Park[ing] Day LA 2009 - Next meeting this Saturday

Park[ing] Day LA Planning Meeting
Saturday, August 1, 2009
11:00AM - 1:00PM
639 S. Spring Street, Unit 5C

There is an informal meeting this Saturday, August 1, 2009 at Spring Tower Lofts Unit 5C, starting at 11:00am, to discuss the third annual Park[ing] Day LA. We will recap our last meeting's discussion about what happened last year, lessons learned, and then focus on identifying tasks and partners associated with hosting Parking Day LA 2009 at Harlem Place. We will be closing with a brief conversation about other event and outreach programming for this year.

Spring Tower Lofts is located at 639 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles CA 90015. Someone will be posted by the door to let you in but if you arrive after 11:05AM please call 310-614-5756 to gain entry.

This is the second of several meetings so if you are interested but can't attend this weekend, please let us know by emailing us at sustainability@dlanc.com.

Sustainability Committee wins 2009 California American Planning Association (APA) Award of Merit for Grassroots Initiative!

Although we are still enjoying the honor of receiving the 2009 Los Angeles Section Award, the Sustainability Committee has been notified that we will be receiving a state-level APA Award of Merit for our efforts to create a community greening strategy and resource toolkit for Downtown Los Angeles.

Thank you for the support of our efforts by the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, Councilmember Jan Perry, University of Southern California, USGBC-Los Angeles Chapter, American Institute of Architects-Los Angeles, Los Angeles Police Department, and APA Los Angeles Section. Congratulations to the Sustainability Committee!

SDAT Nominations for Steering Committee / Community Partners

SDAT

Our Role as Neighborhood Advocates: Energy Block Grants

Via an email request, the Los Angeles Convention Center asked the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council to support their application for the Energy Block Grant. This funding is available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. At our July 2009 meeting, the Sustainability Committee discussed and agreed to bring a letter of support to our upcoming Board of Director's meeting on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 (6:30pm at the Los Angeles Theater).

The Los Angeles Convention Center has made significant strides to improve their operations and overall efficiency. As a large stakeholder downtown, we agreed that it was important to support the Convention Center as they hope to "enhance the LACC's environmental stewardship, environmental education, energy conservation, and other environmental programs." We believe these goals are in line with the mission of the Sustainability Committee - and look forward to engaging as they implement these initiatives downtown.

Here is the proposed letter of support - to be voted on at the next Board of Directors meeting.

UPDATE: Letter approved by the Board of Directors (July 2009) and to be forwarded to City of Los Angeles.

Products we use - and the consequences

For our July meeting, Stanley Michaels (Director, Resident - Civic Center) presented the second installation of his research into more sustainable packaging options. In particular, Mr. Michaels investigated the impact of EPS expanded polystyrene and PS polystyrene packaging. As a committee, we discussed the impact of packaging on waste, recycling, economics, and community. For Mr. Michaels full report to the committee, please click here.

The Sustainability Committee of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council will be requesting a letter of support from the Board of Directors on Tuesday, July 14 (6:30pm at the Los Angeles Theater) for a city-wide ordinance banning styrofoam take-out containers and packaging in Los Angeles.

Mr. Michaels also recommended the following article - please let us know if you have any feedback! "Greening Your Take-out Packaging," GWM Admin, July 20, 2006.

UPDATE: Although controversial, the Board of Directors narrowly approved a letter of support requesting the City of Los Angeles begin investigating the impacts (environmental and economic) of a styrofoam take-out food container ban citywide (July 2009).

July Regular Monthly Sustainability Meeting

When: Tuesday, July 7, 2009, 6:30-8:00pm
Where: Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Office
(453 S. Spring Street, Suite 1020)

MEETING MINUTES SC-12-090707
For approval at the August 2009 meeting (Tuesday, August 4, 6:30pm @ NC Office)

1. Welcome.
2. Public Comment on Non-agenda items including community announcements (3 minutes).

3. Meeting minutes SC-11-090602 approved without objection.

4. Stanley Michaels provided a continuation of his report on packaging research (see full documentation of Mr. Michael’s report online). Motion approved to write a letter of support to City Council, requesting they begin considering a ban on consumer take-out Styrofoam in Los Angeles.

5. Needs List discussed – opportunities for additional research including beekeeping, composting, and urban orchards. Committee members encouraged to help build list of potential partners by contributing online at www.downtownsustainability.com Natalia Aguilar suggested we consider promoting plays/theater with sustainability-focused and educational productions. She will continue to investigate and report back when a proposal is ready for consideration. Anyone interested in partnering, please contact us at sustainability@dlanc.com.

6. Motion approved to proceed with finding an intern for a 15-week Sustainability Committee internship. Revised job description to be reviewed at August 2009 meeting.

7. Motion approved to write a letter of support as requested by the Los Angeles Convention Center for their application for the Energy Block Grant as provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

8. Project 6 update: Community Greening Strategy / SDAT Grant – we have agreement on MOU between AIA and City. DONE has reversed its position on fundraising – need to find community partners who can make contribution directly to AIA per recommendation of DONE Gen. Manager BongHwan Kim. Motion approved to accept the recommended list of steering committee and community match partners as provided by the Project Team. List as submitted to Board of Directors available online.

9. Project 7 update: Park[ing] Day LA planning to start! Looking for community volunteers and committee participants for planning and event day. This year’s event is on Friday, September 18, 2009. Jennifer Regan and Pamela Tuttle have volunteered to lead this year’s Downtown park and plan to host event planning meetings shortly. Community volunteer (and webmaster) Ryan Saucerman volunteered his expertise and sound equipment for the event.

10. Project Updates including status report, project teams and leadership, and kick-off meeting schedule: see Addenda attached – as provided at Sustainability Committee meeting. Additional comments on projects: Project 4: Materials; toolkit should be expanded to represent best practices; green seal/sticker for recognition; Ryan suggested petitions as a strategy; should contact Office of the Environment

11. Agenda items for next meeting? Project Butterfly Collaboration

12. Adjournment

Recent local coverage - some words from our neighbors

There have been a couple of media moments recently for the Sustainability Committee - check out these articles and thanks for your help in getting the word out.

Downtown News (Thursday, July 2, 2009): "Tendril, Love and Care: Neighborhood Council Committee Aims for a Greener Downtown" by Ryan Vaillancourt

Garment & Citizen (Friday, June 26, 2009): "$15,000 Grant for Downtown Group's Sustainability Plans"

City Watch (Friday, June 26, 2009): "Date Set, Prep Starts for Popular Park(ing) Day LA" by Stephen Box

Harlem Place Project - Integrating Small-Scale Urban Greenspace into Downtown

Masters students from the UC-Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental Science & Management have taken on a research project focusing on the environmental advantages of transforming our "interstitial" spaces into more livable open space. The team is using Harlem Place as a pilot and will begin working full-time in Fall 2009 to analyze the potential of this space. In late 2009, the Sustainability Committee began surveying the neighborhood and the students met with members of the community to better understand how Harlem Place is currently used, what the neighborhood concerns and ambitions were for green space, and the potential function of a green alley for Downtown.

Then in January 2010, the students partnered with AECOM to create a few physical scenarios to help us better understand what the potential benefits are of using this space more sustainably and some of these visuals will be presented to the community to provide some "food-for-thought" as to what a Green Alley can really look like.

Join us Monday, May 3, 2010 at 7:00pm at Lost Soul's Cafe for a community presentation of the research and "tool" the Bren graduate student team has developed to help Downtown Los Angeles become a more sustainable neighborhood.

We want to know what you think about urban greenspace and Harlem Place. Complete this survey today! If you are interested in helping us gather information or community feedback, please contact us at sustainability@dlanc.com

For more information, including their project proposal, please check out their website: http://fiesta.bren.ucsb.edu/~greenla/Homepage.html

Meeting Agendas:
1. 2009.10.18 Post-Summer Regroup at NC Office
2. Harlem Place Project Community Meeting

Next Committee Meeting: July 7, 2009

Tuesday, July 7, 2009, 6:30-8:00pm
Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Office - 453 S. Spring St, Suite 1020

MEETING AGENDA SC-12-090707
1. Welcome.

2. Public Comment on Non-agenda items including community announcements (3 min).

3. Review meeting minutes from the June meeting (5 min). Action Item: Approve minutes SC-11-090602 (all meeting attendees).

4. Stanley Michaels to give update on packaging research. Action Item: Approve
next steps for committee on this issue (10 min).

5. Needs List (7 min): Outreach: update on recent local media coverage and plans for continued community outreach; Research ideas for committee; Ongoing grant research & applications; Internship being considered in support of committee projects; Ongoing list of potential community partners – demonstration of how you can make your suggestions on our website.

6. Letter of support requested by the Los Angeles Convention Center and their application for the Energy Block Grant as provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (10 minutes). “These funds, if obtained, will be utilized to enhance the LACC’s environmental stewardship, environmental education, energy conversation, and other environmental programs.” Action item: To discuss committee support of this grant application by writing letter for the LACC.

7. Project update (10 minutes): SDAT Grant – we have agreement on MOU between AIA and City. DONE has reversed its position on fundraising – need to find community partners who can make contribution directly to AIA per recommendation of DONE Gen. Manager BongHwan Kim. Action Item: Approve outreach for SDAT steering committee and community match. List from project team members to be posted on blog by Monday, July 6 at 9:30pm.

8. Project update (5 minutes): Park[ing] Day LA planning to start! Looking for community volunteers and committee participants for planning and event day. This year’s event is on Friday, September 18, 2009. Jennifer Regan and Pamela Tuttle have volunteered to lead this year’s Downtown park.

9. Project Updates including status report, project teams and leadership, and kick-off meeting schedule (35 minutes).
Rooftop Gardens & Composting;
Tree Planting;
Increase Participation in Energy/Water Saving Programs: Outreach postcard: presentation of concept. Action item: Approve outreach message on water efficiency for 1000 FSC-certified postcards;
Increase Participation in Recycling/Waste Reduction Programs;
Event Calendar: Kick-off meeting for Park[ing] Day planning to be discussed;
Green Living Program;

10. Agenda items for next meeting?

11. Adjournment

The public is requested to fill out a “Speaker Card” to address the DLANC SUSTAINABILITY Committee on any item of the agenda prior to the Committee taking action on an item. Comments from the public on agenda items will be heard only when the respective item is being considered. Comments from the public on other matters not appearing on the agenda that is within the Committee’s subject matter jurisdiction will be heard during the public comment period. Public comment is limited to 2 minutes per speaker, unless waived by the presiding officer of the Committee. As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities. Sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, or other auxiliary aids and/or services may be provided upon request. To ensure availability of services, please make your request at least 3 business days (72 hours) prior to the meeting you wish to attend by contacting Committee Board Chair Ashley Zarella at ashley.zarella@DLANC.com.

SI REQUIERE SERVICIOS DE TRADUCCION, FAVOR DE NOTIFICAR A LA OFICINA 3 dias de trabajo (72 horas) ANTES DEL EVENTO. SI NECESITA ASISTENCIA CON ESTA NOTIFICACION, POR FAVOR LLAME A NUESTRA OFICINA AL 323-224-2316.