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November 2016

Welcome to the November issue of Mike Bonin's "Neighborhoods First

Newsletter"!

Use this link to read this issue on our website or share it with your friends on
social media.
Contact Our Office
IN THIS ISSUE : Mike gets to work, helping install new sidewalks in Del Rey,
building a retaining wall in Santa Monica Canyon and repairing broken sidewalks
in Mar Vista... b u t f i r s t , please read this month's Neighborhoods First Profile Connect with Facebook
about Westside-native LAPD Officer Ken Lew, who started a non-profit
organization that gave away 400 turkeys to families in need this holiday season.
Connect with Twitter

You can find out more about Mike , meet your CD11 staff and see the latest
videos and updates from the Westside on our website at www.11thdistrict.com .
And remember to like Mike's Facebook page see the latest news about your Councilmember Mike…
5,230 likes
neighborhood.

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LAPD Badge of Heart Turkey Giveaway Inspires a Community

On November 20, Mike joined officers of the Los Angeles Police Department’s
Pacific Division for the annual “ Badge of Heart ” turkey giveaway. Badge of Heart
was started in 2014 by Westside native (and Westchester High School alum)
Officer Ken Lew. This year, Officer Lew and his colleagues distributed 400 turkeys
to families on the Westside.

We asked Officer Lew some questions about Badge of Heart and the impressive
community-focused work his philanthropy does.
Tweets by ​@MikeBoninLA
Why did you create Badge of
Mike Bonin
Heart? @MikeBoninLA
While growing up at a young
Melissa Aczon of @DelReyNeighbor is one of my
age in the City of Inglewood, as CD11 Neighborhood Heroes. Working for
well as Westchester, my family @ChildrensLA, volunteering for Summer Night
was considered middle to lower Lights, Del Rey Cup & Resource Fair, Del Rey
Health Day, organizing the Del Rey Spelling Bee,
class. My dad worked two jobs
& promoting STEAM education for young women
to provide for his family. So & girls.
often I would only see him a
few hours a night before
bedtime - not enough as a
young man growing up. Since
1990 as a police officer, I often
see hundreds of families go
through what I went through.
31m
Families struggling while dad
or mom working several jobs to
Mike Bonin
provide food, shelter and
@MikeBoninLA
education for their children.
Visualizing that hits home to me. My grandmother who is Christian and my late Embed View on Twitter
father often told me to help those in need and to give back when I can. I began
following those rules at a young age.

In December 2014, I started a 501(c)(3) non-profit called “Badge of Heart”. Our

focus was to have police officers partnering with the community to help with
family hardship and victims of crime. I wanted to find a way to help those hard
working families that I and many officers come across. I wanted to be that
resource, where officers can reach out to and hopefully help those deserving
families.

In two years, we have helped more than 1,300 hundred families from LAPD’s
Pacific Division areas. This includes passing out 500 Turkey dinners in 2015,
passing out 400 school supply kits to fifth graders from 10 local elementary
schools. This November, we again passed out 400 Turkey dinners.

How do you think an annual turkey giveaway improves the relationship

between the LAPD and the communities you police?
Good question. In 2015, I wanted to find a way for the community to interact with
officers who patrol their areas. So I decided to reach out and partner with our
local elementary schools and churches. I wanted them to help me find 500
families in need. The response was overwhelming! Ten local elementary schools
and several churches completed the mission and all 500 were identified.

The event in 2015 was a huge success. Hundreds of families stood in line,
received their turkey dinner and interacted with their police officers. Channel 7
also covered the event. In 2016, the program continued and 400 families received
a bigger dinner offering. Families were positively communicating with officers
and their tearful emotions were evident.

Channel 5 responded and I conducted the interview live on TV. After the
interview, many folks came out and we ran out of food. Next year we hope to
expand to a larger scale by offering it to other LAPD Divisions as well as Pacific
Division.
Since Badge of Heart began, Pacific Division has been number one in reduction of
crime throughout the City of L.A. Badge of Heart might play a small role, but it’s a
role.

How can people get involved in supporting your great work?

There is a lot work to be done. I would like to continue bridging the gap between
the community and our police department. In 2017, Badge of Heart will be
developing a new program aiming at middle school students. A program to teach
role modeling and career awareness to teens from the Los Angeles Unified School
District, and to develop them into leaders, mentors. It will also help reduce the
problem of bullying. This program will use old-fashioned correspondence, by
using today's technology. Our launch goal is Q4 2017.

Our operating budget for 2017 is $50,000 -$75,000. This includes our annual
turkey program for 1,000 families and our new teens program for LAPD’s West
Bureau (which includes five Divisions)

We are seeking corporate sponsorship and donations to help with our current
and future programs. We are also seeking volunteer positions. You must be
motivated, experienced and able to lead without supervision. Please refer to our
website for available positions.

Find out more about Badge of Heart and donate to the organization
at http://www.badgeofheart.org/.

Shop Small - Mike Joins Mar Vista Chamber of Commerce for “Make it Mar
Vista”

For the past three years, the Mar Vista Chamber of Commerce has hosted " Make it
Mar Vista " to celebrate the small businesses that are critical to L.A.'s economy. On
the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Mike celebrated “Small Business Saturday” by
joining the Chamber to celebrate and support Mar Vista's local businesses.

Mike will be spending time over the next few weeks doing some holiday shopping
at local Westside businesses, from downtown Westchester to Sawtelle
Japantown , to Brentwood Village, downtown Pacific Palisades, and a whole lot
more. He was glad to kick off shopping season with Make it Mar Vista !

Mike Helps Build Entrada Retaining Wall

Mike spent some time in the morning of November 3 working to make the
commute safer for local schoolchildren and the thousands of people who use the
famous " Santa Monica Stairs " exercise spot (which is mostly in Los Angeles!).

The City of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services is building a new retaining wall
and sidewalk along Entrada Drive in the Santa Monica Canyon neighborhood of
Pacific Palisades, and Mike joined the crew to help.

This project will be a big improvement in the neighborhood, and once completed,
will provide a new, wider sidewalk near Canyon Charter Elementary School and
The Stairs.

Mike Joins Crew to Repair Sidewalks in Del Rey

The City of Los Angeles is literally working 7 days a week to repair sidewalks. On
November 20, Mike joined a crew from City of Los Angeles Bureau of Street
Services to repair a sidewalk and install handicap-accessible curb cuts at
Redwood Avenue and Ida Avenue in Del Rey.

After decades of neglect, Mike and his council colleagues have approved a plan to
repair sidewalks, and city crews are working on a backlog that goes back decades,
prioritizing sidewalks frequented by people with disabilities.

Please contact Mike's office at 310-575-8461 (West LA) or 310-568-8772 if you

would like to request a sidewalk repair, or to report that a sidewalk is making it
difficult for someone with disabilities to navigate the neighborhood.

New Eagle Scouts in Pacific Palisades

Mike got to pay tribute to new Eagle Scouts from Troop 223 in Pacific
Palisades for their "Court of Honor" ceremony on November 22. Thirty-one young
men attained the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Boy Scouting
program. (Only four percent of Boy Scouts are granted this rank after a lengthy
review process.)

Congratulations to the new Eagle Scouts and to the proud parents and family
members who attended the ceremony at St. Matthew's!

West LA Sawtelle Neighborhood Council Cleanup Focuses on Civic Center Area

Thanks to a grant from the City’s Clean Streets program, the West LA Sawtelle
Neighborhood Council has been hosting a series of community cleanups around
the neighborhood. On November 5, Mike joined the Neighborhood Council for a
cleanup of the West LA Civic Center.

Thank you to LA Conservation Corps , Mayor Garcetti's Youth Council -

Westside and the community volunteers and sponsors who made this event
possible.

Brentwood’s Eloise Siskel Honored in Veteran’s Day Presentation

Each year, the City Council celebrates veterans from around Los Angeles as part
of a special Council presentation for Veterans Day.

This year, Mike was very proud to honor First Lieutenant Eloise Hancock Siskel, a
Westside resident who joined the Army Nurses Corps in 1941 after the attack on
Pearl Harbor. Eloise was deployed overseas, where she was part of an evacuation
hospital that was always situated just behind the front lines with General George
Patton’s 3rd Army.

Her unit moved as the front line moved, caring for wounded servicemen. Eloise
worked hard to help make the soldiers in her ward comfortable by making fudge
on a small pot-bellied stove in the tent, sharing stories of home, reading, helping
to write letters and just listening.

After the war, Eloise came to California and worked in Emergency Medicine at
Santa Monica Hospital before studying to become a Medical Research Librarian.
She then married her husband, Howard, and they had two daughters, after which
Eloise focused on raising her daughters and making her neighborhood stronger
by volunteering for various PTAs and community organizations, such as the
Rotary Club, P.E.O., the School of Theology at Claremont, National Charity
League, Town and Gown of U.S.C., Westside Y.M.C.A., and the Los Angeles
Philharmonic. Eloise has been an active member of Westwood United Methodist
Church for 58 years, serving as a Sunday School teacher, Sunday School
Superintendent, a Lay Leader and on many committees.

Eloise has served our country bravely and heroically. She has served her
neighborhood and worked to make it a better place. She has served her family
and has a legacy that will live on for generations.

It was Mike’s honor to thank First Lieutenant Eloise Hancock Siskel for her
service and to celebrate her at the November 9 council meeting.

Graffiti Cleanup Along Manchester Boulevard

Manchester Avenue got rid of some unwanted graffiti in November, thanks to the
hard work of the city’s graffiti removal contractor, Pacific Graffiti Solutions. The
Pacific Graffiti Solutions team, which was dispatched by the Office Community
Beautification , spent a week and a half making its way down the important
community corridor in Westchester to clean the area of any graffiti and to give
Westchester neighbors the beautiful neighborhood they deserve. Thank you,
Pacific Graffiti Solutions for your work!

Bike Corral Added to Washington Square

Thanks to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation , biking to the great

shops and restaurants near the beach in Washington Square in Venice just got
even easier. LADOT installed a new bike corral - a large rack that fits lots of bikes
- in Washington Square , which will make getting to and from the area without
needing a car even more convenient.

Protective Berm Installed in Playa del Rey

Earlier this month, the County of Los Angeles Department of Beaches and
Harbors constructed berms - giant walls of sand - to help prevent flooding in low-
lying areas of Playa del Rey. For the past few years, with funding for the berm
construction in jeopardy, Mike has worked with his colleagues at the County
Board of Supervisors to ensure that Playa del Rey is protected from flooding
during storms.

The Giving Spirit - Annual Volunteer Day Coming to Brentwood Next Month

Every year, hundreds of neighbors from throughout Los Angeles congregate in

Brentwood to help people in need on the Westside. The Giving Spirit provides aid
to people living on the street by assembling and personally distributing survival
kits to homeless children, women and families. These kits contain more than 70
individual items providing sustenance to the homeless in their time of need.

The Giving Spirit will be hosting its 2016 outreach event in Brentwood from
December 8 - December 11, and volunteers are needed to help conduct the
massive outreach effort. Please click here to find out more about the variety of
volunteer capacities available to people interested in helping out, and to sign up
to participate .

Venice Business Improvement District Approved

The City Council voted to certify the creation of a Business Improvement District
at Venice Beach last month, allowing local businesses to work together to fund
supplemental services to the area. In the special assessment district balloting,
the BID was approved overwhelmingly, with more than 75% support.

The Venice Beach BID will help create a cleaner and safer boardwalk for everyone
to enjoy. BIDs are a commonly-used tool to help supplement public services for
neighborhoods, and this BID will make it possible for us to expand the services
that the neighborhood deserves. It is the kind of smart and effective public-
private partnership we need.

Mike has advocated for the creation of a BID since he was a candidate for City
Council, often citing the added services a BID would bring Venice Beach - one of
the most visited tourist destinations in the world. Now that the BID has been
formally certified, it will officially go into effect on January 1, 2017.

Pedestrian Improvements in Del Rey - New Curb Cuts

Neighbors in Del Rey got a welcome improvement to their neighborhood, as the

City added new “curb cut corners” to the sidewalks at Mesmer Avenue and Port
Road. The sidewalk improvement will make it easier for people to walk safely in
the neighborhood, and Mike appreciates the work from the Bureau of Street
Services, who are helping put neighborhoods first in Del Rey!

Median Maintenance - and More - Along Manchester

After the medians along Manchester Boulevard in Westchester and Playa del Rey
became overgrown with weeds and littered with debris when a city contract
lapsed earlier this year, Mike worked to get maintenance work restored
immediately.

The resumed median maintenance is just one step that we are taking to improve
aesthetics along this important community corridor, and we will be replanting
dozens of new trees along the street and repairing sidewalks in the coming weeks
and months.

Access 11 Office Hours at Mar Vista Farmers Market

Mike loves being able to connect with neighbors, and he is incredibly grateful
that so many people have helped make his Access 11 program to "bring City Hall
to the Westside" a success. On November 6, Mike hosted “Pop Up Office Hours” at
the Mar Vista Farmers Market , where neighbors could stop by to talk with their
Councilmember while doing some shopping and supporting local businesses.
Thank you to everyone who visited to say "hi" or discuss neighborhood and city
issues at another successful Access 11 event.

Street Repaving in Del Rey

Thank you City of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services for repaving Centinela
Avenue in Del Rey this week! This important north-south corridor on the
Westside is now a smooth ride for neighbors and visitors.

Great Streets Project Underway! Mike Helps Repair Sidewalks in Mar Vista

Now that the state has relinquished Venice Boulevard and given it to the City of
Los Angeles (see last month’s newsletter for details about that major
announcement), we are ready to get moving on our Great Street!

Mike joined a crew from the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services earlier
this month to help make sidewalk repairs in in downtown Mar Vista.

This is just a small step toward making Venice Boulevard between Beethoven and
Inglewood a real Main Street! Thanks to Mayor Eric Garcetti , his Los Angeles
Great Streets Initiative and all of the engaged stakeholders in Mar Vista!

Is it Hot in Here? 800 Degrees Pizzeria Opens in Playa Vista

Playa Vista got a hot new pizzeria last month, as Mike, neighbors and even an all-
star NBA champion celebrated the opening of 800 Degrees Pizza in Playa Vista .
Mike joined neighbors, Chef Anthony Carron and Dwayne Wade from the Miami
Heat at the grand opening celebration on November 18, and happy customers
were soon enjoying 800 Degrees’ special neapolitan pizza at the new location.

Playa del Rey Bike Path Rebuilt

After high tides and sand washed out a section of the bike path on Dockweiler
Beach in Playa del Rey, Mike's office worked with the County Department of
Beaches and Harbors to get the path rebuilt and restriped. The new path opened
this month, and it is a welcome addition to locals and visitors who love enjoying
our beautiful coastline while riding near the shore.

Cutting Red Tape for Street Beautification Project

Just a few years ago, the sidewalks on Sepulveda Boulevard in Westchester were
an embarrassment. The cracked, buckled and hazardous paths showed how far
the city needed to go to repair the basic infrastructure neighborhoods rely on.
Today, the sidewalks are a sign of how far we have come. Instead of broken and
unsightly cracked concrete, we now have beautiful meandering paths, with new
plants and trees along the way.

Building on years of effort by neighbors and local organizations who have made
this neighborhood transformation possible, Mike called on the City to move
forward with a plan to rezone 13 “strip lots” along Sepulveda Boulevard in
Westchester last month. Mike’s request to rezone the strip lots is an important
step in the “Westchester Landscape Entry Project,” which aims to further
beautify the highly-trafficked Westchester corridor. Once rezoned, the city will
be able to formally acquire the lots from the Westchester Streetscape
Improvement Association , a local non-profit, which will allow the city to better
enhance and protect the streetscape.

Throughout the long process of working to get the strip lots rezoned, Mike has
worked to cut the red tape holding great community organizations from
completing work to improve their neighborhood, and the rezoning of these lots is
an important step in getting bureaucracy out of the way of progress.

Celebrating Veterans Day in Brentwood

Mike was proud to join in the inaugural "America's Parade: LA" at the VA West Los
Angeles Medical Center campus in Brentwood on Veterans Day. Tommy Lasorda,
who served in the U.S. Army during World War II and missed the 1946 and 1947
seasons of his professional baseball career because of his service, served as the
parade's grand marshal. The parade also featured participants from The
American Legion; Team Red, White and Blue; Vet Hunters Project; The Mission
Continues; U.S. Vets and several other veteran's organizations.

"America’s Parade: LA" carries on the traditions of the New York City Veterans
Day Parade, which traces its roots back to the American Revolution and the War
of 1812, with parades organized by veterans. The custom of celebrating veterans
on the 11th day in November began in 1919, with Armistice Day marking the end
of World War I. Armistice Day then became Veterans Day after World War II and
continues to be a national observance honoring veterans of all eras.

Learn more about the parade in the KTLA5 coverage of the event .

Mike Talks Homelessness and Housing with Del Rey Association

The Del Rey Residents Association invited Mike to speak at their annual meeting
on November 17, which focused on the theme of "Housing Affordability and
Homelessness in Del Rey.” It was a great opportunity for Mike to thank the
community for its strong support of Proposition HHH in the election earlier this
month, and for Del Rey’s continued commitment to helping solve homelessness
in Los Angeles with housing for low-income or formerly homeless residents. In
recent years, Del Rey has supported proposals to house the formerly homeless
from PATH , Venice Community Housing , Hollywood Community Housing
Corporation and Thomas Safran & Associates .

Westchester Mental Health Guild Holiday Home Tour

Mike is proud to support the amazing work of Westchester Mental Health

Guild (WMHG) to promote affordable mental health care in the greater LAX area,
and earlier this month, Mike joined neighbors for the 34th annual Holiday Home
Tour in support of Airport Marina Counseling Service. The annual event is a self-
guided tour, where attendees can wander through five of Westchester and Playa
del Rey’s most striking homes, each embellished with their own holiday twist.
Last year's tour raised over $35,000 to support the community's mental health
needs, and this year’s tour was a similar success. Thank you to Ylla De Leon, Mary
Gluck, Eden Garcia-Balis, Judy Dews, Linda Peterson and event supporters and
volunteers for supporting this worthy cause.
New Affordable Senior Housing Opens in Playa Vista

Mike was honored to join Thomas Safran & Associates on November 4 for the
grand opening of The Woods, an 83-unit building for low-income seniors at Playa
Vista.

Required by former Councilmember Bill Rosendahl as part of approvals for Phase

2 of Playa Vista, the housing allows long-time residents of the Westside to afford
to stay in their neighborhood. It was particularly moving to hear one resident, a
one-time successful entrepreneur and resident of Playa del Rey, talk about how
she became homeless and lived in a shelter until she found a new home at The
Woods.

Thank you Thomas L. Safran for your great work and your commitment to
building quality housing and to improving Los Angeles.

Westside Thanksgiving Dinner in West LA

This Thanksgiving, hundreds of volunteers from West LA and around the

Westside came together at the West LA VA for the annual "Westside Thanksgiving
Dinner" - a special event where people could donate, cook or serve a holiday
dinner to students, low income families, seniors, veterans and the homeless. The
event also provided free haircuts, blankets, clothing, hygiene kits, medical,
optical, and dental services, vaccination, a resource fair, and a carnival for the
kids! Mike is proud to co-sponsor every year, and he is grateful for the hundreds
of volunteers and sponsors who have made this wonderful event a Westside
tradition since 1982.

PCH Task Force Helps Keep Traffic Moving on the Pacific Coast Highway
With various agencies planning a series of construction projects that could
impact motorists using Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) between the McClure Tunnel
in Santa Monica and the Ventura County line in Malibu, coordination between
various jurisdictions and levels of government is essential. That is why Mike and
his colleagues in the City of Malibu, the City of Santa Monica, Caltrans, and the
offices of Senator Fran Pavley, Senator Ben Allen, and Assemblymember Richard
Bloom have all come together to form "PCH Partners" - a multi-agency group
dedicated to improving safety on Pacific Coast Highway. These agencies will work
together to ensure construction projects are coordinated to minimize traffic
impacts on the PCH.

You can find out more about PCH Partners at www.pchpartners.org .

New Street Lights Installed in Playa del Rey

There are two ways to get street lights in Los Angeles. The first is a process where
homeowners can vote to pay for more streetlights (you can find out more about
the process on the Bureau of Street Lighting's website ). The second way requires
that there be a wooden pole in a dimly-lit area where a "utility light" can be
installed. If neighbors agree, the Department of Water and Power can install a
utility light to brighten up the neighborhood and keep streets safe.

Neighbors in Playa del Rey recently organized an effort to get a utility light
added to their street. Thanks to Playa del Rey neighbor Lucy Han for leading the
charge to get the new light added and thank you to the Department of Water and
Power for installing the new light and helping put neighborhoods first!

Mike Joins Westchester Neighborhood Association at Annual Meeting

The Westchester Neighbors Association (formerly the Osage Neighbors
Association) is a local group of neighbors who work together to make their
community an informed and active place to live. The WNA hosted its annual
meeting at the Westchester Community Room this month, and Mike joined the
group to talk about the work he is doing to put neighborhoods first in
Westchester, including reducing cut-through traffic from the airport, improving
Westchester park, and finding a common-sense compromise that will give people
living in their RV's a place to park that is not in residential neighborhoods or
near schools.

Captain Nicole Alberca Promoted to Commander

Congratulations to LAPD Captain Nicole Alberca , who last week was promoted to
Commander in the LAPD’s Employee Relations Group - a big step up for the soon
to be former leader of LAPD’s Pacific Division (which covers much of the
Westside, including the southern half of Mike’s district). Her new assignment
takes effect December 25.

Commander Alberca was born in the San Fernando Valley and has experience
working in a diverse range of assignments in the LAPD’s Valley and West
Bureaus including Patrol, service on the Domestic Violence Response Team, Gang
Suppression and as a Field Training Officer. Captain Alberca was promoted to
Captain of Pacific Division at the beginning of 2015, and she has been a great
resource for neighbors on the Westside.

Commander Alberca will be succeeded at the head of Pacific Division by Captain

Dominic Choi - another LA native with a broad range of experience protecting
people in LA through service in the LAPD.

Congratulations to both Commander Alberca and Captain Choi on their new roles
in our police force!
Hygiene is a Human Right - Lava Mae Launches in Venice

On November 15, Mike had the pleasure of welcoming Lava Mae to Los Angeles.

Lava Mae is a nonprofit organization that converts buses and trailers into free
mobile showers and toilets for people who are homeless. After hearing from
constituents familiar with Lava Mae's operations in the the Bay Area, Mike was
glad to play a role in getting them to start operations here in Los Angeles. Lava
Mae Los Angeles is starting operation in Venice and in downtown Los Angeles,
and Mike hopes to help them expand into other areas as well.

The ultimate solution to homelessness is to build housing (thank you, Los Angeles
for approving Proposition HHH!), but in the meantime we need to effectively
implement the "street strategy" elements of the city and county Comprehensive
Homelessness Strategies. Mike’s intention is for service providers like Lava Mae
to work closely with the County-City-Community team that Mike and Supervisor
Sheila Kuehl have launched to move people living in encampments and vehicles
into services and housing.

Underused City Properties - Housing Opportunities and Ending Homelessness

More affordable housing and housing for the formerly-homeless could be in the
pipeline! Earlier this month, LA’s City Administrative Officer (CAO) announced
recommendations for how to proceed with 12 vacant or underutilized city
properties throughout the city that the Mayor and City Administrative Officer
had previously identified as potential sites for sale, affordable housing, or
housing for the formerly homeless.
The CAO is recommending that eight city-owned parcels throughout Los Angeles
be the first wave of properties considered for housing development. In Venice,
the CAO is recommending that Thomas Safran & Associates be given the chance
to work with the community to design a proposal for the old Thatcher Yard, and
that the team of Hollywood Community Housing Corporation and Venice
Community Housing Corporation be given the chance to work with the
community to design a proposal for the Dell Pacific parking lot. Thomas Safran &
Associates will also be given the chance to work with the West LA community to
create a proposal for the vacant animal shelter. Former Fire Station 5, on
Manchester Boulevard in Westchester, was determined not to be a good candidate
for development, and the CAO’s recommendation is instead to sell that site to
fund the creation of affordable housing at other locations.

The size and type of housing in each proposal will be determined following the
community input process that Mike has insisted the developers conduct.

Once Thomas Safran Associates or Hollywood Community Housing Corp/Venice

Community Housing Corp. create and submit their proposals, they will be subject
to the same process as any development proposal in Venice - which includes
review and public input at the neighborhood council, through the Department of
City Planning, the full City Council, and most likely, the California Coastal
Commission.

Thomas Safran & Associates has three properties on the Westside: Del Rey Square ,
124 units of low-income housing for seniors, including 30 formerly homeless
seniors, in Del Rey; Redwood Village , 50 units of low-income senior housing in
Marina del Rey; and the newly opened The Woods at Playa Vista , 83 units of
senior low-income housing in Playa Vista.

Venice Community Housing & Hollywood Community Housing have a recently

opened building in Del Rey, the Gateway Apartments , offering 21 units for
formerly homeless people. VCHC operates more than 16 buildings and offers
more than 200 units of housing on the Westside. Hollywood Community Housing
Corporation has more than 20 buildings and 700 units of housing, mostly in the
Hollywood area.

The types of housing that the CAO recommends be included in the proposal
include: permanent supportive housing, affordable multi family housing, mixed
income housing, affordable homeownership, and "innovative methods of
housing," such as modular, prefab, or micro units.

Proposition HHH Approved - Voters Overwhelmingly Support Housing for the

Homeless

The City and County of Los Angeles have made major progress in the last year
developing strategic plans for preventing and ending homelessness in Los
Angeles, and on November 8, voters throughout Los Angeles overwhelmingly
agreed to help fund the work that needs to be done to get people off the street. By
an overwhelming 76% majority, voters approved a $1.2 billion bond that will help
pay for 10,000 units of permanent supportive housing - a specialized type of
housing for the formerly homeless, which has proven successful in getting
people off the street. Mike campaigned heavily for Proposition HHH, and support
for the measure was strong throughout the Westside - especially in parts of
Mike's district where homelessness is most acute. Some precincts in Venice, for
example, voted in favor of Proposition HHH by margins as large as 85% and 86%!

Thank you to everyone who supported Proposition HHH!

Westside Winter Shelter to Open December 1 - Supply Donations Requested

The Westside Winter Shelter Program offers hundreds of homeless people on the
Westside a warm bed. The Shelter will open tomorrow (December 1) at the West
LA National Guard armory, and will remain open until March 1, 2017.

Every year, Mike hosts a donation drive to request the supplies needed to operate
the shelter. Please click here to find out more about what supplies are needed,
and how you can help offer comfort to those in need this holiday season .

"A Transit System to Rival New York" - Voters Chart a Course for the Future By
Approving Measure M

A world-class mass transit system is speeding toward Los Angeles, thanks to

voters on November 8, who approved Measure M. Getting the ballot initiative
approved has been one of Mike's top priorities, because it will provide funding for
a series of projects that will dramatically improve the choices people have to get
around Los Angeles - without sitting in the soul-sucking traffic that has become a
too-frequent part of daily life in LA.

Some of the most exciting projects for the Westside include a rail line from the
San Fernando Valley, through the Sepulveda Pass, to LAX (goodbye, bumper-to-
bumper traffic on the 405!), as well as the extension of the Purple Line to the
Veterans Administration Campus in West LA.

Find out more about the exciting things to come in the LA Magazine write-up
about Measure M's approval , or in the video below, which was created by an
excited local transportation enthusiast.

Airport-Metro Connector Reaches Major Milestone

Progress continued in November on Mike's work to finally connect LAX with

Metro rail, as the Airport-Metro Connector project's Environmental Impact
Report was approved by a key Metro committee. Just a few years ago, the idea of
making a simple and convenient connection between our region's largest airport
and our regional transportation system was a dream, but the committee's
approval of the project's EIR is a tremendous sign of how far we have come since
Mike began his work advocating for the idea.

Autonomous Vehicles: Good or Bad?

A hot topic in transportation circles is what the future of driverless cars will
mean for efforts to reduce traffic. Will autonomous vehicles give people great
"first mile/last mile" access to mass transit, taking cars off our streets, and
freeing up street space for walking and cycling? Or will people choose to forgo
mass transit and own their own private, driverless cars, making gridlock even
worse?

At the recent Shared Use Mobility Summit in Chicago, Zipcar co-founder Robin
gave a thought-provoking keynote on the subject. You can listen to it
here: http://po.st/vvYuSX .

State of LAX - Mike Addresses LAX Chamber of Commerce

Mike joined the LAX Coastal Chamber of Commerce on November 16 to deliver a

special address about “the State of LAX.”

In his speech, Mike spoke about exciting things happening that will make the
region’s largest airport a better neighbor to surrounding communities. As LAX
undergoes a massive modernization effort, the airport is revolutionizing how
people get to and from LAX through the "Landside Access Modernization
Program" (LAMP). LAMP will offer travelers a simple and convenient connection
to the Metro rail system, will build an intermodal transportation facility, and will
connect passengers to terminals via a new automated people-mover. Importantly
for nearby neighborhoods, the LAMP projects will not only make it easier to get to
and from the airport, but it will take cars off the roads of Westchester and Playa
del Rey!
Mike also discussed some of the other exciting community-serving developments
happening near the airport thanks to LAX's modernization, such as the recent
announcement of the Northside project - a 340-acre area north of LAX that will
feature new park space, community-serving retail and a pedestrian paseo that
will connect downtown Westchester with a path to the beach in Playa del Rey.
Finally, he again thanked the airport for working with his office and neighbors to
agree on a settlement that allows LAX to modernize without moving the airport's
north runways closer to homes in Westchester and Playa del Rey.

Working closely with partners at Los Angeles World Airports, Mike is excited
about the progress that has been made to make LAX a world class airport and a
first-class neighbor.

Preview the Midfield Concourse Addition to the Tom Bradley International

Terminal

Make sure to check out this exciting sneak peek of the new LAX midfield
concourse addition to the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). The new
concourse features 12 new boarding gates, dining, shopping and travel amenities
that will all enhance the LAX travel experience! The ground breaking for this
exciting project is going to take place next year. Until then, click here to check
out a preview of the concourse .

Rezoning and Mansionization - Putting Neighborhoods First

For more than a year, the Planning Department has been working on two
separate, but related, programs to address concerns about the size of houses in
the City's single-family neighborhoods. The first program seeks to amend the
City's Baseline Mansionization and Baseline Hillside Ordinances that regulate the
development of single-family homes, and the second program seeks to adopt new
zoning rules for certain single-family neighborhoods throughout the City.

Program 1: BMO/BHO Amendments

The Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee of the City Council held
a public hearing on the proposed BMO/BHO amendments on November 29, 2016.
You can see a copy of the proposed amendments here
( http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2014/14-0656_misc_11-22-2016.pdf ).

The PLUM Committee voted to support amending the BMO and BHO, and the
committee suggested some additional changes to the proposed ordinance.
Included in the committee's changes were:

reinstating an exemption for up to 400 square-feet of garage space;

setting the baseline floor area ratio (FAR) for R1 single-family residential lots
under 7,500 square-feet at 0.50; and
making some additional modifications and clarifications in response to
community input.

The BMO and BHO amendments must be acted on by the full City Council before
they will become effective.

Program 2: R1 Single-Family Rezoning

The Planning Department has also been working to develop new single-family
zoning options for our single-family residential neighborhoods. With a few
exceptions, these new zones are to be applied to the neighborhoods in the City
that are currently covered by the Mansionization Interim Control Ordinance
(ICO), which includes Mar Vista, East Venice, and Kentwood on the Westside. The
new zones will also be applied to some portions of the Pacific Palisades, at the
community's request.

There are three general categories of zones being created: R1V, R1F, and R1R. The
“R1” portion of the zone refers to the use allowed, which is “single-family.” The
“V,” “F” and “R” portions refer to the allowable location for the mass/bulk of a
second story. “V” refers to “variable massing,” which allows for the second story
to be located anywhere in the allowed building footprint. “F” refers to “front
massing,” which requires the bulk of the second story massing to be located to
the front of the lot. “R” refers to “rear massing,” which requires the bulk of the
second story to be located to the rear of the lot.

At its hearing on November 10, 2016, the City Planning Commission voted to
recommend new zones for the Westside neighborhoods covered by the
Mansionization ICO. The new zones were:
Mar Vista - R1V New
Kentwood - R1V New
Pacific Palisades - Only the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades that requested
new zoning will be changed ( click here to see a map that details which
neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades are being rezoned ). The neighborhoods that
requested changes will be rezoned R1V1 and R1H1 ("H1" for hillside areas, and
"V1" for non-hillside areas).

The Planning Commission also postponed a decision about rezoning East Venice
until December 8, 2016, to allow residents more time to provide input about
whether the "R1V2" zone that was originally proposed or the "R1V New" zone is
more appropriate for their neighborhood.
Please contact Mike’s Planning Director Tricia Keane at tricia.keane@lacity.org if
you are interested in finding out more or to weigh in about your zoning
preference for your neighborhood.

Mike Hosts Special Access 11 Conversation for Seniors

Mike hosted a special Access 11 conversation on November 22 to focus on issues

facing seniors on the Westside. The event was co-hosted with Aging in Place in
Mar Vista , the phenomenal committee of the Mar Vista Community Council , and
was a fantastic and educational experience for the several dozen seniors from
throughout the Westside who participated. The thoughtful discussion was
moderated by Sherri Akers and included talk about how the City and our
neighborhoods can better serve our seniors. It is crucial for the City to
understand how some of the largest and thorniest issues we face --
transportation, affordable housing, public safety -- have a disproportionate
impact upon our seniors, and Mike’s Access 11 program - which was created to
“bring City Hall to the Westside” - is an excellent way to have this important
conversation.

Avoid Senior Scams During the Holidays

Scams targeting seniors peak during the holidays, and thieves rely on people’s
generosity to weave the holidays into the elaborate stories they tell victims.
Below are some tips for avoiding scammers during the holiday season. You can
find out more about how to protect yourself or seniors in your life on the AARP
website .

Tips to Avoid Becoming a Victim of Senior Scams:

 Watch out for offers that are too good to be true.
Never give out personal information over the phone.
Never wire money to someone you don’t know.
Check credentials, ask for references, and only work with licensed
contractors.

Find Out More About the City Council's Work to Put Neighborhoods First

Venice Japanese American Memorial Marker - Funding Approved

Mike’s legislation to allocate funding to finally install the Venice Japanese

American Memorial Monument was approved by the City Council last month,
taking one important step closer to installing a neighborhood monument
memorializing a tragic chapter of American history that we must never forget.

The monument - which will be a 9 ʹ 6 ʺ tall solid black granite obelisk - will stand
on the northwest corner of Venice and Lincoln Boulevards. The location marks
the spot where more than 1,000 people of Japanese ancestry from Venice, Santa
Monica, and Malibu lined up with only what they could carry in April 1942, before
buses transported them directly to the Manzanar internment camp.

The effort to place this marker in Venice has been pursued by passionate
members of the community for years, and we would not be so close to finally
installing the memorial if it were not for the work of neighbors like Phyllis
Hayashibara. Thank you to all who have gotten us this far.

Responsible Banking Reforms Approved

The City of Los Angeles does billions of dollars of business with banks, and being
such a large customer allows the city to use its purchasing power to influence
how banks that want our business operate. A few years ago, the city approved a
“Responsible Banking Ordinance,” which requires that banks submit information
about lending practices and local investment as they compete to do business with
the city.

Last week, Mike and his colleagues on the City Council took a series of actions to
improve the Responsible Banking Ordinance, so that banks bidding on city
business will be required to certify that they do not engage in predatory lending
practices, and to better protect whistleblowers who alert authorities of illegal
activity at a bank.

The Council’s action comes as Wells Fargo continues dealing with the revelation
that managers pressured employees to open fake accounts without customer’s
knowledge, so that banks could meet sales goals for new accounts.

Read more about the Council’s action in the Los Angeles Times coverage of the
legislation .

Council Forms Immigration Committee

Elected leaders in Los Angeles are standing united to protect the hundreds of
thousands of undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles from threats being made
on a national level. Earlier this month, the City Council proposed the creation of
an ad-hoc Committee on Immigrant Affairs, as well as a series of actions that
would allow the city to better protect residents who came to Los Angeles for a
better life.

The Council’s proposal includes:

the creation of an Immigrant Advocate position;

defining the term “Sanctuary City”;
identifying all federal funding directed to the City of Los Angeles;
identifying state laws that might conflict with new federal law seeking to
deport undocumented immigrants; and
identifying federal laws regarding immigration that are currently enacted but
not enforced by the City.

Please click here to read the legislation.

November Small Business Spotlights
Local small businesses provide more than jobs for people on the Westside - they
are part of what make neighborhoods great. Each week, Mike chooses a local Mom
and Pop business to feature on social media in his " Small Business Spotlight ."

The Dog Bakery - Mar Vista

The Dog Bakery is a destination where dog lovers can spoil their four-legged
companions the right way – with all natural dog treats, made from consciously-
sourced ingredients. The Dog Bakery began with a mission to bake up the most
delicious dog food treats for dogs everywhere. Baking for more than a decade,
they have perfected all-natural, fresh-baked treats that are "dog tested, puppy
approved." Check out The Dog Bakery in the "Great Street" section of downtown
Mar Vista - at 12112 Venice Blvd.

Soundstations Records - Westchester

The local record store is owned by Pete Grasso and Lee Wilson - two friends who
met in first grade. Both Lee and Pete worked in record stores in college and went
into business together in 1990, buying Soundstations (and leaving the classic
sign up)! Soundstations is a great place to find vintage vinyl or used CDs. The
staff is full of music-lovers who always have great music playing in the shop and
who are happy to help find indie and unknown artists for customers to enjoy.
Find out more online at www.soundsationsrecords.com or stop by Soundstations
at 8701 La Tijera Blvd. in Westchester.

Il Piccolo Ritrovo - Pacific Palisades

The Pacific Palisades "casual gourmet" Italian restaurant specializes in home-
made pastas and raviolis and prides itself on offering authentic cuisine in a
casual atmosphere for family and friends. Owners Nando Silvestri and Tarcisio
Mosconi wanted to offer Pacific Palisades "a little piece of Italy" when they
opened Il Piccolo Ritrovo and brought wonderful recipes along for their guests to
enjoy. Stop by Il Piccolo Ritrovo at 15415 Sunset Blvd in Pacific Palisades or find
out more about it online piccoloritrovo.com.

Do you have a favorite business you want to nominate to be featured in Mike's

Small Business Spotlight? You can make a nomination for the “Small Business
Spotlight” at this link .

Find out about just some of the events happening in your neighborhood in the
next month!

Fifth Annual Venice Holiday Sign Lighting and Block Party

12/2/2016; 6pm
Windward Avenue & Pacific Avenue
Music, fun, and good cheer! Make sure to bring an unwrapped toy for the
toy drive!

Holiday Ho Ho Ho, sponsored by the Pacific Palisades Chamber of

Commerce
12/2/2016; 5pm - 8pm
Palisades Village (Antioch St.)
palisadeschamber.com

Brentwood Farmers Market

12/4/2016; 9:30am - 2:30pm
Gretna Green Way between San Vicente Blvd and Montana Ave
http://brentwoodcommunitycouncil.org/event/brentwood-farmers-
market-on-gretna-green?instance_id=8588135
 Venice Neighborhood Council Home for the Holidays Fundraiser
12/4/2016; 7:30pm
Safe Place for Youth (2469 S Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA 90291)

Westchester Day in City Council - Celebrating 75 Years

12/6/2016; 10am
Los Angeles City Hall (200 N. Spring St.)

Brentwood Community Council Board Meeting

12/6/2016; 7:30pm - 9pm
Kaufman Brentwood Branch Library (11820 San Vicente Blvd.)
http://brentwoodcommunitycouncil.org/event/bcc-board-meeting-
700pm-public-invited?instance_id=8584548

Public Menorah Lighting

12/8/2016; 5pm
Corner of Sunset & Swarthmore, Pacific Palisades
Annual Public Menorah Lighting, sponsored by Chabad of Pacific Palisades.
Special guests to include Rick Caruso, Jake Steinfeld and Arnie Wishnick,
Chamber of Commerce. All are invited.

Pacific Palisades Community Council Holiday Banquet and Awards

12/8/2016; 6pm
Gladstones, 17300 Pacific Coast Hwy, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

The Giving Spirit - Winter Outreach

12/8/2016 - 12/11/2016
Brentwood Presbyterian Church (12000 San Vicente, Los Angeles, CA
90049)
http://www.thegivingspirit.org/calendar

Pacific Division Winter Wonderland Toy Giveaway

12/10/2016; 1pm
Pacific Community Police Station (12312 Culver Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
90066)

Oakwood Rec Center Holiday Party and Toy Drive

12/17/2016; 11:30am
Oakwood Rec Center (767 California Ave, Venice, CA 90291)

First Night of Hanukkah

12/24/2016

Christmas Day
12/25/2016

Kwanzaa Begins
12/26/2016

Have an event you would like listed? Email updates@11thdistrict.com to submit

events.
Supervisor Don Knabe, who has served parts of the Westside and South Bay on
the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the past 20 years, will be retiring
at the end of the year. On November 23, Mike and his colleagues on the City
Council welcomed Supervisor Knabe into Council Chambers to thank him for his
service and to wish him well in his retirement.

Supervisor Knabe has been a great ally on a number of issues — especially in the
decades-long fight to make LAX a good neighbor to the communities that
surround it, and significantly in the effort to make the airport safer and more
secure from potential terrorist attack. He has also been a nationwide leader in
the fight against the sex trafficking of children, standing up for the voiceless and
helping survivors of trafficking transform their lives. He also created the
county’s “Safe Surrender” program, which allows someone to surrender an
infant that is no more than three days old, as long as the infant shows no signs of
abuse. The program has rescued 148 babies since it started in 2011.

While Mike and Supervisor Knabe sometimes disagreed on policy (such as mass
transit priorities and development in Marina del Rey), their disagreements were
never disagreeable; they always worked collaboratively to make the
neighborhoods they represent better places to live and work.

Thank you for reading the November issue of Mike Bonin's

Neighborhoods First Newsletter.

For more about Mike and Council District 11, please

v i s i t www.11thdistrict.com .

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MIKE BONIN -
T AK E AC T I ON MEDIA NEIG HB ORH OODS ISS UES N EW S C OUN CIL STA FF A BOU T MIK E
COUNCIL DISTRICT 11

BRENTWOOD | DEL REY | MAR VISTA | PACIFIC PALISADES | PLAYA DEL REY | PLAYA VISTA | VENICE | WEST LA | WESTCHESTER
 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.
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