Pico Neighborhood Council

As of July 15th, I will be passing the baton of the presidency to my successors, MaryAnn Yurkonis and Claudia Bayard.  It’s hard to believe how quickly 4 years have flown by.  In January of 2006, 18 of us huddled together and took our oath as bright-eyed board members.  We rolled up our sleeves and embarked on a journey to better the organization of which we were eager to be a part.  There was a lot of work to do.  There were challenges and triumphs along the way and now we are a better organization for it.  As I look back on the distance we have traveled, I can honestly say we have a lot to be proud of. Here's an idea of what we have achieved since 2006.

Events we organized or sponsored:

Land Use & Development:

1. L.A.’s Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Ordinance
2. Billboard Ordinance 
3. Medians along PICO
4. Local Cell Tower Resolution
5. Development along Pico
6. Multiple Land Use case reviews
7. General code enforcement, trash cleanup & graffiti

Political:

Pico/Olympic Traffic Initiative - Defeating the Pico / Olympic One-Way Initiative. We rallied 20 other groups of home owners and 7 other neighborhood councils to join us in our fight.  And it all started with US!

White Paper on MMDs - our work on the medical marijuana dispensary issue prompted the authoring a white paper that provided significant community input to our city attorney in developing his policy. Again, it all started here in PICO NC!

Signage Ordinance - we have actively participated in the development of the new signage ordinance.

Prop B - Researching the arguments for the L.A. Solar Plan that helped establish the No-On-B Action Group.  We were the first council to take a position.  

Visibility - building relationships with: other councils and organizing a concerted effort to affect city policy (a first in the city!), local schools, council congresses, fixlosangeles.com, CD10 and other supportive government offices.

Administrative:

1. Raised our efficiency and effectiveness ranking among neighborhood councils from 81 to the TOP 5!!
2. Increased board member participation to a record-breaking 646 event hours to date!
   
3. Website redesign with functional updates, greater manageability, syndication features and cross community support. Our website has been recognized by the city and Urban Insight, an independent consultant for the city of Los Angeles as a ‘Role Model for the City’.
   
4. Completely revamped financial reporting that has resulted in attaining one of the highest transparency records in the city (we have received several congratulatory emails and published recognition from D.O.N.E.),
5. Effectively spent 100% of our annual $45K allotment and have significantly reduced our rollover funds resulting in minimal impact in the recent city sweep.
6. Inspired by the Pico NC Saturn Garden Project, the non-profit group, The Rings of Saturn, was formed to work closely with administrators and teachers towards the betterment of Saturn Elementary.  To date, the group is spear-heading an effort to convert the barren asphalt playground to a green park that will be available to the community during non-school hours.

In closing, it’s been my privilege to serve as president of the Pico Neighborhood Council over the past 4 years. Together we have made monumental strides in making a difference to our community, impacting city policies and building relationships that will further improve our way of life as well as prepare for the future.

I'm extremely excited by the growing energy and interest in the Pico Neighborhood Council and I look forward to some amazing things happening on the board and in our community.

Sincerely,

Scott McNeely
Former President, Pico Neighborhood Council

The City Attorney’s Office announced it has filed a civil lawsuit seeking an injunction against the owners and operators of Oki’s Dog restaurant and the Cottage bar - two adjacent businesses in the mid-city area known for rampant narcotics sales and gang activity. The case was filed and is being handled by Deputy City Attorney Jennifer Varela of the City Attorney’s Citywide Nuisance Abatement Program.

The civil lawsuit against the business owners and property owners of 5050 and 5056 W. Pico Boulevard and six known gang members alleges violations of the Narcotic Abatement Law; the Public Nuisance Law; and the Unfair Competition Law. The suit asks the court to grant injunctive relief against all Defendants to stop the nuisance and narcotic activity at the properties and prohibit all named gang members from coming within a thousand foot radius of the properties.