Hillside Repair Delay

Posted by Antoine Durr on April 28, 2007
Posted in: Hillside. Leave a comment
Sorry we jumped the gun in our last newsletter announcing the great news that the City is moving ahead with this project.  Unfortunately, there is a new stumbling block, literally.  It seems there is a very large drainage pipe buried at the base of the hill possibly just below the area where the retaining walls are to be reinforced and new beams are to be placed.  The exact placement of the pipe is not known but its precise location must be established because it presents a potential for interference and major damage can result if the pipe is punctured.  The City of Los Angeles owns the pipe and had been attempting to pinpoint its precise location.  However, thus far, they have been   unable to do so.  The Culver City Engineering Department has redesigned the project to span over the pipe.  Once the pipe’s position is found during construction, a field change, if necessary, will be made to the design and repair will proceed.  This has, as have many other complications, caused considerable delays.  Currently, the initial design is being completed and will be presented to the City Council no later than the May 29, 2007 City Council Meeting for plan and spec approval.  It will then be put out for bid, a contractor selected and then the repair can commence.  An exact timetable has not been established but we’re told the project will be completed this year.
 
Another setback regarding this repair has been caused by the significant delay due to the lawsuits, which have now been settled.  Unfortunately the extension of time requested of FEMA was denied.  This means they will not disburse any more funds for this project.  They stated that this is no longer an emergency issue and therefore no longer eligible for funding.  The City has hired a consultant, a former O.E.S. employee very experienced in these matters, who is developing an appeal package to be presented to FEMA.  This letdown will not stop the process as the City has committed to finance the project out of the City’s General Fund. 
We will bring you up to date of any new developments of this very critical project at our April 11 General Meeting.

Crime Update

Posted by Antoine Durr on January 28, 2007
Posted in: Block Captains. Leave a comment
On December 15th, there was an incident on Northgate at 1 pm.  A clean cut white male around 20 years old was door knocking for the purpose of selling magazines and/or looking for donations for the High School football team to go to Hawaii.  After being refused by a resident, he became very loud, abusive, and threatened to return and retaliate.  The Police were called and responded immediately.  The young man was not arrested but instead, instructed to leave Culver City.  Unfortunately, he continued to knock on doors that same afternoon.  That same day, a young white woman was also knocking on doors soliciting for similar donations.  She claimed to be a daughter of a family on Ranch Road but that was false.  She would not accept cash donations, only checks.  This is potentially another scam.  We have had instances here on The Crest where outgoing mail containing checks have been stolen from mailboxes.  The checks were then “washed”, a process that removes the ballpoint ink so that the thief can put in a much larger amount and change the name of the payee.   The Post Office recommends that you hand outgoing mail to your Mail Carrier, or bring it to the Post Office or some other secure place where mail is picked up.  While the above incident was unfolding, another call was received by the CCPD, this time to a home on Whitburn where they caught 2 hispanic male suspects opening a stolen package from the   doorsteps.  They were arrested. 
 
Please report any instances directly to CCPD at 310-837-1221.  Additionally, please be vigilant about calling the police if you see anyone going door to door that appear to have no particular purpose for doing so except to ask for money.  Protect yourself and your family.  Do not open the door if you do not know the person.  Door-knocking scams for donations are often used as a way to find out if anyone is home.  If no one answers the door, it’s an invitation to head for the back yard and search for an easy entry point for a burglary.  If you do answer the door, the solicitation for a donation is just icing on the cake!  If in doubt, ask to see their business license, which is required.  Any legitimate solicitor will have one available to show you.   Also, three black male youths were arrested on Sunday, December 17 on Galvin Street and charged with breaking and entering, burglary, and possession of stolen goods (jewelry.)  
 
Moral of story:  It doesn’t matter what race, color, gender, how they are dressed, or profile. The crooks are out there, so be on Neighborhood Watch…call the police on all suspicious activity.

Traffic Recommendations

Posted by Antoine Durr on January 28, 2007
Posted in: Traffic. Leave a comment
Speaking of driving slowly down the hill, Culver City Traffic Engineering Director Gabe Garcia has put together recommendations for improving traffic conditions on the Crest.  These include speed and hazard awareness prompts, permanent alternative side of the street parking, and  other aids and deterrents to drivers who continue to abuse the traffic laws.
 
Over the holidays, there were several vehicular accidents on the Crest.  At Tellefson and Bernardo, a car jumped the curb and took out 4 feet of a driveway wall between two properties.  The car sped away without capture.  At Flaxton and Drakewood, a car sped down the hill failing to stop and collided with another vehicle.  Fortunately, there were no injuries caused by these mishaps.  Hope we stay this lucky!
 
Please, let’s all be more respectful of our neighborhood.  It’s not just the employees at Marycrest Manor, as those who were ticketed by the CCPD at the corner of Ranch and Tellefson recently will attest.  It’s not that big and imposition to slow down and stop at the stop signs.  

Lawsuits Settled

Posted by Antoine Durr on January 28, 2007
Posted in: Hillside. Leave a comment
The homeowner’s lawsuits between themselves, the City and their insurance carriers have been settled.  Basically, the major issue was who would pay how much and to whom.  This will allow everyone to be on the same page and move forward with what really matters… getting the hill repaired.  This will now give workers the right-of-way to commence work on the hill that has been long overdue and stuck in a quagmire by legal process.  
 
The construction plans are complete, save for a few changes to satisfy the homeowners.  These plans should be complete this month and will be ready to go out to bid in early February, with final bids acceptance in March.  A contractor will then be selected and approved by City Council.  If all goes well and the rains don’t impede activity, construction will commence in April and be completed in September 2007.  As they say, “from our mouths to God’s ears”.
 
The City has communicated with FEMA, who’s funding is still undetermined, and further explained the reasons for the delays in the project and the necessity for the City’s extension request.  While they have not heard back from FEMA, the City is obligated to move forward with the project in accordance with the terms of the settlement agreement with the homeowners.  
 
Therefore, THE PROJECT WILL MOVE FORWARD REGARDLESS OF WHAT FEMA FUNDS OR DOESN’T FUND.  
 
As a side note, the City purchased the house at 10745 Cranks (the blue and orange one).  The official explanation is that it made the settlement agreement less complicated.  The house will remain as-is unless it is determined that repairing the hill would be easier if it were demolished.  After the completing of the repair, the property will probably be sold by the City to whoever wants to purchase the property.

Negative Declaration Fought

Posted by Antoine Durr on January 28, 2007
Posted in: PXP Oil. Leave a comment
PXP has asked permission to drill 24 new oil and gas wells over the next few months.  In connection with this request, the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources  (DOGGR) prepared an Initial Study under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and concluded that the project would have no significant impact on the environment.  As required by CEQA, the Initial Study was circulated for a 30-day public comment period.  However, for reasons that have not been adequately explained, all Crest residents and the CCNA were excluded from the distribution list.  Fortunately, we learned about the Initial Study shortly before the public comment period expired, and thanks to the quick and professional efforts or our member Ken Kutcher, we were able to file a comment letter ahead of the deadline protesting the proceedings and the action proposed by PXP.
 
In our letter we stated that the Initial Study should be recirculated so that we could have more time to review the proposal and would have a fair opportunity to read the Initial Study and submit comments. 
 
On a substantive level, we argued that the new wells should not be allowed until a full environmental review has been conducted.  We all remember being awakened by the horrific odors on January 10, 2006, and it seems self evident that a full and complete study must be done before we are subjected to the risk of a repeat incident.  Additionally, there are numerous other environmental issues that should be carefully studied.  These include questions such as the following:  (i) separate and apart from the major incidents such as last year, are there any health risks from the smaller amounts of gas that are constantly being released,  (ii) does the injection of water and other substances back into the wells create any risk of seismic events,  (iii) what is the impact of the grading that PXP is doing on the site,  (iv) is PXP taking adequate safety measures to protect against fire and explosions, and (v)  how significant is the impact from the noise that  we have all heard from PXP’s operations, and what steps should be taken to mitigate this?
 
We had several discussions with the City Attorney’s Office (which had not known about the Initial Study until we called it to their attention), and this week David E. Cranston, an attorney representing Culver City, also wrote a letter to DOGGR declaring that the Initial Study/Negative Declarations  is “fatally flawed” and that the Study be withdrawn and a new study be conducted.  This is in accord with the CCNA position.  This should get the State to reconsider this issue.  Much more to follow.