Question: What has been resolved with the little white kiosk on the sidewalk, corner of Swarthmore and Monument, that Caruso calls The Koban?
Street Services says the kiosk, also called a koban, was not permitted.
As a joke, on May 8, we asked readers to give suggestions for this unused shelter that was originally touted as an LAPD “sub-station.” Subsequent suggestions included a mini-art gallery, a storage site for the Steadfast statue, a place to hold a puppet show, and headquarters for a barbershop quartet that could stroll Palisades Village, replacing the canned music.
But one reader wrote said that this white kiosk was illegal and that it should not be on “the public sidewalk or in the public right-of-way.” CTN emailed the City to find out if the reader was correct.
Answer: The reader was correct, and the City admitted that there was no building permit for it. However, “This approach is the same Citywide for low-level code non-compliance that does not pose an immediate threat to life and safety,” Street Services spokesperson Elena Stern said. “The Department is working with the developer [Rick Caruso] to correct any non-compliance and will allow reasonable time for those corrections.”
Second Answer: On September 27, Circling the News received an email from Stern after CTN asked Board of Public Works President Kevin James about the revocable permit at a Community Council meeting. “We are completing an investigation to identify all of the encroachments at the location you are referencing, but it will take some time. Once they have completed the field investigation, we will have the full picture of all of the encroachments and will be able to address them at one time.”
When the Bureau of Engineering adopted the new Revocable Permit (R-Permit) Policy for sidewalk encroachments (September 16), IT allowed for people with existing encroachments until January 1 to apply for permits.
Third answer: Basically, the purpose of the R-Permit is to grant conditional encroachment of the public right-of-way by private parties not authorized to occupy the right-of-way. Apparently, if an R-Permit is granted to Caruso, he would not have to move the building from the public sidewalk.
Question: Who are the owners of Cinque Terre West on Monument?
Co-owners of Cinque Terre West are chef Gianba Vinzoni and wife Marlo.
EATER Los Angeles reported on May 6 that “Pacific Palisades has a new Italian dinner option called Cinque Terre West. The casual spot opened over the weekend at 970 Monument Street in the former Pinocchio in Cucina, offering a menu from chef Gianba Vinzoni (Fig & Olive) that includes handmade pastas and a variety of Ligurian dishes, including breakfast.”
Answer: Pacific Palisades residents Gianba Vinzoni and his wife Marlo are the new owners. They have a cozy spot for dining or meeting friends for coffee and sweets, tucked away in the patio across from BOCA, the women’s clothing store. Give them a visit in early 2020!
Question: Why do there seem to be so many homeless people who have schizophrenia.
Associate Dean of UC Gould School of Law, Dr. Elyn Saks wrote “The Center Will Not Hold,” which spoke about her issues with schizophrenia.
The Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness, which hired two social workers for outreach, has worked tirelessly to help the people they encounter on the streets. They also host community meetings to allow residents to better understand the needs of those who are homeless. Dr. Elyn Saks, an author and law professor at USC, who has schizophrenia and continues to deal with this mental illness, spoke at a May 20 meeting.
Answer: It is a complicated disease in which the mind can convince the person that his or her medication is not needed. When the person cannot function in their home environment, the law does not allow family members to step in and insist on medication. The law also does not allow families the power to remove the mentally ill person from the streets.
Question: What percentage of streets in Pacific Palisades receive an F, when inspected for their surface condition? What is the average grade for Palisades streets?
At the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association annual meeting on May 14, Councilman Mike Bonin said there’s money in the upcoming city budget to begin repairing streets.
“The City gave up on streets that had a D and F,” Bonin told the SMCCA. But in the upcoming City budget, “We’re giving Adel an investment of money for the streets.” (Adel Hagekhail is the new director of the Bureau of Street Services.)
According to Street Services, streets are rated using the Pavement Condition Index (PCI), which rates the physical condition of the street by considering the pavement’s structural and surface operational condition and is based on a 0 to 100 scale. An F grade means the street condition is poor, with the following characteristics:
La Cruz Drive needs to be repaved.
Answer: According to a May 2013 L.A. Times story (“Grading Los Angeles Streets”), 23 percent of the streets in Pacific Palisades (175 out of 769) received a grade of F. (Overall the average for the streets here was a C-.)
Second Answer: We look forward to seeing La Cruz, which resembles a crocodile back, repaved – well, whenever.
Third Answer: CTN has a theory that the City plans to let all the streets deteriorate until they become dirt roads, returning our town to its 1920’s roots.
Regarding the Caruso Encroachment permit, if it is to include the patio areas on Swarthmore that appear to occupy the former sidewalk areas, with the sidewalks now displacing parking and substantially reducing the ability of Swarthmore to host the Farmer’s Market, then the City had best be ready to extend the same benefits to other restaurants and businesses in the village that wish to do the same.
The tables on the sidewalk in front of Erewhon, especially the second row closest to Sunset, should not be allowed to congest that sidewalk.