmBe sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org . Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System – http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming – contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

The Hancock Park
Homeowners’ Association, est. 1948, thanks all the speakers who made our annual
meeting a great success.  LAPD Captain
Howard Leslie and our Senior Lead Officer, David Cordova, spoke about the LAPDs
efforts to address the crime that has been occurring in Hancock Park.  They answered questions and encouraged
residents to follow precautions such as not leaving anything visible in parked
cars, locking their doors, turning on their security systems and to be sure and
report all crimes.   Call 911 if you see a suspicious person or a
crime in process, do not intervene yourself!

LA Department of
Transportation representative Bhuvan Bajaj answered questions about traffic mitigation
options.  Hancock Park, has seen an startlingly
recent increase in cut through traffic on our streets and residents have been
expressing concerns about safety. 

The Hancock Park
Streets Committee Chair Tim Allyn presented an update of the Committee’s work
in determining costs for repaving Hancock Park concrete streets with
concrete.  Details will be discussed in
our next column.  DWP representative Greg
Bartz reminded all of us to conserve water and to plan drought tolerant
landscaping.  There were updates from SSA
Security and ADT Security to augment the recommendations given by the LAPD.  Finally, the election of the candidates
nominated for the HPHOA Board of Directors was announced. 

We particularly
give a big thank you to Clinton Oie and Marlborough School for generously
providing the facilities for the meeting. 
Institutions such as Marlborough are important parts of the fabric of
the Hancock Park community and we are grateful for their generosity.  And last, but certainly not least, we thank
our members who attended.  Without you
there is no ‘Hancock Park’.  The hard
work of our residents keeps our community beautiful and a great place to live.

If you’re considering any changes to the street
visible portion of your house, contact our City Planner, Kimberly Henry (kimberly.henry@lacity.org) and
fill out the online form – http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening.checklist  to start the
process.  The Preservation Plan for
Hancock Park can be found at:  http://www.hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org/ or http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park ). 

Report
street light outages to the city at:  http://bsl.lacity.org/.  Report potholes by
submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htmBe
sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org . 
Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request
System - http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by
calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming -
contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

The HPHOA’48 has formed two new Ad Hoc committees: Hancock Park Streets and Highland Avenue Median.

The residents will finally begin to see results of those efforts of the Median Committee in Early January. The Median, which was, designated a Los Angeles Historic Landmark #94 in 1972 had been ignored for years. It was not for lack of trying to get the City to help. We could not figure out why brand new medians were being funded (via special grants) and we couldn’t get our sprinklers fixed, our turf fertilized, re seeded or mowed on a regular basis. It just didn’t make any sense. The HPHOA funds Parkway Tree trimming, replanting of new trees and stump removal, along with helping to fund beautification projects at local schools. The City no longer funds any of these services. Last month CD5, which represents 40% of the median on the west side, joined the effort and contributed 15K toward needed repairs along with the 15K from CD4. The repair money was allocated from each of the Council Offices discretionary funds made available via AB 1290. The median committee, made up of Highland Ave. residents and HPHOA Board members, is also working with representatives of the Department of Urban Forestry, to ensure that Tru Green, the landscape maintenance company the City has contracted with, actually maintains the median and complies with the contract. Along with bi-monthly turf mowing the company is responsible for; irrigation repair, trash removal, sign removal. yearly fertilization, thatching, and re seeding. The HPHOA’48 plans to replace the missing palms along the median and the committee is exploring drought tolerant landscaping ideas.Jordan Retro 1.

The Hancock Park Streets Committee will work with the Association and the City to develop accurate and complete information about options for repaving our Hancock Park streets; the committee will be responsible for developing a survey of all Hancock Park residents and will work to reach a consensus on an option. At this time options include an assessment district to pay for repaving in concrete or a switch to asphalt re paving. Hancock Park streets have long been neglected by the City, in a recent LA Time article, Hancock Park was singled out as having some of the worst streets in the City. Jordans Shoes Black Friday.See link: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/04/local/la-me-pavement-201305. 

The Association has been trying to get our Council Office to focus on this problem for several years. While we will continue to work to improve the condition of our streets. We will be addressing another issue – our horrific potholes. As we try to develop a plan for repaving, we are asking the City to repair our potholes in a professional lasting manner. We are hopeful with the formation of the new committees and the continued follow up of the HPHOA board, the City will finally address the needs of the Hancock Park community. Please write to our Councilman Tom La Bonge to encourage him to focus on these important issues, his email address is Tom.LaBonge@lacity.org

The Hancock Park Homeowners’ Association, est. 1948, annual meeting will be held on Monday, October 20th at Marlborough School. The meeting is an opportunity for you to hear from your Council Office, the LAPD, ADT and SSA security services, the LADOT on traffic and the DWP on the drought and water conservation. A representative from the California Nevada Concrete Association will be presenting options for street repair/resurfacing. The Association committee chairs will be giving presentations on areas such as Historic Preservation, Traffic, Safety, Street Maintenance, Trees and many other topics, so come and ask questions and find out how you can participate.

The annual meeting is also when the election of half of the Board of Directors takes place and the results announced. The candidates submitted by the Association are: Patricia Alexander, Christine Bubser, Cindy Chvatal-Keane, Jennifer DeVore, Joel Kozberg, Joanne Medeiros, Pam Newhouse, Susan Roth and Victoria Vickers. Visit the Association’s website to read brief biographies. If you’re a member in good standing (those homeowners who have paid annual dues), you should have received your ballot. If you haven’t please contact the Association. So be sure and put the Association’s Annual Meeting on your calendar and we’ll see you there!

Don’t forget to be safe and to not make yourself a target for crime. Never leave anything visible in your car; Lock the doors of your house; Set your alarm system; and never open your door to a stranger. Call 911 if you see a suspicious person and contact our Acting Senior Lead Officer Art Gallegos with any questions. His cell phone number is 213-793-0708 and his email address is: 35849@lapd.lacity.org. If you’re considering any changes to the street visible portion of your house, contact our City Planner, Kimberly Henry (kimberly.henry@lacity.org) and fill out the online form – http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening.checklist to start the process. The Preservation Plan for Hancock Park can be found at: http://www.hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org/ or http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park ).

Report street light outages to the city at: http://bsl.lacity.org/. Report potholes by submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htmBe sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org . Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System – http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming – contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

The Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society’s fifth annual Garden Tour will be held on Sunday, April 25th, 2010 from 12:00-5:00PM.  Every year the tour opens historic private gardens to the public just at the height of the spring blooming season.  Featured will be six private estate gardens, including a historic walled castle on a stream in Brookside; a spectacular courtyard garden and a garden featuring drought-tolerant plantings.  The Garden Party closes with a reception including a silent auction, light supper and opportunity drawing.    This year the Society is honoring the community work for Margy Hudson who was one of the leaders of the Windsor Square HPOZ initiative, a member of our Neighborhood Council and has served on the Board of the Windsor Square Homeowners Association. 

 The money raised by the tour will be used to fund the beautification project planned for John Burroughs Middle School.  Neighbors to JB, including Schools Committee co-chair Howard Hart, have worked with the school to come up with a beautiful and ambitious beautification plan that will provide tree plantings, landscaping, fencing and other features making the campus more inviting to the staff and students and putting a better face to the community.  For more information visit the Society’s web site:  59fifty hats; email:  info@wshphs.org or 213-243-8182.

 Don’t forget, if you haven’t already, mail in your dues!  Your dues support efforts like the JB Beautification and let you vote in the election for Board of Directors.  Just click on CONTAN

With the California drought continuing through another year, the state, the city and the DWP are asking that we all try and do our best to save water. September and October can be two of the hottest, driest months in the year and we don’t want our urban forest to die, even though we’re all trying to cut back on water usage. Trees require different kinds of watering practices than lawns and landscaping, so we can nuture our cooling, water purifying arbor while at the same time conserving water. Just water, once a month, deeply, while making sure you follow the guidelines for water conservation. Trees provide shade, thus lowering temperatures, as well as cleaning the air and purifying our previous groundwater. Go to websites http://dpw.lacounty.gov/wwd/web/Conservation/WaterConservation.aspx and http://www.ladwp.com for more information.

Be sure and put the Association’s Annual Meeting on your calendar so you can find out information about the many issues in Hancock Park, such as street maintenance, historic preservation, safety and crime prevention. The meeting will be on Monday, October 20th at Marlborough School. At the meeting half of the Board of Directors will also be elected. The candidates submitted by the Association are: Patricia Alexander, Christine Bubser, Cindy Chvatal-Keane, Jennifer DeVore, Joel Kozberg, Joanne Medeiros, Pam Newhouse, Susan Roth and Victoria Vickers. Visit the Association’s website to read brief biographies. If you’re a member in good standing (those homeowners who have paid annual dues), you will be receiving a ballot in the mail in the upcoming weeks.

Unfortunately, crime is still occurring in Hancock Park. Never leave anything visible in your car; Lock the doors of your house; Set your alarm system; and never open your door to a stranger. Call 911 if you see a suspicious person and contact our Acting Senior Lead Officer Art Gallegos with any questions. His cell phone number is 213-793-0708 and his email address is: 35849@lapd.lacity.org

Don’t forget that if you’re considering any changes to the street visible portion of your house, contact our City Planner, Kimberly Henry (kimberly.henry@lacity.org) and fill out the online form – http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening.checklist to start the process. The Preservation Plan for Hancock Park can be found at: http://www.hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org/ or http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park ).

Report street light outages to the city at: http://bsl.lacity.org/. Report potholes by submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htmBe sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org . Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System – http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming – contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

Hancock Park is the largest Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) in the City of Los Angeles. We also have a rich stylistic diversity including houses designed by important and significant architects such as Wallace Neff and Paul R. Williams. The Preservation Plan is the document that sets the standards and rules for preserving our beautiful and historic neighborhood. So if you’re considering any changes to your house, including hardscape, repaving your driveway or changing your windows, contact our City Planner, Kimberly Henry (kimberly.henry@lacity.org) and fill out the online form – http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening.checklist to start the process. The HPOZ Board, which consists of a professional architect and four Hancock Park residents, provides consultations so that your plans can be reviewed and if need be adapted to better fit the requirements of the Preservation Plan. The Preservation Plan for Hancock Park can be found at: http://www.hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org/ or http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park )

Crime continues to be a problem in Hancock Park, including many break-ins to parked cars. Please remember to never leave anything visible in your car; lock the doors of your house; set your alarm system even when home (if you have one); and never open your door to a stranger. Call 911 if you see a suspicious person. You can also contact our Acting Senior Lead Officer Art Gallegos with any questions. Officer Gallegos’ cell phone number is 213-793-0708 and his email address is: 35849@lapd.lacity.org .

The contract for the maintenance for the Highland median expired and the Association is working with the Council Office to get the contract reinstated. In the meantime the Association is asking the Council Office to get the grass cut and the trash picked up while things are being sorted out. Don’t forget, with summer here and the hot, dry weather, be sure to water your parkway trees.

Report street light outages to the city at: http://bsl.lacity.org/. Report potholes by submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htmBe sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org . Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System – http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming – contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

• The Hancock Park Homeowners Association ‘48:
  Helps organize block security meetings for our residents with Block Captains, LAPD and our private security companies to improve awareness and neighborhood safety. We communicate on a regular basis with these organizations and neighbors.
• 
  Created a Streets Committee, made up of Board members and residents, to focus on ensuring CD4 and the City will fix our failed streets. Watch for an updated neighborhood survey with additional options and more information on how to repair our streets. Our Council Office has promised that 6th Street and Highland will be resurfaced this year.
• 
  Created a Highland Avenue Median Committee, made up of Board members and residents, which succeeded in restoring the historic median by funding the trimming of all 75 palms, securing funding to repair the irrigation system and providing oversight along with Urban Forestry for proper median maintenance. We are also planning the replacement of 20 missing palms this year.
• Succeeded in trimming over 150 parkway trees, removing over 30 tree stumps, planting over 80 new parkway trees, purchasing and nurturing 2 dozen baby elm trees for future elm replacement, and continues to replace and maintain our parkway trees to preserve our beautiful canopy.
• 
  Maintains an extensive neighborhood email list which is used to communicate important information to our residents, including safety and security updates, traffic and transportation information and City, Council District 4 and Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council updates, and which has reunited dozens of pets with their happy owners!

Thank you for your support!

Cindy Chvatal-Keane

President

HPHA’48