July Newsbites

***Proposed Wildlife Ordinance***    In April of this year, Los Angeles City Planning released a revised draft of the proposed Wildlife District Ordinance, aiming to have this ordinance considered by the City Planning Commission in the fall of 2022.  This proposal contains many potential restrictions and limitations for existing properties in the Bel Air Hills area when a property owner performs certain activities, with respect to their property, that would subject them to these provisions.  Accordingly, it is important for homeowners to inform themselves about this proposed Ordinance and to comment as appropriate.   Make your voices heard!  BAHA intends to comment on the proposed Ordinance.  The Los Angeles City Planning Department will be holding a virtual public hearing on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  For information about the proposed Ordinance, and to RSVP for the hearing, please go to our website at https://www.baha.la/readpost.php?news_id=713.

***Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project***   Additionally, of high importance to the Bel Air Hills area are the proposals being considered by Metro for high speed transit connecting the San Fernando Valley and the Westside.  Metro is evaluating six alternatives to connect the San Fernando Valley and the Westside, including three monorail alternatives and three heavy rail alternatives.  Metro recently provided an email containing links to information on the proposals and future plans, which is reproduced here for your information. 

“Thank you to the more than 230 community members who joined us last week at our Community Update Meeting for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project. As discussed during the meeting, here are the links that we shared:

• Scoping Report
• Project Fact Sheet
• Project Website
• Story Map
• Tunneling Fact Sheet
• English Community Update Meeting Presentation Slides
• Spanish Community Update Meeting Presentation Slides
• LIFE Program

For those who were not able to attend, video recordings of the presentation have been posted in both English and Spanish on Metro’s YouTube Channel.

• English Community Update Presentation Recording
• Spanish Community Update Presentation Recording

Next Steps

We appreciate your continued engagement as the environmental analysis phase moves ahead. We’re planning to host another community update in Fall 2022 focused on alignments and station locations.

Stay Connected

To learn more about the project, visit our website, email us at [email protected] or call our project information line at 213.922.7375.

Visit our web page.”

***Valley Airports’ Jets Over Bel Air Update***   On May 20th, 2022, the Save Our Skies Los Angeles (SOSLA) vs. FAA case regarding the new flight patterns that the FAA implemented at Burbank Airport in 2017 and Van Nuys Airport in 2018 was heard at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena. SOSLA is seeking to return the flight patterns to the way they were prior to these changes due to the significant harms caused by the new flight patterns.  The FAA did not deny these impacts, but argued that the claims raised were not timely.  The court, nevertheless, allowed the oral arguments to proceed.  FAA’s counsel did state that the FAA was open to addressing the concerns raised by SOSLA, but not through the lawsuit.  The court’s ruling is expected in the next few months.

SOSLA is still pursuing other ideas while waiting for the court’s ruling. KABC News coverage of the case can be seen here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQIpA589R4A
Additional information is on the Save Our Skies video: https://vimeo.com/717722396

***BAHA’s Security Cameras***   Recently, a Tesla automobile was stolen from a carport on Roscomare Road.  The car was recovered because it had a GPS device.  Additionally, BAHA’s cameras were used to provide LAPD with the license plate of the car that the thieves used to enter Bel Air Hills and victimize our neighborhood.

***Some BAHA History***    For some of the long-time residents of Bel Air Hills (formerly called Roscomare Valley), you might remember that at Christmastime, one of the residents, dressed as Santa Claus, would drive around the neighborhood in a convertible to greet the kids.  For many years that neighbor was Oscar Stafsudd and he passed away April 18, 2022.  Many thanks to Oscar for his positive actions in our community and best wishes for his family.

***Emergency Preparedness Goal of the Month*** BAHA’s Emergency Preparedness Committee’s July goal of the month:  This comes from the Los Angeles Times and is a one-year follow-up to their earthquake preparedness course, Unshaken.  It’s their “one year quake prep checkup,” and can be read here:   https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2022-06-14/unshaken-the-one-year-quake-prep-checkup-unshaken.