Category Archives: Van Nuys Neighborhood Council (VNNC)

Posting for Van Nuys Neighborhood Council Meetings and Events

PPE Unite for Small Businesses

PPE Unite – Distribution of California Personal Protective Equipment in Support of Small Businesses finally comes to the San Fernando Valley

Through a joint State/County initiative, a program currently known as PPE Unite will be distributing, free of charge, PPE items for small businesses (100 employees or less) throughout the County. The materials covered will be face masks (surgical), hand sanitizer, and face shields (30 day supply as of this initial phase). Allocation of items will be based on employee headcount, which will be self-certified.

Businesses can go to PPEUnite.org and fill out the application to move onto the “My PPE Booking” page. From there, they can schedule a time and date to pick up their allotted PPE items (face masks (surgical), face shields, and hand sanitizer).

PPE Unite organizers have expanded distribution operations to serve the Valley and surrounding communities through a new facility in Chatsworth. The pick up location for businesses in the San Fernando Valley and Northern Los Angeles County area is at a warehouse facility currently located at 21350 Lassen St, Chatsworth, CA 91311.

Distribution is on a first come, first serve, so operations will continue until supplies are exhausted. Self-employed, independent contractors and independent franchisees are also encouraged to apply.

VNNC Stands in Solidarity with the Armenian People

The Van Nuys Neighborhood Council voted at our November 18, 2020 Meeting to issue a Community Impact Statement in solidarity with the Armenian People. The full statement is:

Van Nuys is a home away from home to thousands of Armenian-American residents and numerous businesses, which contribute to the well-being of our community on a daily basis.

The Van Nuys Neighborhood Council stands with the Los Angeles City Council in support of our Armenian neighbors, families, coworkers, stakeholders, business owners, and friends to
strongly condemn Azerbaijan’s egregious attacks against the Republic of Artsakh (also known as Nagorno-Karabakh). The VNNC offers our deepest condolences to the people of Armenia and Artsakh. They bravely defended their homeland against Azerbaijan and Turkish-backed foreign mercenaries, facing devastating drone attacks, and enduring atrocities committed by Azeri forces. We stand with Armenia and Artsakh and reaffirm our continued support for Armenia’s democratic government and Artsakh’s right to self-determination.

We urge the United States to immediately re-engage in the Minsk Group process, revisiting an agreement signed without the participation or consent of two of the three OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries – the U.S. and France. We also call upon the U.S. to condemn Azerbaijani and Turkish aggression and to sanction their regimes for war crimes.

We have heard our Armenian-American citizens as they cry out for change and visibility and we stood with them as they advocated peacefully for an end to the conflict. We will not sit by silently as our neighbors grieve while the human rights are being violated among their people by Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Liberty and the right to self-determination are core American values and the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council has a moral obligation to stand up and speak out on behalf of the Armenian-American citizens of Van Nuys and their people who lost innocent lives and are being displaced from their home by the tens of thousands.

The VNNC also acknowledges the Armenian Genocide as a matter of American foreign policy and we recognize the 1915 genocide of over 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. This is a fact, one on which there is no debate. The facts of the genocide were recorded in real time by US diplomats who watched the slaughter in horror. It is unfortunate that presidents from both parties, have issued statements that describe the facts of genocide, but stop short of calling it what it was. The denial of the genocide is an enduring wound to the Armenian people who descended from survivors to build lives here in the United States, in Armenia, and around the world.

For far too long, Turkey has been allowed to exercise a veto on the U.S. government’s recognition of the genocide. The U.S. government, rather than supporting Turkey’s denials, should pressure Turkey to come to terms with its past. A just resolution of the Armenian Genocide would decrease regional tensions, open the door to improved Armenia-Turkey relations, and contribute to an end to the cycle of genocide.

Despite the war waged by Azerbaijan and Turkey in Artsakh, Armenians around the world are one step closer to justice as the Library of Congress announced on October 21, 2020 that it will recognize the Armenian Genocide by amending the catalog entry which previously referred to the Armenian “massacre.” This change comes after both the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation recognizing the facts of the Armenian Genocide in 2019.

This change is a significant and important one, a further step in overcoming the decades- long campaign of denial that has silenced too many about this dark period of history. And this decision takes on greater importance because of current events. The genocide of a century ago feels all too present for so many families as Azerbaijan and Turkey committed atrocities in Artsakh and Armenia today. Recognizing genocide is not simply a historic issue, it is a message to Presidents Aliyev and Erdogan that this issue will not be silenced.

Although this Community Impact Statement is non-binding, we do not want to see history repeated and urge the American government to intervene. The VNNC stands in solidarity with the Armenian community in Van Nuys, far and wide.

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Targeted Relief from Parking Provisions

In response to an adopted City Council Motion (Council File # 20-0380-S1), Los Angeles City Planning has drafted a proposed amendment to the Zoning Code creating a mechanism for City Council to provide targeted relief from time limitations and certain parking provisions during a declared Local Emergency.

The Zoning Code currently outlines several temporary regulations applicable only during a Local Emergency, this proposed amendment will supplement those provisions to address the current severe economic impacts to our neighborhood commercial boulevards.

Today, the proposed Local Emergency Code Amendment has been released for public comment. A fact sheet has been drafted providing an overview of the ordinance, the specific eligibility requirements, and answers to frequently asked questions.

City Planning will be hosting a staff public hearing for the proposed Zoning Code amendment via teleconferencing technology in the coming month. The hearing will provide an overview of the ordinance, and will provide an opportunity for the community to submit public comments and testimony for the public record. A hearing notice is forthcoming, and will provide further details on how to access the public hearing.

Members of the public may also submit written comments to andrew.pennington@lacity.org up to two weeks prior to this item being scheduled for the City Planning Commission. The proposed amendment is tentatively scheduled for consideration by the City Planning Commission before the end of 2020.

To receive future updates on this proposed code amendment, including the public hearing notices, please sign up to join the interested parties list: https://planning.lacity.org/about/email-sign-up

VNNC Stands Against Systemic Racism

The Van Nuys Neighborhood Council took a stand against systemic racism at our meeting on June 10, 2020. Even as our agenda was being created, protesters were wielding bullhorns peacefully at the Van Nuys City Hall to speak out against racial injustice. During our meeting we discussed the matter in depth and thoughtfully worked through each line of a Racial Injustice Position Letter which we approved and sent to our local elected officials including City Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Paul Krekorian, David Ryu and Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian.

“I am proud that our Van Nuys Neighborhood Council was able to come together to stand In Solidarity with Our Black Residents, Stakeholders, Shoppers, and Visitors,” shared Van Nuys Neighborhood Council President Sam Woolf.

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

City Planning Workshops

This fall, City Planning will host Planning 101 training sessions focusing on the topics of project and community planning. The annual Planning 101 series provides a general overview of the core functions of planning in Los Angeles and serves as an educational resource for anyone interested in learning more about participation in the land use process, especially residents, newly elected neighborhood council board members, and members of other community-based organizations.

In keeping with Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Safer at Home Order, this year’s training will be offered virtually to minimize and stop the spread of COVID-19. Attendees will be able to join by telephone or remotely, through GoTo video conferencing software.

Project Planning

The Project Planning training will highlight how projects are reviewed and walk attendees through each step of the development review process―beginning with the submission of a project application at the public counter and ending with the approval of a building permit.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020
1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Thursday, October 15, 2020
5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 17, 2020
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Community Planning

The Community Planning training will introduce attendees to a wide scope of topics in long-range planning, from the development of new policies and goals to the local zoning rules that shape our neighborhoods.

Tuesday, November 17, 2020
1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Thursday, November 19, 2020
5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 21, 2020
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.