Help Save Sylmar Wildlife WayStation

One of America's oldest, largest, and most respected animal sanctuaries, Wildlife WayStation is in grave danger of going bankrupt. Since 1975, this animal refuge has rehabilitated and cared for over 76,000 animals ranging from lab chimps to lions, tigers, crippled grizzlies, and billess ostriches. Because of the current recession, Wildlife WayStation's severe drop in donations is seriously jeopardizing the remaining 420 endangered animals it provides refuge for.

Out of all conservation nonprofits, donation-driven sanctuaries are experiencing the hardest withdrawal of funding and Wildlife WayStation is not the only one. Wild Animal Orphanage in San Antonio closed last month out of lack of money and an Ohio sanctuary owner released dozens of lions, tigers, and other animals before killing himself. Last week Wildlife WayStation had to lay off a third of their staff and they are unsure how to cover the monthly food costs of upwards of $142,000. Furthermore, Los Angeles County refused to reissue permits until all the roads, sewers, and electrical wiring was upgraded, fixed, and replaced. The station is also currently barred from accepting new animals and California state has also banned public tours.

Wildlife WayStation desperately needs continued support, and donations to continue. This is not just about one animal sanctuary. This is about preserving the last of a final frontier for animals the human race has damaged beyond repair, and for the endangered animals who need all the protection they can get. By keeping these animal refuges alive and funded, hundreds of exotic animals are saved. Ask for federal funding to maintain endangered animal sanctuaries for the chance to directly affect and save thousands of animal lives. Without this, many innocent creatures are facing certain death. See their site to help.

Bridal Paths Incorporated in New School Design

During the September 2011 SNC meeting it appeared that the team planning the new school design was unaware of the existing horse trail on the Bledsoe side of the school or its future in the design of the school. Stakeholders were concerned about the need for the horse trail as part of the equestrian trail structure and culture of Sylmar. Concern was especially high as the community had been promised at previous community meetings that the trails would remain in tact.

As a result of that meeting, the Board further reached out to those involved in the design.The LAUSD Facitlities Team, which oversees the construction, made a presentation at the October meeting. In fact the path was incorporated into the design. Their diagram showed the placement of the intact bridal path. It will be eight feet in width with a galvanized steel railing that will match the appearance of the railing on the other side of Dronfield.

The right of way space will be for sidewalks and the horse bridle trail. It will be approximately 20 feet wide consisting of the eight to ten-foot wide trail, a ten-foot wide sidewalk and approximately two feet in width of fencing and landscaping. Driveways will be paved. Site map with trail.

CRA Medians Complete - October 2011

Councilman Alarcon and the Sylmar Business Improvement District are pleased to announce the completion of their project to upgrade the medians on San Fernando Road. 

This project was presented at the March 2010 SNC meeting by Duran Villegas, Community Redevelopment Agency Project Manager, East Valley Region. He described the development process, including a home ownership assistance program.

The Sylmar Streetscape project covers San Fernando Road from Hubbard north to Polk. They completed the Phase One Truman St. and San Fernando Blvd. landscaped medians projects.  View the map and rendering of the medians. The project encompasses four small medians with shrubs, trees, and a “Welcome to Sylmar” sign.

The project was budgeted for about $300,000 to complete and was paid for by the CRA which is funded by property taxes from properties within the project area. Maintenance for the project will be covered by the Sylmar Business Improvement District, a program whereby local merchants agree to tax themselves to pay for specific improvements to their community.

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Alert: Detectives need your help to locate a vehicle used in a Burglary

Mission Area Burglary Detectives are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a vehicle used in a burglary. The burglary occurred on June 16, 2011 at about 11:00 am in the 13800 Block of Shablow Avenue.

The suspect was described as a Male Hispanic, Black Hair, Unknown Color Eyes, 5’9” tall, weighing 165 pounds, and 20-25 years old.

The attached photo is the actual vehicle used in the burglary. Detectives want to identify the occupants seen in the picture, although they may not be the burglars.

The vehicle is a 1997 Black Cadillac Seville 4 Door, 4YAG221. Please note that the rooftop of the vehicle is discolored or peeling.

If you see the car or the suspects, please call 911. Do not attempt to contact the suspects.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the vehicle or the occupants seen in the picture should call Mission Burglary Detectives: 818-838-9918. During non-business hours, calls can be made to the Mission Police Station Desk at 818-838-9800. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crimestoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.

Sylmar Clean Up A Resounding Success

The neighborhood clean-up event on September 11, 2011 was a resounding success reported Don Neal, SNC VP of Communications. Over 200 people showed up to "clean up" Sylmar. They cleaned around Sylmar High School, Sylmar Park, Foothill and Glenoaks Blvds. Many students and teachers (Freddy Ortiz, Mr. Nunez, Mr. G, Steve List, Ray Rivera, Mary McLeod) from Sylmar HS (as did students from Link Crew, Leadership-Dan Loscos, Horticultural, and the Baseball team), Options for Youth students and teachers, and the Valley Panthers Pop Warner teams and parents, and Eugene Hernandez, came and worked gave it their all. Joseph Montesdeoca and Venesha Acosta, with the EduCare After-School Program, were also there with a group of students. We had many adults to supervise, but most of the credit goes to the students. Many community members expressed their thanks as we came by cleaning.

Javier Lujan, Options for Youth, deserves a lot of credit for organizing this event. The Sylmar Neighborhood Council helped and sponsored the food (Sheri Lincoln, Ricarado Benitez, Hiral Bhakta, and Don Neal). Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes himself, showed up and helped clean, along with Tania Soto, and others from his office. Angelica Ayala was there from the Mayor's office, and many adults from Sylmar community showed up and helped. Graffitti Busters and the City Sanitation Dept. and workers were a great help for the heavy lifting and supplies.

The Sylmar Neighborhood Council would like to also thank Councilmember Richard Alarcon's newest Field Deputy in the Sylmar area, Maria Ochoa, who reminded us that Councilmember Richard Alarcon's young "City Ambassadors" (Brenda, Mariela, Amy, And Liz), student volunteer Judith Meza, along Paul Dumont from the North Hills West Neighborhood Council and his six sober-living community members walked Glenoaks with Richard Benitez, from the Sylmar Neighborhood Council, and a group of students.

They worked longer than any other group, and Don personally had to go out and tell them they had done enough, and to head back to the staging area for lunch. Councilman Richard Alarcon's office informed residents of the opportunity for bulky item pick ups, and Maria took photographs of problem areas where sidewalk renovation and paving needs to happen. On behalf of the Sylmar Neighborhood Council we would like to thank all for their noteworthy efforts.

We were very pleased at the turn out and the amount of clean up that actually got done. It was uplifting and inspiring to see everyone out there trying make our community better. These are the types of community partnerships and events we all need to foster. Let's everyone start thinking about doing this again, perhaps, in a bigger way. Great job by everyone involved!

Click on image below for a larger view.

Dig In For A Green Library A Grand Success!

The Sylmar Neighborhood Council’s Green Committee launched its inaugural event on April 9, 2011, from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with ceremonies from 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. We selected the Sylmar Public Library as our site. This project was presented by the Sylmar Neighborhood Council.

Presentation to the SNC

Our goals were:

• to establish drought-resistant landscaping around the library located at Polk and Glenoaks in Sylmar (14561 Polk Street, Sylmar 91342)

• to install an underground water-reduction irrigation system which will save at least 80% of water usage

• to create signs to be placed throughout the new foliage to indicate the common and scientific names of the plants/tree/shrubs

• to place a permanent sign in front of the library which would indicate the sponsorship of the Sylmar Neighborhood Council and of other donors to this project

• to place a permanent notebook inside the library to present the history of this project including the names of the elected, sponsors, donors, and companies and how they were involved. It would further include information about each aspect of the project, including the kinds of plants and the particulars regarding the irrigation system so that others may reproduce the results at residential/commercial/institutional locations.

• to provide the opportunity for students groups to continue volunteering to maintain the site (and earn hours toward their high school volunteer graduation requirement)

• to further the library’s goal of making this facility a community center where youth and adults may study, use the computers for work or for obtaining work, offer a variety of activities, such as an Adult Literacy Program, and so forth.

Preparing to plant

It is our hope that this project will not only be a huge success but will also make the Sylmar Public Library in particular and the City of Sylmar in general a model for such programs in other communities. It would give a new face to the northeast Valley and would encourage a feeling of ownership and pride by all stakeholders in this region.

Watch the LA Cityview Channel 35 video on the project:

We made this a community-wide activity and we thank the following for participating:

Sylmar NC Board Members
Sylmar NC Green Committee Members
David Levin, SNC Secretary
Electeds: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, State Senator Alex Padilla, State Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes, City Councilmember Richard Alarcón
Congressmembers Howard Berman and Brad Sherman made generous contributions, including an American flag which flew over the U. S. Capitol

Attendees listen to presentation by Electeds

Mr. Robbie A. Buff of Global Eco Soil Solutions: donation of new high-efficiency irrigation system
Mr. William Parr of The Kiwanis Club of Sylmar: donation of picnic table, umbrella, and stand for the library staff
Ms. Carolyn Casavan of The Valley Green Team
The Sun Newspaper and Channel 35 TV covered this event
Photos by Pablo Martinez (of Trashbusters) and family

Students put together benches

Other contributors:
· Amelia Herrera-Robles: Neighborhood Empowerment
· Tania Soto: Felipe Fuentes’ office
· Angelica Ayala: Mayor’s office
· Dan Rosales and Manny Figueras: Richard Alarcón’s office
· Gonzalo Rebollo, Rory Takaki, City Recreation and Parks
· Maria Sheets: Public Works
· Frances Bojoquez: Friends of the Library
· Ms. Faegheh Mofidi: Sylmar Public Library
· Kristen Bonilla: Sylmar Neighborhood Partnership
· Vanessa Diaz, Sylmar HS Global Environmental Organization

Regarding Greenhouse Emissions (GEORGE)
· Steven List, Sylmar HS Horticulture Department
· Javier Lujan, Options for Youth
· Sylmar Key Clubs Students
· Luis Alfaro, Costco
· Richard Cacho, Ultra Green Nursery
· Gregorey Mitchell, Fresh and Easy Market
· Margot Steenbeke, Sr. Banitos, Inc.
· Robert Feeny, Guillermo Reyes, Bryan Curnel: Pinnacle Realtors
· Jim Donelson, Coca-Cola Company
· Ramon Ruiz, Vineland Nursery
· Bill Ulmer, Optimists Club
· Ewing Irrigation

Event Flyer/Volante

Got Mining? Sediment? October 2011

In early 2011 the Land Use Committee discussed a proposed Surface Mining Project planned by Sakaida and Sons for a location south of the Pacoima Dam and east of Pacoima Canyon Rd. According to a Notice of Preparation filed April of 2007 the project is planned for 25 acres of a 73 acre site. The site is located on LA County land just outside of the City of Los Angeles.

The SNC Board heard a presentation by Don Sakaida in June 2011 and issues were discussed. The Board has reached out to County Supervisor Yaroslavsky, who represents Slymar, and to Supervisor Antonovich, who represents the actual location of the proposed mine.

Sakaida and Sons held a meeting October 2011 to hear from specific constituencies as part of the Environmental Impact Report process. The SNC was represented by Directors George Ortega and Roy Smith at the meeting. The project was clarified to be for the purpose of mining decomposed granite, not sand and gravel as was previously documented in the 2007 NOP. Decomposed granite does not generate as much dust. It is planned for use in the San Fernando Valley, predominately in the public sector.

The type of proposed mining was discussed. It is to be a surface mine. Strip mining means your product is buried by other material, and you need to remove and dispose of that material along with excavating your desired product. Surface mining means you product is on the surface and only the desired product is removed. Once the mine is finished regarding and replanting may take place for cosmetic purposes.

Concerns were raised about the volume and direction of trucks going in and out of the mine. The mine could be accessed by Hubbard or McClay from the 210 freeway. The current plan calls for access via Hubbard Street. Use of Maclay St./Harding St. requires approval by the responsible parties to the private road portion of Harding street. It is expected that the high level of truck volume would be 115 round trips a day.

At this point it seemed that truck volume, route, and timing were open for discussion. Also of concern was the amount of dust the project could generate and the impact on neighbor’s health, visual impact to the community, and how the property would be used at the conclusion of the mining. Initial plans call for reintroduction of native plants at the conclusion of the project.

Public Scoping meetings will be scheduled, so please check back for those dates.

For questions or concerns, please call:
Hansen Yard Engineering Support Unit
Monday – Friday 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Working Hours: (818) 896-0594
After Hours: (626) 458-HELP
Email: krickard@dpw.lacounty.gov

Other Resources:
Citizens Against Strip Mining in the San Fernando Valley website
North Valley Reporter Article
Flyer from Citizens Against Strip Mining in the San Fernando Valley
Letter from Citizens Against Strip Mining...

Board Positions Open - We Need You!

We have openings for you on the board. Please contact the Secretary to apply for the following 3 positions: Industrial, Retail and Renter Representative.