Last night at the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils annual mixer, the VANC Executive Committee presented their “Best of” awards to following Neighborhood Councils for their excellent work. Congratulations to the following winners!

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“Best of…” Bringing the Community, LAPD, and Business Together to Promote Family Fun and Healthy Exercise
Chatsworth Neighborhood Council

In June 2013, the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council sponsored the first ever COLT BIKE RALLY and Health Walk. COLT stands for Chatsworth Orange Line Tour.

The 19 mile loop extends through Chatsworth, Canoga Park, Reseda, Winnetka, Northridge, Porter Ranch and finally back to the Chatsworth Train Depot. In 2014 it was extended to walkers travelling the 4 mile loop around the Orange Line.

COLT focuses on and attracts local families to learn about the routes and paths, and to see and explore local neighborhoods, teaches bike safety, safe routes for students biking to school, availability of other transportation options and to promote long-term health . Hundreds of kids ride with their parents and there is a good number of trailer-bikes and tricycles.
The LAPD Devonshire Division Bike Patrol accompanied the cyclists throughout the entire route, including the Division’s Chief, Captain Pitcher. They also staffed a booth to sign-up volunteer cyclists for the formation of a Volunteer Bike Patrol (VBP) which is now a model for other divisions.

Along with the exercise, family fun and entertainment, water, breakfast, lunch and other amenities are provided due to the generosity of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council and local sponsors. You could even go home with a new bike, backpack, gift card or gift baskets because every registered participant receives a ticket for items donated by community businesses.

Also available to the participants is a medical team and bike repair along the route. The event opens with welcoming statements from locally elected officials such as Councilmember Mitch Englander and Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who have endorsed the tour and the day ends with lots of smiles for those who participated in this fun event.

The success of COLT is obvious by the participation of the community with 300 Cyclists in 2013, 400 in 2014, and 505 in 2015 and approximately 50 walkers each year, the formation of the Devonshire Division Volunteer Bike Patrol and bringing together all stakeholders of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council to this signature event.
It is our pleasure to present the VANC “Best of…” Award to Chatsworth Neighborhood Council “For Bringing the Community, LAPD, and BusinessTogether to Promote Family Fun and Healthy Exercise”.

“Best of…” Extraordinary Action in a Time of Environmental Disaster
Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council

For more than four months, the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council and its stakeholders dealt with not just a local disaster, but also a story that was told around the world because of its extensive reach and the magnitude of the damage it caused.

When the October 23rd natural gas leak at the Aliso Canyon gas field was discovered, many residents of Porter Ranch had no idea that one of the largest gas storage installations in the country was in the hills above their homes. The eleven Board members of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council pulled together to help the community at a time of one of the most extreme disasters in LA history.

Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council put all its usual business – and even its annual holiday event – on hold while turning full attention to informing stakeholders of the situation through a series of community meetings. The meetings included local, state and federal officials, as well as experts in various aspects of environmental and health issues. Hundreds attended the meetings and were given the opportunity to ask questions and express their concerns.

There were constant newsletters with updates about the status of the leak, news of meetings being scheduled by the Council, as well as updates of meetings that were attended by officers of the Neighborhood Council. Porter Ranch kept in close contact with all its elected officials and got them to work together to offer the best service and protections for the community.

Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council reached out to stakeholders throughout the crisis to ensure that they were informed about such things as the latest status of the leak; the help available for those who needed air filter systems or relocation; how to contact elected officials; and even how to keep LAPD aware of areas where there were many homes unoccupied.

President Paula Cracium became a regular on local media outlets as the scope of the massive gas leak expanded, and as more than 5,000 families were re-located to temporary housing across the Valley, and even beyond the Valley when there was no more room at the inn for those fleeing the effects of the leak.

The Neighborhood Council worked diligently to have input and to share information about the decision to close the two local schools and move about 2,000 students to two campuses a few miles away over the winter holiday break.

Neighborhood Council officers even met with Gov. Jerry Brown at a Board member’s home to discuss how the State could help the community.

The leak was stopped and the damaged well sealed a few weeks ago, but many of the negative effects remain. The Council was allowed to delay their April 2016 election, in large part because so many of their stakeholders had to leave the area. Many have yet to return. Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council continues to keep stakeholders informed and represented.

It is our pleasure to present the VANC “Best of …” Award to the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council “For Extraordinary Action in a time of Environmental Disaster”

“Best of …” Mobilizing the Community to fight Crime and Blight
Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council

Neighborhood Councils actually do make a real difference to a community. What does it take? Neighbor helping neighbor. Police working hand-in-hand with their neighborhood and information being shared.

Last year, Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council was presented with a challenge from two of its Board members who had been fighting prostitution and human trafficking at the Lankershim Boulevard/San Fernando Road Corridor for over 20 years; Cindy Sower and Jesse Torrero were risking their lives trying to make a difference.

Within a few months, a community event was organized with the support of the office of Councilwoman Nury Martinez and Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles to bring hope to residents who had been victims in their own homes because of prostitutes, pimps, gangs and drugs on their streets, and used condoms and needles on the sidewalks.

The Coalition Against Human Trafficking was created. LAPD Foothill Captain Ernest Eskridge spoke on the importance of the community working together. The Coalition includes police officers and the Explorers, the Councilwoman and her entire staff, Neighborhood Services staff, local high school students, business owners and the Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council. “We cannot do it alone” Cindy Sower said.

Some of the ways the neighbors invested in this cause included: installing cameras around their homes, and in an alley that helped the Prostitution Task Force make many arrests; adding outdoor lighting around a business; working together to fight a full liquor license for a restaurant that has a history of problems; putting limits on parking along the end of Lankershim to deter local street vendors, drag racers and illegal activities; and helping police identify and close a marijuana growing house.

In addition, speeding task forces have been added. Sun Valley Graffiti Busters is helping with illegal dumping. Street sweepers now visit the area. And the list is growing!

One resident said, “We are working as a group on Lankershim. The only thing dividing us is the freeway, and we all communicate and work together as a team.”

Outreach by the Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council helped this little community find its voice. Members of the Neighborhood Council opened their hearts, listened to the concerns of the neighbors and reached out to local groups and community members to make Sun Valley a better place to live.

This is a real “win-win” for all involved.

VANC presents the “Best of… Award to Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council for the Best of…“Mobilizing the Community to Fight Crime and Blight.”

“Best of…” Coordinating with City and County Officials to Provide the Homeless with Practical Items and Essential Services.
Sylmar Neighborhood Council

Sometimes BIG ideas come in backpacks.

Sylmar is a wonderful community that has experienced a change. It was subtle at first. Odd tarp structures and clusters of over-filled shopping carts appeared along the freeway, the horse trails, and under the power lines. By September 2014, it was undeniable that the number of Homeless individuals was rapidly expanding in the community, slipping from obscurity into the shopping centers and sidewalks.

After stakeholders and local clergy asked, “What can we do? How do we get them help?” Sylmar Neighborhood Council created the “Homeless/Underserved Committee” chaired by faith-based Board member Peggy Courtney. The Sylmar Neighborhood Council opted in to the homeless count in January 2015 and found more than 400 people in desperate need of help.

As the end of the fiscal year approached, the Sylmar Board voted to spend almost $2,400 to purchase essential items for the homeless. LAHSA and LAFH suggested a list of food and hygiene items. The Neighborhood Council decided to distribute the items in a backpack with the Sylmar Neighborhood Council logo. Students of Concordia Junior/Senior High School helped pack the items.

The problem was: HOW best to distribute the backpacks.

With documentation from the Homeless Count in hand, Sylmar Board members and the Homeless/Underserved Committee members met with City and County officials, advocating for services and help. This led to the planning of a Homeless Services Connect Day for Sylmar.
The backpacks were used as an incentive to bring the chronically homeless and service-resistant to the event. Those who participated in the Coordinated Entry System – the first step in getting a home and appropriate service interventions, such as mental health support and rehabilitation services – “earned” a backpack.

The backpacks were highly treasured by the homeless stakeholders who received them.
The Sylmar Neighborhood Council- initiated project grew out of frustration in how to best spend its funds within the time limits of the City rules. The idea started as a grant to a local food bank but ended up much more ambitious because the Council didn’t have time to take the “easier” route. It became an important Outreach and service event that involved the entire community.

A backpack may seem like a small thing, but it was the BIG idea that provided underserved stakeholders with some practical items along with the respect and kindness for which they hunger.

It is our pleasure to present the Sylmar Neighborhood Council with the VANC “Best of …”Award “For the Best of Coordinating with City and County officials to Provide the Homeless with Practical Items and Essential Services.”

“Best of…” A Long-term Planning Vision and Dedicated Effort
Woodland Hills/Warner Center Neighborhood Council

As soon as the Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council was certified in 2002, they began an assessment of what was needed in their community.

They found that the Warner Center Specific Plan which had been adopted in 1993 was in dire need of updating. The Neighborhood Council members approached the Council Office to undertake a study of the Plan in order to determine a plan of action. The study found that the Plan was out of date and should be updated.

As a result, in 2005 consultants were hired and an Advisory Committee was formed consisting of half Neighborhood Council leaders and half Warner Center property and business leaders with a Neighborhood Council member selected as the Chair.

More than one hundred public meetings were held from 2005 through 2013. It took a total of eight years before the Plan was finally adopted in October 2013. This Plan would not have happened without the tenacity, involvement and hard work of the Woodland Hills/Warner Center Neighborhood Council team. They kept the momentum going with the community throughout those eight years.

The Warner Center 2035 Plan calls for 19,000 multi-family units and 1.4 million square feet of commercial space. It is said that this is the largest specific plan West of the Mississippi.

This Plan intends to create a vibrant transit oriented district and urban center where people can live, work and play. The area will be more walkable and pedestrian friendly, and most significantly, Warner Center will likely become the new downtown for the San Fernando Valley.

As projects are being proposed, the Warner Center 2035 Plan appears to be working.

Thank you Woodland Hills/Warner Center Neighborhood Council for your vision and dedicated efforts in making this Plan happen, for not only your community, but for the Valley as a whole.

We are pleased to present Woodland Hills/ Warner Center Neighborhood Council with the VANC “Best of…” Award for “The Best Long-Term Vision and Dedicated Planning Effort.”