GLASSELL PARK NC & BONC MEETING UPDATE: HERE'S YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT!

***** UPDATE *****

THANKS TO MARK "MR. K" GERMAIN OF K-TALK 1150 AM FOR ALLOWING ME TO USE THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES IN THE SPIRIT IN WHICH THEY ARE INTENDED: TO PROVIDE PUBLIC NOTICE REGARDING LOS ANGELES NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL "CAHOOTSISM" (aka: BIG F-ING RACKET) FOR PEOPLE ON THEIR WAY TO THE TWO MEETINGS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. AND NOW, THE WHOLE CITY IS AWARE OF HOW CITY DEVELOPERS AND THEIR ACTIVIST COALITIONS STEAMROLL THE HILLSIDES.

* GLASSELL PARK NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL & BONC MEETING PUBLIC COMMENT NOTES:
(I am staying here to continue working on this...here's a preview. Try and bring this to the table during public comment and with others in attendance.)

Some of the reasons "Bradley" and Cahootsville NC might have had to keep that stakeholder from filming the last five minutes of the meeting.

THE CAST: Mark Semotiuk (Metro LA Development, LLC, Founder/President PROH-LA), Ed Reyes, Edel Vera, Paula Bagasao (a very busy bee), her husband Tony Butka (tony@tonypaula.com), Jose Huizar, Brian Fitzburgh Bradley, Godwin Iwunze, Eric Garcetti, Mr. Tharp, Teo Berndt (I'M A BIG FAN OF YOUR WORK!), Glassell Park/Silverlake,/Echo Park/Elysian Neighborhood Council ("Cahootsville Region"). [CMs sit on the planning committee or have NC in Cahootsville.)

Mark Semotiuk founded Metro LA Development, LLC and PROH-LA, a developers coalition with heads Bradley, Paula Bagasao and Brian Fitzburgh.

Mark, in his twenties, attends USC Master Real Estate Program, and attended UCLA as undergrad. From USC website: Mark Semotiuk – Mark established his own company, Metropolitan Los Angeles Developments in 2004. Since then, Mark has successfully completed the redevelopment of a home in Echo Park, and is currently developing a 4 unit condominium in Silver Lake. Mark is also the President of Protecting the Rights of Owners in Hillsides – Los Angeles. (PROH-LA) a group that creates an educational and informational framework to provide necessary zoning and planning information to individuals who are disenfranchised by factors such as: race, distance from civic infrastructure, educational background and language.

[HA! WHEN YOU HEAR "PROTECT", DON'T YOU THINK "AGAINST DEVELOPMENT"? THESE GUYS FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO DEVELOP! LOL!]

So Mark has Metro LA Development, LLC Metro LA Development, LLC Web Site and PROH-LA coalition (see website link on Metro LA site link).

Mark's project designer/architect is someone who I have become a big, big fan of after visiting his site, and can see why Mark uses him: Teo Berndt of TAYO Design. And international sensation. Teo, you are FANTASTIC!!!

Bradley has connections with the Planning Dept, so he calls himself an “Expediter”. American Heritage explains an “expeditor” as one who is responsible to “execute quickly and efficiently:

So you have Mark Semotiuk (Metro LA Development, LLC, Founder/President PROH-LA) who works in cahoots with "Bradley" (of E.B.E.) on city projects. (Edel Vera, who works and maybe lives with Bradley is probably the "B." in E.B.E.), Paula Bagasao (a very busy bee), her husband Tony Butka (tony@tonypaula.com), Brian Fitzburgh and their design wiz Teo Berndt using the NC system to approve projects, including ones that need zoning variances; EIR concerns; and community warnings. And they all sit on the various NC's and if you have a project in the region you need approved, Bradley can help expedite the project, by sending you to his "go to" NC, cause many of these people mentioned sit on one, or more Neighborhood Councils. And they send Mark to the meetings to talk about the projects. (Hope I drove it home...that's what the full article is for...)

And this "cahootsism" racket demonstrates how and why so few people participate in the community process. For example, in the minutes of a Silverlake NC meeting, Jason Lyon called the item, where it was announced that Bradley says no one showed up at last nights hearing regarding a hillside development, so the project was approved, variances, concerns and all.

So of course there is no meaningful outreach going on in the community. And I'd say it looks like attempts to actually prevent as much community participation is more likely the case.

Today, I went to the Glassell Park website to see what time the meeting was tonight. And although they had the date listed (which I already knew), they didn't list the time. So I clicked the "calandar" link, figuring it would have that info. Well, the enitre calandar month of June was blank. So, I called the phone number listed on the website, and got a fax machine, all day long. (Nice outreach!)

THE REST...COMING SOON. (WILL SHORTEN THIS COMMUNITY ALERT THREAD WITH A "READ MORE" LATER TONIGHT)
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