The Hancock Park Homeowners Association discussed housing, crimes and constituent services at annual meeting.
(Beverly Press/Park Labrea News file photo)

The Hancock Park Homeowners Association held its annual meeting on Oct. 16, with members and guests gathering virtually on Zoom to hear about issues affecting the neighborhood.

The homeowners association welcomed Los Angeles City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, 5th District, who outlined her positions on addressing homelessness and building more housing, as well as Assemblyman Rick Zbur Chavez, who discussed his work at the state level, and LAPD Capt. Sonia Monico, of the Wilshire Division, who addressed local crime trends.

HPHOA president Cindy Chvatal-Keane presided over the meeting and asked Yaroslavsky a series of questions, some of which focused on housing. Chvatal specifically sought answers about the council member’s votes on housing projects in single-family residential neighborhoods, and her position on the Housing Element, a plan adopted by the city to add thousands of housing units required by the state over the coming years. Yaroslavsky said she remains steadfastly committed to adding more housing and supports the creation of housing on corridors as opposed to single-family neighborhoods.

“I don’t take any part of my job for granted, and because we’re going to be working together for several years, I want to be clear about what you can expect from me and in turn, what I expect from my constituents so that we can have a really positive and productive relationship,” Yaroslavsky said. “The first thing is transparency. I am who I say I am and when I tell you what I believe, I mean it. That doesn’t mean that we’re always going to agree, but I will always explain my point of view to you. The second thing is responsiveness. I unfortunately have a limited staff, but we do our absolute best to be responsive as quickly as possible. So if you don’t receive an immediate response, it doesn’t mean we’re ignoring you. You have my commitment that we’re going to provide a timely and helpful response to the best of our ability. The third thing is consideration. I’m not an ideologue. I did not come into office to advance a political agenda. I’m here because I’m a problem solver and I’m interested in solving problems on behalf of our community.”

In terms of housing, Chvatal-Keane asked Yaroslavsky to outline why she previously voted yes on a large multifamily development in a single-family neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley in Councilwoman Nithya Raman’s 4th District. Yaroslavsky said there were two reasons. One was Raman supported the project and it is customary for council members to support their colleagues’ wishes because they will need support from those colleagues when votes arise within their own districts. Two, the project in question was proposed during a period when a loophole existed in Mayor Karen Bass’ Executive Directive 1, which fast-tracks affordable housing projects. When the city changed the rules and no longer allowed large multi-family project in residential areas, it tried to overturn permission already given to the developer in the San Fernando Valley. Yaroslavsky said the city would have likely lost a lawsuit brought by the developer, and it would have cost the city a lot of money.

With the Housing Element, Yaroslavsky said she fully supports creating housing on major corridors and said she would fight to protect single-family neighborhoods.

“The state has really, and I know many of you know this, taken away a lot of our local land use authority. The landscape has changed a lot in the last decade and there’s frustration. They have really taken away a lot of the discussion from us and it’s been frustrating because some of my constituents don’t believe me,” Yaroslavsky said. Chvatal-Keane said she was not completely satisfied with Yaroslavsky’s answers, because she said the council member has voted no on similar multi-family projects approved in other parts of the city during the period when the ED1 loophole existed.

“There wasn’t a clear explanation of her vote against them in one district, and approval in another,” she said. “She voted for one in Nithya Raman’s district but against a similar project in Bob Blumenfield’s district.”

Chvatal-Keane was also concerned about how the Housing Element will affect Hancock Park and other single-family neighborhoods.

“I think it’s an open question. Certainly, we want to believe her, but until the question is asked and answered, we are sort of holding our breaths,” Chvatal-Keane said. “We will see what happens when the Housing Elements maps come out, if those overlays into single-family neighborhoods will be lifted.”

Yaroslavsky said she is working with constituents in Hancock Park on other issues, including the prevention of flooding in susceptible areas exposed during recent heavy rainstorms, and repairs to sidewalks and damaged streets. She encouraged residents to get in touch with her office, and her staff will work with them on resolving problems.

Zbur Chavez, who was elected in Nov. 2022, said he is excited to represent Hancock Park and surrounding communities. The assemblyman is working to build more affordable housing and address homelessness throughout the state, and is collaborating with other lawmakers to prevent retail thefts including smash and grab burglaries. Zbur Chavez said he is proud of a bill he authored that was signed into law that will require public school teachers and school staff to undergo LGBTQ+ cultural training. He added that he has busy in the state capital much of the time, but looks forward to opportunities to meet with constituents and hear their concerns.

“I’ve been trying to make up for not being at many of the neighborhood associations, because I’m in Sacramento Monday through Thursday,” he added.

Capt. Monico was joined by Senior Lead Officer Deantre Dantzler at the virtual meeting, and stated that burglaries continue to be a problem in Hancock Park. She cautioned residents to remain vigilant, watch over their neighbors’ properties and to call police if they see anything suspicious.

“We did have an increase in our burglaries this year, especially in the Hancock Park area. We went from 15 and 2022 to 34, and one burglary is one to many for us,” Monico said. “We did see that some of the crime that was occurring on the east side of the division, which is the west side of Olympic Division, has moved over to our area, so we’re in constant communication and our detectives are working with detectives in the Olympic Division to identify and apprehend individuals involved with burglaries in the area.”

Monico encouraged residents to keep windows and doors locked and to use lighting and security cameras as deterrents. The cameras are particularly important because they often show investigators who was involved and help them obtain vehicle license plate numbers, she said.

“We ask that you have cameras in the front of your residences,” she added. “There’s all kinds of systems that have video, but in particular, your residence should have an alarm system that is audible, not only that you hear it inside the residence, but it’s also audible outside so your neighbors can hear the alarm.”