Wednesday Meeting

there will be an Emergency HOA meeting on Wed May 2nd at 7pm in room 103 (sales office)

Trees on San Pedro St

Hi all - I've contacted LA about planting trees on our street. The sidewalks are city property so they are the ones in charge of planting. I've submitted an order for them to plant, but they said they are backlogged about 3-6 months. So we may not see trees for up to a year. My contact: Irma Garcia, told me to touch bases within 3 months to see what the status of our request is. See you all at the HOA meeting.

LTL - HOA meeting minutes. March 21, 2007

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:
Jan Dyek
Suzy Bramzon
Eryn Schon

BOARD MEMBERS NOT PRESENT:
Jonathon Hammer
Pauline Chan

MANAGEMENT REPRESENTATIVES:
Selma Nalbant
LB Property Management

CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:10pm.

OPEN FORUM
Unit 519 – Homeowner inquired on why there were cars parked in the alley.
Unit 406 – Homeowner had a concern about the gates slamming shut; he feels it is a nuisance. The Board said they will look in to this. This Homeowner also inquired on when the mesh will be placed in the dog park. The Board informed him that this is in process.
Unit 102 – This homeowner proposed more cameras in the parking area as well as another intercom by the pool area and bottom floors. Selma is to look in to getting proposals.
Unit 319 – Homeowner had a concern about the building that is being built next to the complex. Board informed the homeowners this was going to be a commercial building. Homeowner also would like the trash to be picked up at a later time, the current trash pick up time is 7:00 am and this disturbs he homeowner. Selma is to call and ask Trash Company to come at a later time. Homeowner also inquired on a recycling bin. Board informed the homeowners that a recycling program through the city is going to start in May.
Unit 610 – Homeowner inquired about the status of the Laundry room.
The Board informed the homeowners a gym is in the process of being built. An informal vote was taken and all homeowners present voted in favor of a gym.
Unit 313 – Homeowner inquired on planting some trees around the building. The board suggested to start a committee, homeowner is to call Selma to set this up.
Unit 530 – Homeowner feels that the 24 hours a day lighting in the parking structure is too costly, this should be reduced. Selma informed the homeowner that due to liability reasons the association needs to keep the lights on for that period of time. The board suggested looking in to energy saver lights.
Unit 401 – Homeowner reported that the elevator light is out.
Unit 612 – homeowner inquired on why the elevator is so slow. Selma reported that the elevator is working properly and is properly permitted.
Selma reported that any extra beatification to the building that is not in the budget may be subject to a special assessment.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The February 21, 2007 minutes were read and approved.

REVIEW OF FINANCIALS
Eryn Schon reported that as of March 21, 2007 the operation account has a balance of $106,607.90, the reserve account has a balance of
$67,503.91 for a total of $176,298.81.
Eryn also reported that a lien will be placed if there is no compliance with regard to delinquent collections.

OLD BUISNESS
Selma reported on the new insurance company for the HOA. If you need the declaration page please contact her at the office.
Selma also reported that LB Property Management has the capability for auto draft, if you are interested please contact her at the office.
Jeanne McDonald (HOA Attorney) reported that Sprint the current lessee of the cell cite on the roof, would like to renegotiate their contract for less money a month. Due to the many cell cites they have in the area the need is not as much in demand. Unison another company would like to offer the association a large sum of money upfront to be able to lease the roof to whomever they choose. Discussion was held amongst the homeowners and all concurred that the association should not give up ownership of the roof top to Unison. Suzy made a motion to stop negotiations with Unison and Eryn seconded the motions. Motion carried.

NEW BUISNESS
Suzy reported on the Mills Act. The Mills Act provides a property owner a break on their property taxes as long as restoration to the building is kept. The Mills Act is not applicable for HOA's so the association is not eligible.
Suzy reported the board is looking in to becoming a local monument, more research is being done.

Suzy reported that in a condo conversion it takes up to a year to breakdown the property taxes for each homeowner. The first year tax is paid by the developer. The bills that the homeowners are receiving are not the property tax bill but the supplemental tax bill.
It was reported that additional parking spaced can be purchased and deeded to you. If you are interested please go to the sales office to inquire. Parking spaces range from $5,000 to $15,000 depending on the size and location.
Guest parking will be revisited by the Board and the charges will be discussed.
A couple of additional bike racks will be placed at the building. It was noted that there are bikes that are abandoned on the current bike rack. The Board will look in to how to correct this situation.
Brett and Josephine have been retained by the HOA to be on site managers. Please still contact Selma of LB Property Management on all HOA Issues.
A proposal for $1,667 for the installation of new 17 inch monitors for the security company. The board would like to see more proposals.
Selma reported a homeowner had called to inform her about the slow drainage problem. Two other homeowners concurred with this. Selma is to get proposals on Hydro flushing the pipes.

ADJOURNMENT – The meeting was adjourned at 8:49pm. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 at 7:00 PM.

HOA Meeting

March 21st @ 7pm in the Sales office at LTL.

March 4th - LA Marathon - We're surrounded!

Jack just emailed me about the marathon. Heads up:

Maybe something for the blog....

I don't know how many people are following the blog but I was just online for the LA Marathon and realized we're pretty much surrounded on Sunday. Getting in and out of the area may be tricky for anyone who may have to work, or have play plans.

I was on www.lamarathon.com

Anyway, just an FYI for anyone who may not know we're surrounded by the route.

Later

Jack H. 206

Click here to view the course map.

Rich, Young and Highly Educated

Study Says New Wave of Downtowners Have Money, and Are Ready to Spend

by Jon Regardie

Executive Editor

How real is the Downtown Los Angeles residential boom? Real enough to account for a 21% population increase in two years, according to a local business group. Even more significantly, the median income in new Downtown households is just a shade under $100,000, making it one of the most affluent communities in Los Angeles County. And while it's hard to say if the average Downtowner is smarter than other Angelenos, Downtown residents are on the whole well-educated, as more than three-quarters of them have a college degree.

On Tuesday morning, the Downtown Center Business Improvement District released the results of an expansive survey designed to paint a portrait of the thousands of residents who have streamed into the community since the passage of the adaptive reuse ordinance in 1999. The two-part study included the "Downtown Los Angeles Market Report," which detailed the entire area, and the "2006 Demographic Study of New Downtown Residents," which provided information on those who came to the community in the wake of the condominium and apartment building boom.

"The basic bottom line is this is phenomenally good news for Downtown Los Angeles and therefore for the region, because we are spurring so much economic activity that ripples out over every neighborhood that is adjacent and well beyond in terms of tax revenues, employment, and business tax revenues that are created by this economic growth in Downtown," said Carol Schatz, president and CEO of the DCBID. The study, prepared by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., found that:

• An estimated 28,878 people live Downtown, and that there are 9,431 market rate residences and 9,568 affordably priced units. A similar DCBID study released in early 2005 found that 23,894 residents lived in the area, marking a 21% population increase.

• The median income of households in the new buildings is $99,600, a 3% climb from the 2004 figure of $96,300.

• Downtown residents are investing in the community, with 30.2% of area inhabitants buying condominiums. Two years ago, 18% of the respondents had purchased units.

• More than three out of four Downtowners have at least an undergraduate degree, and 28% of the local populace has a graduate or professional degree.

• The median age of new Downtown residents is 31, and more than 60% of area inhabitants are single. Slightly more than half, 53.5%, are male, and 46.5% are female.

• Of the new area inhabitants, 24.3% left the Westside for Downtown. More than half of the residents, 55.1%, also work in Downtown.

• Pets have found their way into the urban landscape, as 18% of the new households have dogs and 13.5% have cats.

• The residential rise is leading to an across-the-board boost, as the number of businesses based in Downtown climbed 8.5% in the last two years, from 11,559 to 12,545. These businesses generated $1.7 billion in sales taxes in 2006, a 7% climb over the previous year.

The study was based on surveys mailed to 5,400 residents of Downtown Los Angeles buildings that have opened since 1999. The response rate was higher than 17%, said Schatz. Jack Kyser, chief economist and senior vice president of the LAEDC, said that the study shows that Downtown has the type of affluent market that many retailers seek, even if they're not yet aware that it exists in Downtown. "The residents have a lot of disposable income. The people who work in Downtown have a lot of disposable income," he said.

http://www.downtownnews.com/

William Bratton - Chef of Police

Here is the mailing address for Chief Bratton. If you could post it on the blog and encourage everyone to write in, that would be great.
I'm going to get a letter together on behalf of Hammer Ventures as well:


William J. Bratton
Chief Of Police
Los Angeles Police Department
150 North Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012