Northridge West Neighborhood Council, NWNC Northridge West Neighborhood Council, Unity in Our Community, NWNC
What’s Happening In Your Corner of Northridge? Here’s What NWNC Has Been Up To
By Gail Lapaz and Peter Lasky
Your representatives in NWNC are continuing to improve the community through efforts to help the homeless and beautify our neighborhoods.
Homelessness
We all need to become more knowledgeable about the homeless situation in the San Fernando Valley. On February 16, the West Valley Neighborhood Alliance on the Homelessness held a forum for stakeholders (all of us) at Granada Hills High School to discuss services and solutions available in our area. At the forum, vendors, various organizations, the LAPD and stakeholders gave speeches and connected with one another. Here are some interesting facts provided by LAPD and LA Family Housing:
• In 2018 there were 259 homicides in LA
• In 2017, 809 people died of homeless related causes.
• It costs the taxpayer about $34,764 for one homeless person and about $20,484 for Supportive Housing.
To learn more about this issue and find out how various agencies and groups are attempting to solve the problem, or to get involved with the Northridge West Neighborhood Council Homelessness Committee, please contact .
Topiary Arrives
On Sunday, February 17, 2019 the long-awaited framework for the Tampa Avenue medians was installed. Three topiary horses were placed in the ground on the first median South of the 118 Freeway. Twelve plants were added soon after.
The installation of the three stunning, large than life size topiary horses are the culmination of a long process of Neighborhood Council meetings, collaboration with the Northridge Beautification Foundation, support from former local Councilmen Mitchell Englander, meetings with local city agencies such as the Urban Forestry Division, LA Department of Transportation, and the Bureau of Engineering.
The plants will be watered by a drip system previously installed by NWNC to save the trees along the medians.
Moving forward, NWNC hopes to plant Freeway Daisies or Gazanias along the medians to further beautify our community and add some color. These drought tolerant plants line many Southland freeways.
We want your input on what we’ve done so far, and any ideas you may have for further beautification along the medians. The horse theme was chosen as it is reminiscent of one of the animals that would have been found on a typical Mexican Land Grant rancho in the SFV around the 1800s.
Elections for Northridge West Neighborhood Council
Reminder: Elections for the NWNC board will be on May 4, 2019. Of the 13 seats, seven are available. To vote you must live in the Northridge West NC boundaries from the 118 Freeway South to the North side of Nordhoff Avenue and from the West side of Reseda Blvd. to the East Side of Corbin. The voting venue is yet to be determined and will be given to us by the LA City Clerk’s Election Division. We will post the location on our website www.northridgewest.org, in this column, and in a mailer sent to the community.
New Board Member
We welcome CSUN Professor Rana Sharif to the NWNC Board. Professor Sharif is a professor in the Women’s Studies Department and is the first CSUN academic to sit on the board. We look forward to her contributions and insights.
Land Use Matters
Regarding the request from Las Dunas restaurant to serve wine and beer, the NWNC board voted to follow the recommendation of the Public Land Use and Zoning Committee chaired by Lloyd Dent, and allow the permit. The committee also approved Peter Lasky’s suggestion to shorten the weeknight hours when alcohol could be served at the restaurant suggesting it be between 2:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. The matter now goes before the LA City Planning Department for a final decision.
Community Comments/Suggestions
As always, we value your input and suggestions. Contact President Pamela Bolin at .
