Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info Abbot Kinney news and press releases Abbot Kinney http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/unchained-newsletter-july-2007.asp Dear Venice Unchained Supporter, Good news! The Pinkberry boycott is meeting our goals of heightening awareness and gaining publicity. We were featured in an article on the front page of the California section of the Sunday L.A. Times. We were also on the Channel 7 news and the July 26th Argonaut. Potential chain stores are becoming aware that this neighborhood doesn't want them, and is organized to resist them. Bill Rosendahl's office is supporting us by focusing the Planning Department's attention on this issue. The City Planning Dept. is researching our proposed ordinance and will communicate their findings in September at a public meeting. We are doing our own research with legal and planning experts so that we will be prepared to respond. We will let you know when the meeting is scheduled. We believe it is critical that we gain as many supporters as possible, and we'd like you to help us. There are 40,000 people who live in Venice; let's get every single one of them to sign the petition! Here's what you can do: Print out the OUTREACH FLYER and put one on the doorstep of every house on your block or neighborhood. It’s good exercise! (We have found an 85% response rate when we’ve done this in the past.) To avoid duplicating efforts, email us what blocks you intend to cover and we'll confirm. Thanks for pitching in! Dawn Hollier Melissa Bechtel Melissa Henderson www.veniceunchained.org P.S. We asked the owner of the new building going up on the corner of AK and Venice Blvd. whether the rumors are true that a Starbucks and/or a Pizza Hut will be moving in there. Here's what he wrote: "By way of this email, I confirm that we have no intent to include either a Starbucks or a Pizza Hut in the project at the corner of Venice & Abbot Kinney. I hope this puts to rest any concerns you might have." Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/venicefestboothvolunteers-email2.asp Dear Venice Unchained Supporter, The Abbot Kinney Festival on is Sunday, September 30th, 2007. The previous email had the incorrect date. We have had an abundance of volunteers willing to man the Venice Unchained booth from 12-3pm. Thank you. We could use volunteers from 8am-12pm and between 3pm and 9pm. If you would like to join the fun during those times... Sign Up Here!Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/community-meeting-goldberg-email.asp Dear Supporter, Gail Goldberg, the Director of City Planning, will be holding a Town Hall in Venice. She will make a presentation and answer questions, and Venice Unchained encourages you to attend. Particulars follow. All the best, Dawn Hollier Melissa Bechtel Venice Unchained A Conversation with Gail Goldberg The Venice Neighborhood Council will be sponsoring a Town Hall with Gail Goldberg, AICP on Saturday, November 10, 2007. The event will be held at the Venice High School Auditorium beginning at 9:30 AM and ending at 3:30 PM. Ms. Goldberg, the Director of Planning for the City of Los Angeles, will speak and answer questions from 9:30 to 11:30 followed by lunch and a community discussion on topics raised by her presentation. There is no charge for this event and it is open to all Venice stakeholders. For additional information, please contact Marc Saltzberg, Outreach Officer at outreach@venicenc.org or call 310-606-2015 S. Gail Goldberg was appointed Director of the Los Angeles City Planning Department in February 2006. As director, Ms. Goldberg is responsible for organizing and directing the policies and planning activities of the City’s Planning Department. Those activities include the development, maintenance and implementation of all elements of the City’s General Plan as well as a range of other special zoning plans. Additional responsibilities include plan implementation measures, subdivisions and other controls. Prior to joining the Los Angeles Planning Department, Ms Goldberg worked for 17 years in the Planning Department of the City of San Diego, the last 5 years serving as Planning Director. Her responsibilities included all long range city-wide and community planning. Other responsibilities included Facilities Financing, Transportation Planning, the Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP), and special projects. She oversaw a planning process to update the city’s 20-year-old General Plan. The initial result was the adoption of a strategic framework plan that articulated a 20-year vision for the City and a long-term strategy for achieving that vision known as the “City of Villages” plan. Ms. Goldberg is a native Californian and holds a degree in Urban Studies and Planning from the University of California San Diego. She is an Urban Land Institute Trustee, as well as Past Chair of the San Diego/Tijuana ULI District Council; Immediate Past President of the San Diego Chapter of the Lambda Alpha Honorary Land Economics Society; a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners; and a member of the California Planners Roundtable. Ms. Goldberg has also served on the Statewide Coordinating Committee for the Urban Land Institute’s California Smart Growth Initiative; as a board member of the American Planning Association; and as co-chair of the State American Planning Association 2002 Conference. Date & Time: Saturday, November 10, 2007 from 9:30am to 3:30pm Location: Venice High School Auditorium, 13000 Venice Blvd. Venice, CA 90291 Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/planning-meeting-email.asp Dear Supporter, There's a super important meeting coming up, with a chance for community members to speak. The attached findings, prepared by the Planning Department over several months, will be presented by them to the Planning and Land Use Committee (PLUM) on TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 20, 2:00 pm BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS EDWARD R. ROYAL HEARING ROOM 350, CITY HALL 200 NORTH SPRING STREET, LOS ANGELES, CA 90012 There is pricey parking in the LA Mall across the street, and parking to the east and/or southeast of City Hall that is hopefully not too expensive. Don't have time to read the findings? Here's the nutshell for you: "The Department acknowledges that uniquely designed independently owned businesses play a major role in building strong communities that are sustainable community centers." It goes on to identify three significant impacts of Formula Retail Establishments: standardization of commercial storefronts, signage that is out of context with the community; and erosion of the community pedestrian scale. They are proposing limitations on signage and storefronts,as well as lot consolidation. PLUM will give the Planning Department direction on how to proceed, which will most probably include holding a series of public meetings and developing specific land use recommendations for Abbot Kinney and Ocean Front Walk. Planning anticipates reporting back to PLUM in 6 to 9 months with their completed recommendations. If anyone is interested in carpooling to this meeting please contact us, letting us know if you are a driver or passenger. Keep it real, Dawn and Melissa Venice Unchained Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/venice-unchained-tshirts-holidays.asp The perfect gift for that special someone! Order now, only $17 includes tax and delivery. Progress Update: On November 20 Venice Unchained and other community members spoke before the Planning and Land Use Committee at L.A. city hall. The committee instructed the Planning Department to come back in three months with further research and recommendations. Planning will host some community meetings during that time, starting in January...they want to hear your thoughts on how best to preserve the cultural authenticity and economic vitality of Abbot Kinney and Ocean Front Walk. Stay tuned! We wish you a happy and healthy holiday season. Dawn and Melissa Venice Unchained Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/feb-meeting.asp Dear VU Supporter: The ball is in the Planning Department's court, and it has lost some air. At this point, Planning is only considering design standards for Abbot Kinney and Ocean Front Walk, not the ordinance we have been championing. Venice Unchained has asked the Director of Planning, Gail Goldberg, to explain why Bill Rosendahl's motion to limit formula retail has essentially been reduced to signage restrictions. When she responds we will e-mail you. Planning is hosting a community meeting to get feedback: Wednesday, February 20, 2008, 6:00-8:00 pm Westminster Elementary School 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291 (Walk-ins welcome or rsvp to Christine.Mahfouz@lacity.org or call 213-978-1175) Planning says they want community input. Let's give it to them! Thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, Dawn Hollier Melissa Bechtel P.S. Can't make the meeting? You can support us by buying a shirt!Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/feb-meeting-2.asp Dear Supporter, The Planning Department is now saying that they are open to researching all options. We are delighted to hear this. Below are our main questions for Planning, followed by the e-mail from the Director. We encourage you to bring your own questions and comments on Wednesday night. February 20, 2008, 6:00-8:00 pm Westminster Elementary School 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291 Regards, Dawn Hollier Melissa Bechtel Questions for Planning: 1) San Francisco has in place an effective plan to limit formula retail. Its basic description of formula retail is the same as in our petition. May we see the results of your research into this, including budgetary and legal considerations, as well as your evaluation of how that approach would work for L.A.? Is it your opinion that it is not discriminatory and does not violate the US Constitution's commerce and equal protection clauses, and is a valid use of municipal authority under California state law? 2) What is the possibility of re-zoning Abbot Kinney to require ground-floor businesses? (Current zoning allows for 100% residential, and there is a concern that our ordinance would tip building owners to close up storefronts.) 3) On November 20, 2007 PLUM gave your department three months to do your research and give recommendations. Can you update us as to the actual amount of time this process will take, and stick to it? Here is the e-mail from the Planning Director: Thank you for your concern and hard work on the issue of Formula Retail. The Planning Department looks forward to working with you and the community. We, too, want to help the Venice Community be an economically viable and pleasant place to live, work and visit. As you mentioned, on February 20, 2008 from 6-8 pm at the Westminster Elementary School the Planning Department will be hosting the first small (but maybe large) group meeting to discuss Formula Retail on Abbot Kinney and Ocean Front Walk. This meeting is the first step towards developing a viable solution for the iconic Venice commercial boulevards. The Planning Department is open to all comments and suggestions and will research all options discussed at the meeting. We look forward to developing policy upon the foundation of these suggestions and discussions. Community Planner Christine Mahfouz has been researching other municipalities in an effort to understand all the issues you have addressed in the prior e-mail and she will be prepared to answer your questions and concerns at the upcoming meeting. I hope this clarifies the Department's intention. Again, I appreciate all of your efforts. Thank you, Gail S. Gail Goldberg, AICP Planning Director City of Los Angeles 200 N. Spring Street Rm. 525 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Phone 213-978-1271 Fax 213-978-1275 Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/pinkberry-to-close.asp Dear Supporter, We are happy to report that the Pinkberry's last day is Sunday, May 2. We like to think that Pinkberry's exodus will give other chains pause before opening on Abbot Kinney. As you know, we have boycotted this chain since it opened in the summer of 2007. A server at the store recently said that the store was closing in part because the neighborhood "didn't embrace us". And about 18 months ago the Pinkberry owner, Patrick Cheh, wrote this to us, "we have customers coming into nearby located pinkberry stores and telling us that they live near abbot kinney's location but they want to support their neighbor's movement by boycotting venice location." Venice Unchained is a No Shame organization, we embrace everyone, we just want to protect our neighborhood's INCOME and INDIVIDUALITY. We send warm wishes to Mr. Cheh for success with his other Pinkberry outlets and in all his future endeavors. We would welcome and support any independent business he might want to open on Abbot Kinney with JOY. As for the status of the ordinance, it is currently stalled in the Planning Department due to severe budget and staff cutbacks. We want to thank all of the 5,000 VENICEUNCHAINED.ORG petition signers and send a special shout out to those who invested their time and energy to collect signatures and leaflet for the boycott. Your dedication paid off. And if you would let us impose on you once again, please help us double our numbers so that as a group we will be more capable of meaningful action when the currents shift in the future. There is strength in numbers. Please forward this e-mail to your friends with a request to sign the petition. Or connect with us on facebook. Action is needed. Thank you! Sincerely, Dawn Hollier and Melissa BechtelThu, 23 Aug 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/venicefestboothvolunteers.asp Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/venicefestboothvolunteers-email.asp Dear Venice Unchained Supporter, We need volunteers to man our booth at the Abbot Kinney Festival on Sunday, September 30th, 2007. Participants will talk to community members and tourists about our goals, sell T-shirts, circulate the petition, and handout a flyer detailing why the ordinance is needed. Sign Up Here!Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/unchained-newsletter-june-2007.asp Dear Supporter, There is a more vibrant and visible street scene on Abbot Kinney than ever before, and increased parking coming soon. Unfortunately, these conditions are ideal for the chains to pounce. The first chain store on Abbot Kinney is already open. Pinkberry’s backlit corporate logo and scripted service are already poisoning the street's authentic look and feel. Left unchecked, the chains will also hurt the community by squeezing out small businesses, exporting profits, and killing the neighborhood’s identity. We believe that the fun and funky nature of our community is worth saving. Will you help us? A Brief History of Venice Unchained We first brought our plan for an ordinance banning chain stores from Abbot Kinney and Ocean Front Walk to Councilman Bill Rosendahl 22 months ago. He stated his support for our cause and asked us to gather more community support, which would give teeth to his motion to pass the ordinance. This we did--almost 3,000 people have now signed the petition. The Venice Chamber of Commerce and Venice Neighborhood Council enthusiastically support us, as do most of the merchants in the Abbot Kinney District Association. Now for the bad news: someone in Rosendahl’s office misinformed us about the approval process and how long it would take. We were told the ordinance would be passed by now and we believed it. We are now told that the motion that Bill introduced this past February is being studied by the Planning Department and City Attorney’s office, who will report to the planning subcommittee of the city council (PLUM). PLUM will come back with recommendations and the council will discuss and then (hopefully) vote to pass it. We have been told by Rosendahl’s Planning Deputy that this process realistically takes 1 to 2 years. This timeframe is unacceptable to us, and we believe that our collective commitment can affect a quicker outcome. The city bureaucracy must be made to understand that time is our enemy. Remember, any chain store in place once the ordinance is signed into law can’t be kicked out. A Call to Action We are planning a major campaign to save Abbot Kinney. We have a two-pronged approach: 1) boycott Pinkberry in order to stop new chains from opening as we 2) work on progressing the ordinance quickly into law. We urgently need lawyers and community leaders—people with experience in local government—to get this ordinance on the fast track. And we need this boycott to garner enough media attention and support from the public to deter potential chains and their prospective landlords from signing the next lease. (Pinkberry has 20 stores open, and will have over 100 by the end of the year...and that's just the West Coast.) We will be evaluating the collective response to this e-mail to see if we have enough critical mass to move forward with the campaign. Pooling our skills and resources will be the key to success. You can start by forwarding this e-mail to everyone on your list, and printing copies to be placed in all the mailboxes on your block (this has received an amazing 85% response rate in the past). Please go to our website to submit ideas and suggestions, and to volunteer your skills as well as to leaflet outside the Pinkberry. We did this last Sunday afternoon for an hour or so, and deterred several potential customers. Others said they would honor the boycott in the future. We had fun leafleting and met a lot of new people. If enough of us sign up to leaflet in one or two-hour shifts, we could cover all or most of Pinkberry’s hours (11am to 11pm every day). We also hope to enlist the neighborhood merchants…what if every store had a “Proud supporter of the Pinkberry boycott” sign in its window? Venice Unchained appreciates your assistance in whatever form it takes. We are two working moms with limited time or activist experience, but who are fervently committed to preserving the spirit of Venice. We are honored to be a part of this wonderful community, and we believe that with community anything is possible. See you at our booth at Venice Fest on June 24! Support Abbot Kinney's merchants by attending First Fridays (next one is July 6). Click here for comments from the owner of the Pinkberry building. Best regards, Dawn Hollier and Melissa Bechtel http://www.veniceunchained.orgTue, 12 Jun 2007 12:13:03 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/suzy-frank-comments.asp In the summer of 2007, the first chain store opened on Abbot Kinney: Pinkberry frozen yogurt. We immediately organized a boycott, spending many hours in front of the store handing out flyers about the boycott and collecting petition signatures. Less than 3 years later, Pinkberry closed due in large part to the lack of community support. Of course not everyone supported the boycott--below are comments from Suzy Frank, the building owner who leased to Pinkberry. At the start of the boycott we contacted Suzy Frank of Abbot Kinney Realty who owns the Pinkberry building and asked for her support. This is what she e-mailed to us: Sorry but I don't get involved in politics. Yes, Pinkberry was not a chain store when the lease was signed over a year ago. Thank you for continuing concern about the boulevard. We asked her if she cared to add anything to her quote for our supporters, and this was her reply: In the short time that Pinkberry has been open, it has increased foot traffic on Abbot Kinney. Foot traffic is good for merchants, and what Is good for merchants is good for the street. In my opinion, it would be a shame to do anything that in any way inhibits Pinkberry's opportunity to do business. Many of the local merchants have come to thank me personally because their business has increased significantly, therefore, helping the small business owner stay in business. Another way to address this issue is to ask the question --- Are people more or less likely to come to Abbot Kinney because Pinkberry is open? Let's say for example, Surfing Cowboys, Family Garden, French 50-60's etc... due to it's success on Abbot Kinney were to open a store in San Diego or anywhere else for that matter, and then due to it's success in it's new location open a third and then fourth store in other locations, would that diminish it's value as part of the eclectic mix of retail stores on the street? This same question can be asked of any other retail establishment on Abbot Kinney Blvd. Venice Unchained responds: Suzy states that what is good for merchants is good for the street. Corporate chains often pay higher rents and undercut the local independent store owner on pricing, eventually driving out smaller businesses. We believe that building owners can get a fair return on their investment while balancing the needs of the merchants and of the community at large. Once a neighborhood turns there is no going back! As for whether or not more people will come to AK because of Pinkberry, we believe the answer ultimately is no. Venice is L.A.'s number 2 tourist destination precisely because nothing like it exists anywhere else. Pinkberry as a franchiser is exploding, and there will soon be Pinkberrys everywhere. (One is coming this fall to Main Street.) If the chains take over our street, people will no longer have a reason to come here, as the unique character of AK will be gone. If Surfing Cowboys, Family Garden, or French 50’s-60's were to open other stores in the region, their value on AK would be undiminished. They would still not be defined as a chain store for the purposes of the ordinance as their products and service are not standardized. The ordinance will set a minimum number of locations (typically 5 to 12) for a business to be considered a chain. We are encouraging the city council to model the ordinance after the one in place in Coronado, which has held up in court. It defines a chain this way: “Formula Retail" means a type of retail sales activity or retail sales establishment (other than a "formula fast food restaurant") which is required by contractual or other arrangement to maintain any of the following: standardized ("formula") array of services and/or merchandise, trademark, logo, service mark, symbol, decor, architecture, layout, uniform, or similar standardized feature. Sun, 10 Jun 2007 22:59:44 GMT http://veniceunchained.org/pr/ak/info/news.asp We are dedicated to preserving the unique character of Venice by enacting an ordinance that would prohibit chain stores from invading Abbott Kinney Boulevard and Ocean Front Walk. We are seeking public support. By signing our petition, you can show the city council that you support the idea of banning chains from these vital districts. In addition, if you would like the ban to include all of Venice you can indicate that on the petition. Many communities have enacted this kind of ordinance. In California, they include Arcata, Calistoga, Carmel,Coronado, Pacific Grove, San Francisco, Sausalito and Solvang. To find out more about the specific ordinances in those communities, click here. More useful information about preserving community character can be obtained from the Institute for Local Self Reliance and New Rules website. Sign the petition! Tell your friends!Sat, 12 May 2007 12:13:04 GMT