Tag: Los Angeles Eco-Village

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Public Meeting Sat., Nov 11, 2017 from 10am to noon at 117 Bimini Pl, LA 90004

This Public Meeting is Regarding Contaminants and Proposed Remediation

Concerning the property at:

 3554 and 3560 West First Street – Los Angeles 90004

Previously known as Song’s Auto Shop
and the Teriyaki House

This meeting is a component of a proposal being prepared by the nonprofit property owner, CRSP, in the Los Angeles Eco-Village, for a US-Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) Brownfields Clean-Up grant.  A draft copy of the CRSP proposal will be available as noted below by November 10, 2017.  Your comments will be incorporated into the final grant proposal to the US-EPA and should be received by CRSP no later than November 14, 2017

A summary of the US-EPA’s “Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA)” and the alternatives for remediation of contaminants can be viewed on-line below.  The complete 43 page ABCA report can be viewed in hard copy at 117 Bimini Place, Lobby, Los Angeles 90004 or you can access it here.

Public comments can be mailed to:
CRSP
117 Bimini Pl, #221
Los Angeles CA 90004
Or sent via email to:     crsp@igc.org
Or submitted in person at the November 11th meeting.

A Plan for redeveloping the property includes car-free co-op oriented mixed uses, including an environmentally sensitive hostel, small green businesses  operated by neighbors within the Los Angeles Eco-Village on Bimini and White House Place or within easy walking distance. CRSP will also be continuing its co-op training and education programs on the site, including workshops on phytotechnologies for remediating brownfields.

See additional information or keep updated at http://laecovillage.org/home/news/
or contact: crsp@igc.org    213-738-1254

Executive Summary for Analysis of
Brownfield Remediation Alternatives  (ABCA) at
3554 and 3560 West First Street
Los Angeles 90004

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2017, Weston Solutions, Inc. (WESTON®), performed a Phase II Targeted Brownfields Assessment (Phase II TBA) at 3554 and 3560 West 1st Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California (the Site). The TBA was requested by the property owner (applicant), CRSP, and performed under contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The purpose of the TBA was to characterize conditions at the Site, because it is being considered for redevelopment.

Contaminants, including toxic heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons, were detected in surface soils and or soil gas
analyzed as part of the TBA work. This Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) report identifies and compares different cleanup scenarios for the Site based on results obtained from the Phase II TBA (WESTON 2017). These scenarios are ranked on effectiveness, implementability, and cost.

The proposed redevelopment of this site will include an ecologically sensitive hostel with environmentally and co-op oriented mixed retail uses or services. Based on that proposed use, cleanup of the Site to standards suitable for a commercial-industrial use exposure scenario is recommended before planned re-use/redevelopment can begin.

The Site is composed of an approximately 0.25 acre parcel located in a mixed commercial-residential-institutional neighborhood approximately 3 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The western portion of the Site contains a single-story approximately 600 square foot commercial building formerly used as a restaurant. The eastern portion contains a  one-story commercial structure, with a small second floor loft, approximately 2,600 square feet, formerly used as an automotive repair shop.

The following concerns were identified during the Phase II TBA:

Cadmium was present at concentrations that exceed the specified human health screening levels for a commercial use exposure scenario in two surface soil samples collected from the southern portion of the Site.

Four semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) were present at concentrations that exceed the human health screening levels in a surface soil sample collected from the southwest portion of the Site.

Total petroleum hydrocarbons as diesel (TPH-d) were present at concentrations that exceed the residential human health screening levels, but are below the commercial/industrial screening levels in southwestern portion of the Site, in the same surface soil sample as the SVOCs.

The building materials and some appurtenances (i.e., fluorescent lights and possibly other electrical equipment) in both buildings contain non-friable asbestos-containing material (ACM), lead based paint (LBP), and/or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Ethylbenzene and chloroform are present in sub-slab soil gas above the human health screening levels for a residential exposure scenario in the former auto repair shop.

To continue reading the US-EPA ABCA, go here.

NOTE FROM CRSP REGARDING PHYTOREMEDIATION:  Although the US-EPA did not include any alternatives on  phytoremediation or phytotechnology for rendering soil contaminants harmless to human health in the ABCA, there is additional information on the successful use of various plants, trees, and microorganisms for brownfield soil remediation.  Please learn about them on line at the Center for Creative Land Recycling: http://mailchi.mp/cclr/webinars-07-31-17
or at this website for the International Journal on Phytoremediation“.   It is CRSP’s intent to apply the current US-EPA grant application for the remediation of hazardous materials within the buildings, and to develop a future remediation plan for the soils beneath the currently paved surfaces outside the buildings.

 

 

 

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The Nuts & Bolts of a Worker Co-op Start-up – Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017 in Culver City at 7pm

Long time L.A. Eco-Village resident, and founder of Pacific Electric Worker Co-op, Somerset Waters, will share his experiences as the founder of a start-up worker co-op.

Sponsored by:
LAWORCS: LA Worker Ownership Resources & Cooperative Services
More info:
The Nuts and Bolts of a Worker Cooperative Start-Up with Somerset Waters

 
Wednesday, October 25, 2017  at 7:00 PM
at
About Somerset:

somer photoSomerset Waters (“Somer”) wears multiple hats at Pacific Electric Co-op, including client relations, project manager, and lead electrician.  He has over two decades of experience as an electrician, one decade in the solar industry, and enjoys manipulating energy.  He is a licensed C-10, California Certified Electrician.  The trade runs in his blood: his maternal grandfather was an electrician at a factory in Poland.  His great-grandfather was a mason, a brilliant carpenter, and a master of quality in his projects.  Prior to cofounding Pacific Electric Co-op, Somer was a Journeyman Electrician out of IBEW Local 11 and worked for several large solar companies. Somer and his family live in Los Angeles Eco-Village. He plays the cello and performs with his wife, Aursiha. Watching his daughter grow up makes his heart sing.

Pacific Electric logoPacific Electric is a full service electrical and solar contracting firm based in Los Angeles committed to serving our clients, supporting our workers, creating jobs, and practicing environmental sustainability.  Contact: somerset@pacificelectric.coop
pacificelectric.coop

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Explorations in Nature for kids 3 – 8: Eight Week Program: 9/30 – 12/16/17 at L.A. Eco-Village

 

Lief and Joaquin in courtyard garden

This free unique 8 week art program for kids 3 through 8 and their parent or legal guardian uses the visual arts to develop deeper connections between children and their experience of the natural world.

Led by Artist-in-Residence Sylvette Frazier, classes emphasize creating art in an eco-conscious format.  The series will culminate with a public exhibition and collaborative nature weave.

 

 

 

SATURDAYS FROM 10AM TO 11AM ON:         
 Week 1:  September 30
Week 2:  October 7
Week 3:  October 14
Week 4:  October 21
Week 5:  November 4
Week 6:  November 18
Week 7:  December 2
Week 8:  December 9

PLUS PUBLIC RECEPTION ON DECEMBER 16, 2017 FROM 10AM TO NOON

Please plan to attend all eight sessions plus the Reception

Courtyard garden

LOCATION FOR ALL CLASSES:
Los Angeles Eco-Village courtyard
117 Bimimi Place
Los Angeles 90004

FEE:  Free, but enrollment required.
Contact Leslie Ezeh at leslie@laev-crsp.org

Sylvette Frazier

ABOUT SYLVETTE FRAZIER
Sylvette Frazier is an Artist and the Owner and Creator of Connecting Children to Art in Nature (CCAN).  She created CCAN to foster a new cord of connectivity for young children to the elements of art and principles of design that is in nature. She holds a M.Ed. with a specialization in Early Childhood /Primary Education, and has been active in the field of Early Childhood Education for over 25 years. She has created programs for elementary schools, children’s centers, community gardens, arboretums and botanical gardens locally and aboard. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and alternative spaces in the USA as well as Western Europe. Sylvette holds Artist-in-Residence posts in a wide range of locations and believes strongly that we all need to work together to help protect our planet.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles Eco-Village Child Care Service/CRSP, the Urban Soil-Tierra Urbana Limited Equity Housing Cooperative, and the Beverly-Vermont Community Land Trust.

 

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Third Annual West Coast Communities Conference – September 29 – October 1, 2017 in Escondido CA

Conference Theme:  Thriving, Not Just Surviving – Fiscal Health in Community

Featuring Keynote Speaker: Diana Leafe Christian, author of Creating a Life Together

Taking off from last year’s theme of economic justice, we are organizing this year’s topics around the subject of equitable and sustainable income and affordability.  We have workshops…

Workshop topics and speakers include:
– Financially feasible ways to start Community and ongoing affordability
– Organizing for affordability in less able neighborhoods
– Intentional Business (IB): Kinds of businesses that may be suitable with Intentional Community
– A look at Worker Cooperatives (Collectives)
– Fairness of equitable effort: Everyone pulling their own weight while respecting those less able
– Balancing Intra (local) Economy and Extra (global) Economy
– Alternative Trade Systems: LETS, TimeBank, HourWorld, etc.
– Sources of Funding

The event will be held near Escondido, CA, off Highway 15 between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Click here for Reservations

Community founders and other experts in cohousing and other kinds of intentional communities in California will share what works well, especially in community financial and economic health.

Diana Leafe Christian’s keynote address will be on “Recipe for a Thriving Community: Establishing an Internal Economy with Social Enterprises, Community Labor Systems, and More.”

 

Workshop presenters include Lois Arkin, founder of Los Angeles Eco-Village and longtime ecovillage activist; FIC Executive Director and longtime Twin Oaks Community member Sky Blue; cohousing activists Raines Cohen and Betsy Morris; and Jonah Mesritz, superstar expert on finding and financing community property and cofounder of Emerald Village Ecovillage.

Panel discussions of experts on healthy communities, and  on community financing, and Diana Leafe Christian’s breakout workshop on Sociocracy for cohousing and other kinds of intentional communities.

Call for Volunteers:  Help make this year’s event even better.  There are several roles we can use help with.  People are needed for registration, volunteer coordination, website administration, among others.  Those who would like to get involved or for more information, please contact:

Contact Us: Conference Email; Conference FaceBook Page; South-West Intentional Community Alliance (SWICA) website; SWICA Email

Organized by SWICA – South West IC Alliance,
Co-sponsors:
Fellowship for Intentional Community
 Cohousing California
Terra Madre Gardens
Sustainable Living Institute

Event organizers:
Werner Kontara  (949) 551-2800
Steve Fuji, SWICA Committee Head – (505) 715-1418

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Place It: Community Visioning Workshop with James Rojas – Thursday July 27 2017 from 7 to 10pm at L.A. Eco-Village

Re-envision your neighborhood through storytelling, objects, art-making and play.  Investigate your attachment to place and shelter by thinking beyond words by building models to express your ideas about  cohousing, intentional community, micro-apartments and tiny homes.

EVENT DETAILS
Date & Time:
Thursday, July 27, 2017
from 7pm to 10pm

Place:
3554 West First Street at Bimini Place
enter on Bimini Place
Los Angeles Eco-Village
Los Angeles 90004

Reservations recommended*: 213-738-1254 or crsp@igc.org

Fee:
$5 to $20 sliding scale: pay at the door with cash or check (or 3 time dollars)
*or  go here to pay electronically

About James Rojas
James is an urban planner, community activist, and artist.  He developed this method to make planning visual, tactile and meaningful. Through this method, he has engaged thousands of people by facilitating over five hundred workshops and building over fifty interactive models around the world.   More about James and the Place It workshops can be found at :
http://www.placeit.org/bio_james_rojas.html
and
http://www.placeit.org/policy_design.html

Feel free to bring light veggie snacks.

This event sponsored by CRSP in association with the LATCH Collective and the You Are Here: Los Angeles Intentional Community Meet-Up

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Sustainable Living Tour – California – October 1 – 12, 2017

Immerse yourself in leading sustainable living education centers showcasing real examples of soil, watershed and human relationship restoration.

Lots More info:  http://earthjourneys.org/

EARTH JOURNEYS

Empowering change seekers to cultivate lifestyles that regenerate the mind, body, soul and planet through transformative journeys and earth-based education. Our nature retreats blend personal development, permaculture education and spiritual exploration to support regenerative lifestyles and leadership.

Embark on this journey to..

    • Gain a deep understanding of how to thrive in community.
    • Be inspired by real examples of soil, water and habitat restoration.
    • Reconnect with your intrinsic gifts to use them for good.
    • Uplevel your hard skills through hands on workshops.
    • Tend meaningful relationships for personal growth, collaboration and fulfillment.
    • Create life-long friendships with fellow passionate changemakers.
    • Find clarity to what role you play in the world.
    • Embody your interconnection with all living beings.
    • Leave with an action plan for your calling or project.
    • Participate in on-going support for 1-year after the tour.

Hands-On Experiences and Learning at:

CalEarth http://www.calearth.org/
Quail Spring: http://www.calearth.org/
Emerald Ecovillage http://www.calearth.org/
LA Eco-Village http://laecovillage.org/
Wild Willow Farm & Educational Center http://www.sandiegoroots.org/farm/index.php
East End Eden http://www.sandiegoroots.org/farm/index.php
The Ecology Center https://www.theecologycenter.org/

Let’s Do This!
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Beverly-Vermont Community Land Trust Member Meeting – Sat., May 13, 2017 at 10am – 11:30am at L.A. Eco-Village

BVCLT Members Meeting

LA Eco-Village Bimini Apartments Limited Equity Housing Cooperative: land owned by BVCLT

Saturday, May 13th
10 am to 11:30 am
at
Los Angeles Eco-Village
117 Bimini Place #201
Los Angeles 90004

 

The Beverly-Vermont Community Land trust is located three miles west of downtown Los Angeles, our name comes from the Beverly Boulevard and Vermont Avenue intersection and metro station.

 

The Mission of the Beverly-Vermont Community Land Trust is to exercise land stewardship as the basis for creating pedestrian-centered neighborhoods emphasizing affordable housing, work and recreational spaces that are economically and socially sustainable, and that integrate urban living with nature.

Lets put a crack in real estate speculation. Organize for land trusts in your neighborhood!

 

The Beverly-Vermont Community Land Trust (BVCLT) is among the leading organizations in Los Angeles specializing in permanently affordable sustainable housing for those who are dedicated to a lower impact life style and have limited access to market rate housing (including those with lower wage jobs, on fixed incomes, or with disabilities).

Everyone is welcome!

Refreshments:  yes

More info:  crsp@igc.org or laraeco@hotmail.com

Christian Arnsperger: Drawing ideas from Switzerland’s “horizontal metropolis”- Wed., July 19, 2017 at L.A. Eco-Village

Veggie Potluck and talk on L.A.’s perma-circular future:

According to Dr. Christian Arnsperger, Los Angeles has never been just an unsustainable, sprawling,

Christian Arnsperger

resource-guzzling behemoth. At least since the 1930s, and especially since the 1960s, there has been a small, persistent, and varied underground that wants “another LA.” The city has been variously (re)imagined by Olmsted and Bartholomew as a garden-and-park idyll, by Richard Register as a network of ecocities, and by Paul Glover as a network of ecovillages. People have puzzled about how to make Los Angeles more regenerative, more bioregional, and more human-scale. In his talk, Christian Arnsperger  will reflect on this “other LA” as a sympathetic outsider, looking at our city from the Swiss vantage point, drawing elements from his ongoing collaboration with Swiss and Italian urbanists. Switzerland can be viewed as a “horizontal metropolis” — a city-territory of 8 million inhabitants with a very specific way of weaving together the urban and the rural, the cutting edge and the traditional, the dense and the diffuse — a time-tested recipe against sprawl and wastefulness but also against destructive densification and concentration. There may be very interesting things to learn about a sustainable, “perma-.circular” future from a comparison between the LA metropolitan area and the Swiss horizontal metropolis.

***********************************
About Christian Arnsperger
An economist by training, I’m a professor at the University of Lausanne. My affiliation is with the Faculty of Geoscience and Environment, and I am a member of the Institute for Geography and Sustainability. We are a multidisciplinary institute focused mainly on the human- and social-science aspects of environmental issues.  My own teaching and research revolve around Sustainability and Economic Anthropology. That’s what my chair at the University of Lausanne is called. Yes, really …

read more about Christian and see his blog here.

Christian visited L.A. Eco-Village
last year to a full house.  Please come join us again this year.


EVENT DETAILS:
Reservations please:  crsp@igc.org or 213/738-1254

Date & Time: Wednesday, July 19, 2017 
6 to 7:30pm:  Veggie potluck.
Please bring your own non-throwaway eating ware and make this a zero waste event

7:30 to 10pm: Talk, Q&A, discussion

Fee:  $5 to $15 sliding scale at the door
If paying by check, make checks out to “CRSP”

Location: 
Los Angeles Eco-Village
117 Bimini Pl – Lobby and courtyard
Los Angeles 90004

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles Area Intentional Community Summit – Sunday, April 23, 2017

We’re putting on the second Los Angeles Intentional Community Summit this Sunday!
It’s for all folks who live in or are interested in community living to get together and create a larger network, to learn about how other communities operate, discuss the issues that affect community life, etc.

Let’s eat some snacks and drink some drinks and get to know one another and our city’s communities. 

Where:     Sugar Shack, 4402 W Pico Blvd, LA CA 90019
When:      Sunday, April 23 at 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Bring:       Veggie Snacks and/or drinks to share + non-throwaway plates, utensils, cup

This is a leave no trace event

Please read details to make sure you’re a fit for this event.

 Please share it with anyone who might be interested!
Peter Dean
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SAIGU Event Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the L.A. Uprisings – Saturday April 29, 2017 from 3 to 5pm

The Los Angeles Eco-Village grew out of the L.A. Uprisings of 1992.  In the Korean language, SAIGU means the date of the Uprisings or Riots which began on April 29 that year as a result of the Rodney King verdict which acquitted the LAPD officers of their brutal beating  of King.  There is an enormous amount of information, opinions, analysis about the verdict, the uprisings, the deaths and destruction that emerged from SAIGU, the L.A. Riots.  For the Los Angeles Eco-Village, it was the determining factor to retrofit our blighted, crime, gang and drug infested neighborhood into a healthier more sustainable community.  Go here to read my (Lois Arkin’s) personal account of those events 25 years ago.

IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY, our Urban Soil-Tierra Urbana Housing Co-op has formed a small chorus which will be singing with other groups at the event.  We are proud to be among the planning partners for this event.  Please come and join us:

WHEN:  Saturday, April 29, 2017 from 3 to 5pm

WHERE:  Oriental Mission Church, 424 N. Western Avenue, LA 90004

HOW TO BE INVOLVED:
– Just show up at 3pm for the program
AND/OR
Volunteer for the event, starting at noon:
Contact Lois to get on the volunteer list: 213/738-1254 or crsp@igc.org
AND/OR
Upload your photo and comments on the “I Am the Face of LA” facebook page.  See who’s on it here.
Upload your photo and comments here:   https://www.facebook.com/iamFACEofLA/
AND/OR
Donate to KCCD (Korean Churches for Community Development), the event coordinating organization:
http://give.kccd.org/en/Saigu2017

There will be lots of interesting speakers and music and dances from diverse groups.  Watch for Program details here:  http://kccd.org/event/saigu25/

This is a free and open event.

 

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