I hold the Mar Vista Community Council in very high regard and it has been an honor to serve in my roles as a Committee Founder and Co-Chair since 2008, and as a Board member for two years. I am very grateful to those who serve. It is because I have such high esteem for MVCC and my colleagues that I submit this grievance.
I respectfully request that the motions being brought to the MVCC Board meeting by the Transportation and Infrastructure committee on Tuesday October 10th asking that Venice Blvd be immediately be restored to 6 lanes be disallowed on the basis that the action violates the MVCC by laws.
The MVCC By-Laws Article II (Purpose) state that ..”The goals and objectives of the MVCC shall be as follows:...(Section) B. To be an advocate for the - MVCC area to government and private agencies on issues for which there is broad community agreement.”
The Great Streets Pilot Project has deeply divided our community. As a former Board member, I am in receipt of hundreds of emails - half from Mar Vista community members who support the project and want it to continue. Please see attached a selection of the emails that were received from about 90 people that are clearly identified as Mar Vista stakeholders. This does not include form letters prompted by organizations from concerned advocates outside of the area. Some of these people wrote 2, 3 and 4 times. I am sure more were received after I left the Board that I was not copied on.
At the July 11th Board meeting, the Board voted to support the continuation of the pilot project - the motion carried with 10 ayes, 1 nay, 0 abstentions (see item C. II on minutes
http://marvista.org/docs/34485251-9097.pdf ). This followed a unanimous vote by the Board at the July meeting to support Vision Zero.
A few Board members are now bringing a motion through the T&I committee asking to reverse this position without any evidence of new information (see 6.d and 7.a.4 -
http://marvista.org/docs/34485499-9162.pdf). I am concerned that these Board members are misrepresenting the community input. Two of many such instances are noted below -
Note motion wording 6.d on Oct 5th T&I motion - “the only remedy that addresses the constant, voluminous, community outcry on this issue.” The motion shows no recognition of the equally large appeal from supporters of the Great Street lane reductions and protected bike lane.
Note email from a Board member in response to a stakeholder (shared with permission) shows a complete disregard for support shown by community members - Date: September 12, 2017 at 4:22:32 PM PDT To:
cigardenia@aol.com
Subject: Re: Great Streets Mar Vista, Venice Blvd. “Unfortunately the motions to return the lanes are from the community and the opposition to keep it as is are fueled by Vision Zero, cyclist lobbies, walk LA, mobility groups all who reportedly have received grant monies from the city, which of course has anger local residents that feel their tax dollars are be being used against them.”
Please also note that I am also unable to find any minutes posted to the MVCC web site for any of the meetings in 2017 for the Transportation and Infrastructure committee that is bringing these motions to the Board. This raises the concern that the broader Mar Vista community is not being made aware of what is discussed in these committee meetings and therefore may not understand the urgency of participating.
