October 2015 General Meeting Minutes

By
Pete Rockwell
-
0
514

Culver City Democratic Club – 62 Years

General Membership Meeting – Veterans Auditorium Rotunda

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

  1. Call to Order at 7:15 p.m. by Khin Khin Gyi, 1st Vice President.
  1. Pledge of Allegiance – Led by Bill Wynn, past CCDC president.
  1. Approval of September 9, 2015 Minutes. Moved by Neil Rubenstein, seconded by Margaret Lindgren. Motion passed.
  2. Announcements:
  1. Meeting Sponsorships – $50 to sponsor a meeting if you wish to honor someone. See Sylvia
  2. LAACDP Countdown to 2016 Summit for Democratic activists and club members, Oct. 25, CSU Los Angeles
  3. Mim Shapiro turned 93 last week! Happy Birthday to Mim!
  4. Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Democrat of the Year Dinner, Nov. 8, Hyatt Regency Long Beach. Early bird price, $115.
  5. Bill Wynn spoke of his reaction to the Democratic Candidates Debate in Las Vegas last night at a “watch party.”
  6. Disa Lindgren offered another “Black Lives Matter” poster. Brandon was the lucky recipient.
  7. Disa thanked Stephen Murray for getting out the post card mailer for Dr. Kelly Kent.
  1. Officer Report
  1. Treasurer’s Report (Eric Fine) Total funds as of September 30, 2015 are $4,766.06. Joel moved to reimburse Eric. Margaret seconded that. Motion carried.
  2. Membership (Diane Rosenberg) 130 paid members. Guests: George and Ann Daughtery. www.CulverCityDemocraticClub.com/RENEW.
  3. Fundraising (Amy Cherness) – Raffle prizes were handmade ceramic bowl and other items. Tickets $5 for 6 tickets or $1 for 1. Working on a fundraising activity at Menchies (February).
  4. Outreach (Sylvia) no report.
  5. Correspondence (Stephen Murray) Stephen shared the endorsement postcard that he and Greg worked on.
  6. Legislative/Community Issues (Nyabingi Kuti) – Khin Khin reported on the recently signed legislation: Right to die legislative action, Equality for women in the workplace, the DMV voter law
  1. Program: Mansionization: Sara Hartley, Iain Gulin, Philip Lelyveld. Iain Gulin, involved in real estate and development, who lives in the Carlson Park area, spoke for the public about raising the awareness of mansionization. Mansionization means replacing older homes and with larger developments. New homes 3000+sf. The homes are 3 times larger of what they are replacing. In the short run, the market demand drives up prices. Parks, schools and community adds value to homes. Those who live next to mansions lose value. Many areas of Los Angeles have fought Mansionization. City Planning Commission has held 3 study sessions but their recommendation are inadequate and problematic, according to Iain. We need unbiased experts and resident input as the issue is complex. Philip Lelyveld, degrees in engineering and science, a Culver City resident. A limit on fences as walls block light, airflow, shadow and privacy. Cannot put a light on top of your fences. Regulations for “a good neighbor” policy. Mansionization sometimes removes trees. Philip addressed filtering (light, flow, privacy) not size. Preserving the character and stability” of existing Culver City neighborhoods. Sara Hartley, architect and city planner, who looks at zoning and planning codes for cities. The CC Planning Commission has not considered hiring a professional (unbiased) consultant. Sara discussed “set backs” and the changes. She voiced that there are various conditions and should be considered and regarded in various the circumstances. Website: livableculver.org. Discussion and question and answer period followed. This was about responsible zoning, according to the speakers. There was no representative to discuss another point of view.
  1. Announcements
  1. Executive Board Meeting will be held Saturday, October 31 at 10 a.m. at Pat Levinson’s home.
  2. Next General Meeting is Wednesday, November 11, 2015.
  3. Bill spoke favorably about Pat Levinson’s response to a CC newspaper article, Sylvia’s keynote column on violence and the democratic process.
  4. Sylvia mentioned that we are looking into creating a sub-committee to discuss the process of voting for endorsements.
  5. Sylvia invited people to join Common Cause’s email list. She’s looking to recruit people to join Common Cause’s issue/group/non-partisan.
  6. Stephen announced a “No Fly” date on Oct. 24 between 11 am. – 12 noon at City Hall.
  7. Sylvia announced the Convention pre-endorsement – we have 5 slots for attendance.

VIII. Meeting adjourned at 9:13 p.m. Moved by Joel Peck, seconded by Khin Khin. Approved.

Respectfully submitted, Pat Levinson, Recording Secretary