Red Car Property: Lupines Near Adelbert

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 29, 2010. It is very unusual to see lupines this late in the season. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Corralitas Drive: Pepe le Pew

Photo: T. Glynn. May 27, 2010. Pepe le Pew is a handsome skunk. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Property: THEM!

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 21, 2010. California Harvester Ant carrying a piece of non-native Wild Radish. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

While stopping to pull foxtails out of my socks the other day, I noticed two Harvester Ants struggling to move a piece of Wild Radish seed pod, many times larger than the ants. Now these are already substantial sized ants. I was quite impressed when one ant finally just pushed the second ant away and carried the prize easily by himself.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 21, 2010. California Harvester Ants are a indication of good biodiversity on the Red Car Property near Adelbert. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Harvester Ants are a native species and should not be confused with Red Imported Fire Ants. Harvester Ants are NOT aggressive. I've read Environmental Impact Reports citing the presence of Harvester Ants as an "indicator species." In other words, their presence is a sign of good biodiversity of the land.

Last year, while shooting a lot of wildflower photos on the Adelbert end of the Red Car Property, I discovered these ants seem to choose different seeds and debris based on what is currently drying up or blooming. They even had a lichen farm for a few weeks last year.

Red Car Property: Name This Plant

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 21, 2010. This unusual plant is about to bloom on the plateau above the historic viaduct footings. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Click here for last year's photo of the same plant. It tends grow on sunny flat areas near the base of slopes on the Red Car Property. If you can help identify this, or any other mystery plant, send us an email: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

Red Car Property: Name That Scat

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 21, 2010. Wild animal scat near the Adelbert cut through from the Red Car Property. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

How do you know it's from a wild animal? It is in the middle of a trail, and it doesn't look like the animal stopped as it was a trail of poop. Domestic dogs and cats tend to stop and move over to the side of the road. It didn't look large enough to be from a coyote. There were no discernible tracks nearby.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 21, 2010. Same pile, different angle. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Why should you care? Developers like to think the animals we have in the neighborhood are just standard urban wildlife. While raccoons, skunks and coyotes are expected in this neighborhood; gray fox and bobcats do live in the area, but are rarely seen, much less photographed.

If you know what animal left this behind, send us an email: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

Corralitas Public Staircase: Gopher Snakes*

Corralitas Public Staircase, 2nd landing, May 26, 2010, 10:45 AM.

A neighbor sent an email this morning with this photo of a beautiful, 3'-long, gopher snake. The neighbor also said there was a second snake, about the same size, in the grass adjacent to the staircase, just below this snake. It is unusual to have snake sightings this late in the day. The mild weather must be contributing to their activity.

Gopher snakes are generally harmless and should be left alone to help control the gopher, rat and mouse populations. We've had a few snake sightings on Corralitas in the past few weeks.

There are recent reports of rattlesnake sightings in Elysian Park, see: The Eastsider LA.

Keep sending us your neighborhood wildlife encounter photos: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

*UPDATE June 1, 2010: another neighbor saw a 2 1/2 - 3' gopher snake near the same part of the Corralitas Public Staircase, around noon today.

Red Car Property: Tales of Trail Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 2004. Red Car Property (south of Fletcher) includes City Historic Landmark #770, Pacific Electric Red Car Viaduct Footings. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

NOTE: ALL PHOTOS IN THIS POST ARE OF THE RED CAR PROPERTY, SOUTH OF FLETCHER, NOT OF THE MENLO PROPERTY. Click here for map.

I received a forwarded email with, "We've lost the Red Car Trail" in the subject line. So I felt it necessary to clarify the two parts of the "Red Car Trail" to readers who may not be aware of the different portions of the Red Car Trail corridor through our Silver Lake neighborhood.

The email was from Friends of Griffith Park, who supported the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy's (SMMC) appeal of the 120-unit condo development on the Menlo Property (north of Fletcher), for failure to include a trail per the Community Plan. We spent much of the last few weeks talking about the Menlo Property on this blog.

Friends of Griffith Park referred to the Menlo Property as the "Red Car Trail." Long-time community activists remember when the trail corridor was chosen by community leaders because the old Red Car right-of-way made a good trail through the community.

JUST TO BE CLEAR: We have NOT lost the trail on the Red Car Property, south of Fletcher to the 2 Freeway at Corralitas Drive - yet. We have lost the trail north of Fletcher, on the Menlo Property.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 19, 2009. The Big Parade toured part of the Red Car Property between Adelbert and the historic viaduct footings. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Both the Menlo Property and the (Corralitas) Red Car Property are part of the El Pueblo Trail. Both properties were in the Pacific Electric Red Car Trolley right-of-way for the Glendale Line. Both properties were connected by the Fletcher Viaduct.

Last week, the City Council denied the SMMC's appeal for the Menlo Property. (There is still another appeal pending for related approvals on the Menlo Property, at the East Area Planning Commission on June 9, 2010.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 20, 2010. Red Car Canyon shows what 50 years of growth can add to a park-like setting. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Red Car Property (south of Fletcher) is also private property. Since 1955, the community has used it as a trail. CD13 continues to support our efforts in creating a public trail on the Red Car Property between Corralitas Drive and Fletcher, as it links a large part of the neighborhood to the LA River and eventually the 18-Acre Elysian Park Parcel. There is also potential to connect via a bike trail to the planned park at the 2 Freeway Terminus. Plus, the trail on the Red Car Property stands alone as a well-used recreational resource.

Between 1955 and 1987, the Menlo Property was used similarly as a trail. However, the history of neglect of the Menlo Property prevented all but wildlife from making full use of the trail corridor since 1987. (The Menlo Property is currently in CD4.)
Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 24, 2009. The Red Car Property meadow at Corralitas Drive and the 2 Freeway. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Red Car Property and the Corralitas Red Car Property are the same piece of land. For decades, developers only wanted to develop the southern end of the Red Car Property at Corralitas Drive. It was often referred to as the "Corralitas Property." Once we learned of the history of the neighborhood, we rebranded it as the Corralitas Red Car Property.

Corralitas Drive is still the easiest access to the property for people driving to it. If you're on foot, the neighborhood connects via sidewalks and public staircases at numerous places along the mile-long property.

See also: The Legacy of Failed Development

Red Car Property: Native Spanish Lotus

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 21, 2010. Spanish Lotus (Lotus purshianus) is a low, ground cover-type native plant blooming near Adelbert and above the viaduct footings. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Click here to see our neighborhood native plant catalog.

Red Car Property: Ruins

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 21, 2010. South of the Silver Lake Ave Public Staircase. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Property: Golden Stars

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 21, 2010. Native Golden Stars (Bloomeria crocea) are blooming on the slope below Adelbert. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Click here for all our neighborhood native plants.

Corralitas Drive: Skunk Tales

Photo: T. Glynn, May, 19, 2010. "Pepe" visiting a neighbor's yard.

This young, shiny, fluffy skunk has been visiting T. Glynn's yard regularly in the early evenings. "Pepe" has a distinctively wide swath of white fur on his back. (Skunks actually have wide variations in their stripe patterns.) Pepe looks like the same skunk I watched spray my neighbor's dog atop Corralitas Drive, a few weeks ago.

Skunks are omnivores. They particularly love flower bulbs. One neighbor couldn't plant bulbs in his garden because skunks would dig them up before they even sprouted. Skunks even used to dig bulbs out of our flower pots.

When Crazycatlady lived next door, "Petunia" used to have litters of baby skunks behind the dryer in her garage.

Don't try this at home:
One night, while locked out of the house, a neighbor learned first hand, just how friendly Petunia was. While sitting on the doorstep, reading a book, awaiting the arrival of a spare key, the neighbor heard insistent sneezing at her feet. Peering cautiously over the book, she found a skunk repeatedly sneezing and stamping its feet. Unsure of what this behavior meant in skunk language, the neighbor remained calm and didn't move.

The business end of the skunk was pointed away from her. After a few minutes of the sneezing and stamping, the neighbor cautiously stuck an index finger toward the skunk's head. Petunia moved forward and rubbed her head on the finger. The neighbor proceeded to calmly scratch the skunk's head with just the one finger, not daring to move any other muscle. A few minutes later, satisfied, Petunia moved on to her nightly rounds.

Corralitas Drive: Raptor Drama

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 20, 2010, 10:33 AM. A crow circles a small hawk in my neighbor's tree. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Yesterday, I heard a hawk calling rather urgently, sounding like it was right outside my house. I grabbed my camera and went out to the street. I watched as two small crows, who are usually harassed by the mockingbirds, harassed a small hawk near the top of my neighbor's pine tree.

Unfortunately, this is the only shot of the hawk. It appears to be puffing out its feathers attempting to appear larger. I don't think that's prey hanging from its mouth, since it was calling.

The hawk was about the size of the crows, which are quite small for crows. It was too small to be a Red Tail, and too large for a Kestrel. It may have been one of the elusive Cooper's Hawks (frequently seen flying among the trees in Red Car Canyon). When the hawk flew into my neighbor's dense Eucalyptus tree a few seconds later, I noticed horizontal stripes on the underside of its tail. It may be a Cooper's Hawk.

For a great shot of a Cooper's Hawk, see Will Campbell's blog, [sic].

Menlo Property: 212+ Grading Days

Photo: Clarence Inman Collection, circa 1987. Grading for the Riverglen Apartments on Riverside Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

According to the conditions of approval for 120 condos on the Menlo Property, developers estimate exporting 63,500 cubic yards of earth, a total of 20 trips per day for a duration of 212 days. That's just the export. They'll be digging out the entire slope and building giant retaining walls.

Developers couldn't understand why the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Urban Design & Preservation Advisory Committee insisted on grading activities only occurring Monday through Friday. It's going to take years to build this turkey.

Ten months is probably a conservative estimate on the export. The estimated 6 month slope stabilization on the Menlo Property took 18 months starting in 2001. Good times ahead.

Menlo Property: City Council Voted Today*

Photo: August 13, 2009. There's room for a trail behind the Sam Menlo owned Riverglen Apartments. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy's appeal of the 120 unit condo development for the Menlo Property goes to a vote in City Council today. The City failed to require a General Plan Amendment to remove the trail from the property despite the trail being in the Community Plan since its inception in 1984.

If the City fails to require a Plan Amendment, it will set precedent for planned trails to be easily removed from future developments without going through the required public process.

See also:
Today's LA Times
Menlo Property: Political No Man's Land

*UPDATE: The appeal was denied on the consent agenda.

Menlo Property: Political Theater

Photo: August 13, 2009. Menlo Property looking toward Griffith Park and LA River. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

At last week's PLUM hearing for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy's (SMMC) appeal of the City's decision to approve 120 units on the Menlo Property without requiring a trail, City Councilmember Tom LaBonge made quite an entrance at the end of the hearing. Waving a map of his district, he testified that the equestrian trail should be moved to the east bank of the LA River. He admitted having no idea how to get the horses back across the river to Elysian Park. The SMMC nor the public was allowed to comment further in the hearing on LaBonge's proposal.

The El Pueblo Trail is called an "equestrian trail" in the Community Plan. The 1968 Equestrian Trails Master Plan for the City encourages hikers to use equestrian trails, as it makes them safer. It shows a general alignment in the area, though not as specific as the Community Plan, first adopted in 1984.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 23, 2007. Horses on the El Pueblo Trail, Red Car Property at Corralitas Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Removing the trail, an element of the Community Plan, from the proposed Menlo Property development, would set precedent in our neighborhood, affecting any future trail easement on the Corralitas Red Car Property (south of Fletcher). It would also allow planned trails throughout the City to be ignored when ever a developer decides they don't want the trail on their property. It is an affront to Community Planning.


Photo: John Waiblinger, July 24, 2009. Horses on the LA River north of Los Feliz.

Moving the trail to the other side of the LA River may have merit, however, it needs to be properly vetted in a public process, via a General Plan Amendment with regard to the Menlo Property development proposal. Not only that, if this is a real proposal to move the trail to the other side of the river, it needs to through a public process with all of the involved neighborhoods and associated Community Plans on both sides of the river.

You can't just pick up the trail and move it arbitrarily.

The SMMC appeal is on the City Council Agenda Wednesday, May 19, 2010.

Corralitas Drive: Gardening With Natives

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 9, 2010. Native Wild Hyacinth (long stem purple flowers) grows in my neighbor's front steps. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

A few years ago, my neighbor dropped Native Wild Hyacinth seeds in the cracks in his staircase. They've reseeded themselves ever since. The seeds were originally gathered from the Hyacinth growing near the Corralitas Public Staircase. His flowers come up later than those on the public staircase (which bloom in late February).

Click here for our neighborhood native plant catalog.

Corralitas Public Staircase: RIP Snake

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 15, 2010. Top of Corralitas Public Staircase, 6:24 PM. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Looks like the 2-foot long snake fell victim to a bird of prey or some other predator. The head had been ripped off and there were talon-sized puncture wounds in the dead snake. See also: Snake vs Hawk.

Indeed the Corralitas Public Staircase is living up to its dangerous reputation.

Corralitas Public Staircase: Coyotes

Photo: L. Nobles, May 10, 2010, 6:30 AM. Coyotes camouflage well with the dry grass near the Corralitas Public Staircase. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Last Monday, a neighbor sent this photo shot with a cell phone. The neighbor was driving under the 2 Freeway on Rosebud Ave. A pair of coyotes were having breakfast on the slope adjacent the Corralitas Public Staircase.

The neighbor wrote, "I watched them from my car for a minute and after they watched me for a minute they went back to their business--which was ripping apart a bloody carcass. Hope no one is missing a cat!"

I immediately sent word out to the hill's email list. Several neighbors expressed concern about Bojangles, a tabby cat who frequents their backyards. Luckily, Bojangles was wisely laying low for the rest of the day. Bojangles was waiting for his owner at the front door, when she returned home that night.

No one else reported missing animals, so it may have been a gopher, rat or other wildlife. There was nothing left of the kill when I checked at 7AM, the same morning.

Coyotes will be common with or without a wildlife corridor in this neighborhood. Large swaths of open space, as we have in this neighborhood, help coyotes eat a more balanced diet of wild prey sources rather than just trash and pets. For more on living with coyotes and other wildlife, see: City Dept. of Animal Services' website.

Editor's note: Ordinarily, I would have posted this the same day received, but the Menlo Property took too much of my time last week. Send us your neighborhood wildlife encounters: redcarproperty@gmail.com. Never attempt to feed or touch wildlife.

Riverside Place: Squatters & A Sad Story

Photos: May 15, 2010. "Injoiable Industries" sign went up on a house on Riverside Place in the past month.

Thursday, I got an email from a Red Car Property neighbor, with photos of a County warning notice. Neighbors told of late night gay porn being made at this house on Riverside Place. The County had just placed trespass warning notices, sealing the entrances to the house yesterday.

Since it was twilight and the photos were dark, the neighbor followed up with additional photos today. The seals were broken since yesterday. The neighbor talked to neighbors and called the phone number on the County notice and spoke to Michael Enriquez in County Administration, reporting the broken seals.

Sadly, the elderly neighbor who owned and lived in the home since the days of the Red Car Trolleys, moved to a nursing home four years ago. When the house recently sold at County auction, neighbors thought the longtime owner passed away. It turns out, the homeowner is alive and under public guardian.

The County officially sold the property and is about to close escrow. Apparently, when the new owner went to do an inspection, he found squatters or remnants of squatters, and had the County board it up and remove the squatters' belongings last week.

Another neighbor witnessed the LAPD and another man breaking through a padlock on May 7. A few days ago, by chance, I reviewed the LAPD crime maps on the LAPD website and noticed a "residential burglary" on Riverside Place, reported May 7. I made a note to ask neighbors about it. Yet, when I checked the LAPD crime maps yesterday, while sending out a neighborhood watch notice, the May 7 burglary was missing. I guess the squatters called the police when their stuff was cleared out, and the paperwork has since caught up between the agencies.

Enriquez, the County administrator, said they had just boarded it up yesterday, May 13, at least a week since it had been reported as a squat. Clearly a paper notice is not enough to keep squatters out. If you see additional activity at the house, call the police, no one should be on the premises at his time.

Menlo Property: Homeless

Photo: Diane. Edwardson, November 5, 2009. Menlo Property at the southernmost driveway of the River Glen Apartments. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

At Tuesday's PLUM hearing, neighbors who spoke against the appeal filed by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, complained about the homeless problems on the Menlo Property. Yet those same neighbors don't seem to understand that Sam Menlo never took action to remove homeless from his property until the LAPD and the City Attorney persuaded him to do something about it.

For years, a large homeless encampment (not the one pictured above) festered behind and in full view of the Menlo & Century Quality Management owned River Glen Apartments on Riverside Drive. In 2004, LAPD Senior Lead Officer Al Polehonki had to haul away 6 tons of encampment material, including a meth lab.

The calls do something about the encampment came from the community, not Menlo, nor his on-site manager. Menlo has a history of neglect of not just his Silver Lake property, but of many of his apartments, nursing homes and board & care facilities.

Photo: August 13, 2009. Behind the River Glen Apts on Glendale Blvd, near Riverside Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The fence designed to keep bad people out of Menlo's River Glen Apartments kept the LAPD out. It took quite some time to even determine who owned the land. A neighborhood activist and realtor had to check property records to determine the lot lines.

No one could believe the apartment management would allow this to occur directly next to the building, let alone on their own property. Again, the City Attorney had to threaten Menlo with criminal negligence to dismantle the homeless encampment. Menlo often pleads ignorance of his management staff's deeds.

Photo: August 13, 2009. The LAPD cleared out 6 tons of encampment and a meth lab from this site behind the Menlo owned River Glen Apartments in 2004. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The large encampment was protected by the barbed wire topped chain link fence. Of course, you could just go around the fence by walking up the hill, or through the gap near the apartments on Glendale Blvd, or approaching from the southern end of the buildings.

Tenants don't use the open space because there is no way to reach the lot without climbing up and over retaining walls from the River Glen Apartments. Unlike the Red Car Property, south of Fletcher, neighbors don't routinely use the Menlo Property as a trail, so the homeless were protected by neighbors' respect for fences and Menlo's disrespect of the community.

Guess those neighbors supporting anything Menlo wants to build, didn't live here in 2004, or even the 1990s.

Menlo Property: Consultant Thinks Wildlife Can't Get Around 2 Freeway

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 22, 2010. The Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract rises above the 2 Freeway in the background. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

At Tuesday's PLUM hearing of Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy's appeal of the City's approval of 120 condo units on the Menlo Property, the consultant who conducted a biological review (paid for by Menlo), stated wildlife can't move between Griffith and Elysian Parks because of the 2 Freeway.

Perhaps he missed the past week's posts on snakes and coyotes.

If wildlife were trapped by the 2 Freeway, then about 100 residents of Corralitas Drive would be trapped too.

Rosebud Ave goes under the 2 Freeway. It is the only way to reach Corralitas Drive by car. Wildlife routinely use Rosebud, under the 2 Freeway, moving between the Corralitas Red Car Property and Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract.

True, neighborhood maps are confusing. The El Pueblo Trail, as marked by horseshoes in the Community Plan map, uses Rosebud to link the Corralitas Red Car Property to the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract and further to Elysian Park.

The Legacy of Failed Development is another argument for promoting wildlife and trail use of these parcels.

Menlo Property: Round 3 Goes to Menlo. Next Stop: City Council, May 19, 2010

Silver Lake -Echo Park Community Plan map page from 12-90, shows a planned equestrian trail (U-shaped trail markings start at Glendale Blvd & Riverside Drive moving south under the 2 Frwy toward Elysian Park). (Click on map to enlarge.)

Yesterday, City Council's Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee denied the appeal by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC). The SMMC appealed the City's decision to approve 120-unit market-rate condo development for failure to include a trail dedication per the Silver Lake - Echo Park - Elysian Valley Community Plan.

The City is setting a bad precedent by not requiring a General Plan Amendment. Any planned trail can now be deemed "random," and thus ignored by developers without a formal Plan Amendment process.

It reeked of the "Chewbacca Defense." The legal consultant for convicted slumlord Sam Menlo & Century Quality Management, in both his written rebuttal and testimony at the PLUM hearing, kept repeating that the trail markings on the Community Plan map were "random." He never offered any evidence to prove the trail markings were "random." (If you say it enough times, it must be so.)

I presented evidence proving the trail markings in the SL-EP-EV Community Plan were indeed intentionally placed and had not moved since the plan was first adopted in 1984 by City Council. Community members who participated in the 1983 El Pueblo Trail alignment study and the original Community Plan provided written and verbal testimony to PLUM.

Despite credible substantial evidence, not one of the PLUM Committee members even questioned the "randomness" of said trail.

You can be sure, if the tables were turned and a community member insisted a Plan element was "random," the community member would have to present an unbelievable amount of evidence and they would still find for the developer.

The trail on the old version of the Community Plan (above) matches the current version exactly. It's also described as following the old Red Car rights-of-way in the Plan text as well as in a 1983 memo from the SMMC. No one denies the Menlo Property is an old Red Car right-of-way. Yet, the trail markings are "random."

The case goes to the full City Council for a vote on May 19, 2010.

Menlo Property: Red Car Property Connection

Photo: Diane Edwardson, 2004. Shot from the public walkway between Waverly Public Staircase and public staircase to HOME Restaurant. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Griffith Park to El Pueblo Trail runs along the hills above Riverside Drive, following the old Pacific Electric right of way between Glendale Blvd and the 2 Freeway. The trail between Fletcher and the 2 Freeway (which we refer to interchangeably as the Corralitas Red Car Property or the Red Car Property) is well-used and connected to the neighborhood by a number of streets and public staircases.

Sam Menlo, convicted slumlord, and his Century Quality Management were approved by City Planning to build 120 unit condo development on Riverside Drive, north of Fletcher, along with a zone variance for their existing apartment building on Riverside Drive.

Today, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is appealing the decision for failure to require the trail in the Menlo Property development per the Silver Lake - Echo Park - Elysian Valley Community Plan. The City Council's Planning & Land Use Management Committee will hear the SMMC appeal today.

PLUM Committee Hearing
TODAY, May 11, 2010
3PM
City Hall, Room 350
200 N. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

City Council File # 10-0716

Menlo Property: Appeal Hearing Tomorrow

SMMC map of feasible Griffith Park to El Pueblo Trail alignment; segment between Hyperion and the Corralitas Red Car Property at Fletcher. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The City failed to require dedication of a trail on the Menlo Property when it approved the 120 unit condo development. The Griffith Park to El Pueblo Trail has been in the Silver Lake - Echo Park - Elysian Valley Community Plan since 1984. The trail is the key link in the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy's (SMMC) Rim of the Valley Trail.

If the City denies the SMMC's appeal, it will set precedent for eliminating trails from Community Plans throughout the City without a formal Plan Amendment process.

It also calls into question the City's value of Community Plans. Why bother with the Community Plan if developers and the City just ignore it? (But then, the City Planning Website isn't exactly set up to be community friendly.)

City Council's Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee will hear the SMMC's appeal tomorrow.

PLUM Committee Hearing
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
3PM
City Hall, Room 350
200N. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Council File # 10-0716

Menlo Property: Griffith Park To El Pueblo Trail Is A Wildlife Corridor

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 25, 2009. There's room for the Griffith Park to El Pueblo Trail behind the Sam Menlo-owned River Glen Apartments. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The City failed to require convicted slumlord, Sam Menlo & Century Quality Management to dedicate a trail per the Silver Lake - Echo Park Elysian Valley Community Plan. In 1983, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) filed the El Pueblo to Griffith Park Trail corridor alignment with the Secretary of State. At the time, community leaders worked with the SMMC and hiked the trail alignment a number of times. The same alignment was designated as an equestrian trail on City land use maps when the first Community Plan was approved in 1984.

Because the corridor links Griffith Park to Elysian Park through a trail in the hills, with minimal street crossings, it also serves as a wildlife corridor. Judging by routine bobcat sightings by neighbors of Elysian Park, as well as gray fox sightings on Corralitas Drive, this is an important corridor for maintaining biodiversity.

The SMMC is appealing the the City's approval of 120 unit condo development on the Menlo Property. The City Council's Planning & Land Use Management Committee will hear the appeal Tuesday.

PLUM Committee Hearing
Tuesday May 11, 2010
3PM
City Hall, Room 350
200N. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

City Council File # 10-0716

Rosebud Ave: Snake Sighting

Photo: L. Montgomery, May 8, 2010, 12:45 PM. Snake Under the 2 Freeway on Rosebud Ave. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

This afternoon, while driving under the 2 Freeway on Rosebud, neighbors spotted a 3 - 4' long snake crossing the road. L. Montgomery shot this photo with a cell phone. Montgomery writes in an email, "When it saw us it curled up and I think it was trying to shake his/her tail. Don't worry, this pic isn't taken very close."

Gopher snakes will curl up and shake their tails when threatened, imitating rattlesnakes. Because the lighting conditions are poor under the 2 Freeway, it's hard to tell what kind of snake this is. It is most likely a gopher snake.

If you come across a snake, it's best to leave it alone (after you snap a few photos for us). Both rattlesnakes and gopher snakes help control the rodent population. In the past, rattlesnakes have been reported on the Corralitas end of the Red Car Property.

For a good photo index of snakes see: www.CaliforniaHerps.com.

Send us your photos and stories of neighborhood wildlife encounters: redcarproperty@gmail.com. Do not attempt to feed or pet wildlife.

2 Freeway: Non-Native, Invasive, Pretty

Photo: Diane Edwardson, April 29, 2010. Non-native Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) are blooming all over the neighborhood, not just on the 2 Freeway fence on Corralitas Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Reminder: Inspect Before You Trim Trees*

Photo: T. Glynn, May 5, 2010. A Corralitas neighbor discovered a bird's nest while trimming yuccas. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Before you hack away at trees and bushes, it's a good idea to look for birds' nests first. If you inadvertently knock a nest out of bush or a baby falls out of a nest, carefully replace it. It's a myth that birds will abandon their babies if they've been handled by a human. See the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website for this and other frequently asked questions.

Send us your neighborhood wildlife encounters: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

*UPDATE 5-8-10: According to Glynn, the mother bird returned to the nest the same day. "For three days I watched her feed the babies. They were thriving. This morning a crow found and destroyed the nest. They didn't make it. So disappointing...but I'm honored to catch a moment in their very short lives."

Menlo Property: PLUM Appeal Hearing Tuesday, May 11, 2010*

August 13, 2009. Ample room for a trail exists above the upper retaining wall on the Menlo Property on Riverside Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Next Tuesday, May 11, 2010, Los Angeles City Council's Planning & Land Use Management Committee will hear the appeal filed by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy of the City Planning Advisory Agency approval of the 120 unit condo development for the Menlo Property.

PLUM Committee Hearing
Tuesday May 11, 2010
* 3PM - Time Updated
City Hall Room 350
200 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Council FIle # 10-0716

Corralitas Public Staircase: Opening Soon

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 2, 2010. Looks like a sunflower is about to bloom on the top flight of the Corralitas Public Staircase. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Corralitas Drive: Native Wildflowers

Photo: Diane Edwardson, April 29, 2010. A neighbor carefully tends native wildflowers growing adjacent the 2 Freeway on Corralitas Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Rats With Wings

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 17, 2009. Pigeon, Corralitas Red Car Property. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

In recent years, it seems there's been an increase in the pigeon population throughout the neighborhood. The numbers are nothing compared to 100 years ago. A pigeon farm housing a half-million birds was located at the confluence of the LA River and Arroyo Seco. Read about it on the 90042 blog.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 22, 2009. Hundreds of pigeons flock to the Hyperion Bridge. (Click on photo to enlarge.)