HWPOA
Year-End Report
It’s been a busy and most successful year for our association mainly because we have an involved and interested Board of Directors who chair important committees that maintain our neighborhood as one of the best in LA.
Here’s how you, our member, benefits year after year:
HWPOA won an important lawsuit in Superior Court and prevailed on all 5 counts against a property owner at Lindbrook and Holmby Ave. who built a new home 7 ft. 1 in. from the property line instead of the required 35 ft. It is on appeal by the homeowner.
We protested (through letters) to the City Planning Dept. to remove all single-family zones from the Citywide Housing Element that were to be re-zoned to multi-family use (apartment buildings next to single-family homes). Hilgard and Beverly Glen were to be rezoned to allow multi-story apartments. All streets in between were to be rezoned to allow multi-family residences. Community pressure forced the city to rethink its position and to maintain single-family neighborhoods.
Dennis Rosenblatt chairs the FILM/LA Committee which works with the city and film production companies to ensure that no homes or streets are harmed by the hours or number of days of filming and that parking or traffic plans pose no problems to neighbors. Dennis coordinated more than a dozen film projects in Holmby Westwood during 2023. Dennis also worked to impose a restriction on valet parking in Holmby Westwood when valets were actually hired on behalf of hosts in adjacent communities.
Susan Meals led the Holmby Park Committee on the design of the new playground and restrooms and the use of the park by for-profit businesses. They continue to work on the dangerous problem of dogs off-leash.
Jann Williams chairs the Westwood Village Committee that has been meeting for several years to discuss the many possibilities for a new Village Plan that would include housing, entertainment, and street and sidewalk amenities. The committee works with the Village property owners and the Business Improvement District.
The Membership Committee is chaired by Jackie Freedman, always working to add new members. They posted lawn signs to encourage new membership and developed a brochure highlighting the many benefits that await new owners.
Caron Schwartz chaired our annual July 4th Parade and Picnic that began at Warner Ave. School with a parade of families led by our Fire Station 71 and ended at Holmby Park with bouncies, games and food. A fun celebration and free for our community!!
Susan Reuben and Nancy Greenstein co-chair our Security/Crime Committee, reporting on crime in ours and adjacent neighborhoods. We have seen a rise in theft from vehicles and homes. This committee works with our local police Senior Lead Officer Allen and stays up to date with every reported incident. The purchase of Neighborhood Watch signs is being considered by the Board.
Marilyn Stern stays in close contact with news in Westwood Village and available homeowner discounts that are reported in our weekly newsletter. She keeps up-to-date on local events and board news as our Good & Welfare chair.
The Architecture Committee is composed of 7 members (required) who review homes that have CC&Rs (Covenants, Codes and Restrictions). Ellen Turner, Ken Korman, Sandy Brown, Caron Schwartz, Jim Grant, Raun Thorp, and Susan Reuben serve on this important committee overseeing all remodels and new construction.
2023 was a good year for the Green Team chaired by Marnie Bodek. From Marnie: “We began the year by developing a Green Team Mission statement and Priority Goals for our work. We continued to work with consulting arborist, Lisa Smith, as well as neighborhood residents on identification of climate appropriate replacement parkway trees for Holmby Westwood streets where existing parkway tree species are no longer allowed by the City. Our street-by-street work was approved by Urban Forestry, and we plan to share the new tree plan with residents at the beginning of the new year.
We have been in touch with Councilwoman Yaroslavsky’s office on removal of tree stumps throughout the neighborhood as well as tree trimming on priority streets. The Green Team has also been working on a website to provide neighborhood residents with tree resources and information. Look for the launch of The Green Team website soon.
Neighborhood tree planting has been paused this year. The City’s current tree planting priority is low income, low canopy neighborhoods. As a result, we have begun conversations about alternative ways to support our planting efforts.
The HWPOA Board supports the Adopt Fire Station program at Sunset and Beverly Glen station, Warner Ave. School, and the UCLA Food Closet.
The Los Angeles Conservancy with the assistance of Marnie Bodek, Kathryn Welch Howe and Sandy Brown offered several walking tours of Holmby Westwood which sold out quickly and were well received. Sandy worked with the Director of the U.S. Open Golf Championship at The LA Country Club to coordinate traffic, security, and attendees to the tournament. It went smoothly and without a hitch!
LADWP attended a HWPOA Board meeting to discuss the power outages caused by failing underground cables, severe rain, or fallen street trees. We work closely with our Councilwoman, Katy Yaroslavsky and her excellent staff on issues that arise in Holmby Westwood, often weekly.
And finally, we have a dedicated Officer Manager and half-time employee, Dana Glenn, who takes your calls and messages, writes our weekly newsletter, prepares our budget and does our billing. Phil Gabriel serves as our Treasurer and keeps our finances in check.
We are all volunteers who meet every month as a board and in between for committee meetings, who devote both time and effort on your behalf to keep Holmby Westwood the very best it can be. We absolutely could not accomplish this without our members support!! We rely on our members for our financial stability.
HWPOA is the ONLY member-supported, volunteer-run, non-profit community organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the quality of life in Holmby Westwood. Your continued support is vital!
RESIDENT ADS:
SEEKING IT CONSULTANT
Hi Neighbors:
I would appreciate recommendations for IT consultants experienced in PC diagnosis and repair as well as general PC setup and maintenance. We have a Dell laptop that may need a motherboard replacement.
Please email any leads to DrRobKay22@gmail.com.
Holmby Westwood Property Owners Association, Inc.
P.O. Box 49180
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Phone: (310) 470-1785 (call/text)
Email: hwpoa@aol.com OR info@holmbywestwoodpoa.org
Website: www.holmbywestwoodpoa.org
Pay Membership Dues: https://squareup.com/store/hwpoa