Newsletter from the Wilshire Center Business Improvement Corporation
2nd Quarter 2008

WCBIC represents over 33 million square feet of residential, office and retail users.
WCBIC has been working diligently to improve our community for the past 13 years.

Wilshire Center is a great place to live, work and shop

Over 15,000 People Attend The Wilshire Center Earth Day / Car Free Day

Daryl Hannah and kids at the Wilshire Center Earth Day / Car Free Day

The event on April 22 was a great success. We estimate that 15,000 people attended with thousands of school kids. We got a lot of media coverage during the day and a month before the event. We sent our awareness flyers to many buildings which were then distributed to the tenants; we were able to reach 1000s of tenants this way. The street banners were well received, and worked to get the word out about this event. Our web site in April received almost 275,000 hits, as apposed to the 85,000 per month we normally get.

We promoted the Wilshire Center District, brought awareness about the issue of global warming, and provided information on how we can reduce our CO2 emissions. This day was the City’s first city wide car-free day. We introduced the WC Cool District concept. The Cool District is the City’s and the nation’s first private global warming solutions District. “I salute the commitment, leadership and optimism that the Cool District Program represents, and I am appreciative that it will help advance the city's own goals.” Councilmember Herb J. Wesson, Jr.

There were three major points of interest, consisting of the music performances stage, with the main act by Michael Franti; there was an environmental tent with discussions on the greening of our district; a kid’s zone/stage with programs by and for kids, and over 100 booths with about 120 vendors. About 4000 reusable bags where given out.

Some comments: “I heard about the car free day on NPR. Even though I don't use the Wilshire corridor, I was inspired to take the bus to work from Redondo Beach to Playa Vista tomorrow. Thank you for getting me out of my car, hopefully it will become a habit.” “Congratulations on the awesome Earth Day event yesterday! I thought that it was absolutely FABULOUS!!” “I want to thank you and the rest of the Wilshire Center Earth Day organizers for bringing this event to this community. Finally we have an Earth Day on this part of town!” “I greatly enjoyed the Earth Day celebration and truly appreciated all the love and hard work everyone put into the event.”
WCBID Board approved support for a second Earth Day – Car Free Day event for Wednesday, April 22, 2009. For the next event we will not close off Wilshire Boulevard. The event will take place on the lawn of 3700 Wilshire Boulevard.

For more on the experience of 4/22/08 go to wilshirecenter.com/earthday

Eco-Charette Program

Photos from the March 15, 2008 Eco-Charette

On March 15, the WCBIC with the Los Angeles AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) hosted the first of three planned Wilshire Center Cool District Eco-Charettes. Each year, COTE spearheads a community event designed to facilitate debate and discussion about the built environment. This year they are assisting the WCBID in finding solutions for the Cool District Plan. The March 15 Eco-Charette was the first of the three charrettes: the first addressed the big picture, or visioning; he second will engage owners and city directly to develop specific
strategies; and the third will focus on implementation. Forty professionals attended the all-day event. For information on the first eco-charette go to wilshirecenter.com/cooldistrict.

At the next Eco-Charette scheduled for mid-September, we will continue to address infrastructure issues with building owners, utilities, city planning and industry leaders.

WC Cool District Plan

With the help of the AIA COTE and consultants the WC Cool District Plan will begin to take shape. We have already taken the first step – the pledge to reduce our carbon emissions by 2% per year. The strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions includes encouraging buildings to become more energy efficient and take advantage of renewable energy sources, and encouraging people to use our public transportation system.

A vision by 2050 for the District is a place where residents and workers rely on public transit, walking and biking. Cars would run on electricity supplied by solar and wind power. Individuals and businesses have reduced their carbon footprint (CO2) by 80 percent. New and existing buildings achieve net zero energy consumption through increased energy efficiency and a shift to renewable energy sources. No waste is sent to landfills. And most of the food eaten in the district is produced organically and within a few hundred miles.

Measures and goals, which would be realized in stages over the next four decades, are to be part of a blueprint to be proposed by the district staff early next year to meet the WCBID Board approved pledge to reduce Wilshire Center District's greenhouse gases 80 percent by 2050. For more go to wilshirecenter.com/cooldistrict.

Resources to Help Reduce Utility Bills

The WCBID staff is researching organizations that could work with the districts building owners to reduce energy use and save money. We are in discussion with the Clinton Foundation (clintonfoundation.org) and the LA Community Redevelopment Agency about ways to implement massive energy efficiency and clean energy generation throughout the district of Wilshire Center. A near term goal is to reduce the annual consumption of electricity, gas, and water by 40 percent district wide by 2020. We would seek to reach a participation rate of 30 percent of the 33 million square feet of residential, office and retail space within the Wilshire Center District. We also look to work with the City of Los Angeles, LADWP, Gas Company, and other major community institutions and organizations.

An implementation concept is to contract out a full range of engineering, technical, installation, project management, monitoring and financial services. A stable of private energy service companies and contractors would be pre-qualified and contracted to perform energy assessments and implement energy-saving measures. Engineers would monitor and verify the work of the Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) and contractors.

We have met with representatives of the Clinton Foundation who could provide our district building owners access to energy saving programs along with smart financial solutions. We are planning a meeting in the second week of July to introduce the Clinton Foundation's programs to district owners. If you are interested in attending this meeting please email Gary Russell at gary@wilshirecenter.com.

Wilshire Corridor Forum III

Picture From the Wilshire Corridor Forum II

The third Forum is scheduled for July 18, 2008 from 11:30am to 1:30pm at the El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd, LA. Issues to be discussed are: the Subway - 1) Is the subway extension a real possibility? - What are the options to making it happen? 2) How can the community get involved to make it happen? 3) How will the subway be paid for? How will it serve those who live and work on Wilshire - 1) Bus routes, 2) Bike lanes, 3) Taxi service. Economic Impact Issues of extending the Subway - 1) How has the subway improved the economy for Wilshire Center, 2) What kind of development will work in the future along the Miracle Mile? For reservations email Bill Bergstrom at w.bergstrom@gmail.com.

Camino Nuevo Charter Academy’s Schools E-Waste Program

Support a local school by recycling your electronic waste such as unwanted television, computer, and other electronic devices by donating these items to them. Drop-offs are accepted on Thursday and Friday between 3pm to 4pm at 635 S. Harvard Blvd., LA.

Projects in Discussion

We are working with the CRA to find funds to do some sidewalk repair work, particularly along Vermont. We are also working with the CRA to locate funds for a skateboard park. We will be reaching out to an operation for a farmers market somewhere near Third Street on a Saturday morning. Any suggestions for a farmers market location and an operator are welcomed.

WCBID TEAMS

Along with the LAPD and the City Departments, the WCBID team members are here to help make our community cleaner and safer. We have three teams; a security team, a sidewalk maintenance team and a landscape maintenance team.

The WCBID security team, California Protection Security Services, consists of two officers per car, and two cars, every night from 6:30pm to 2:30am, and four bicycle officers and one car patrol during the day from 10:30am to 6:30pm. For city police, LAPD, and assistance for emergency issues, call 911. For non-emergency issues, first call LAPD at 877-ASK-LAPD. For graffiti removal and other general city services, call 311. Then, if needed, call the WCBIC security officers at 213-386-8700. When calling LAPD or the WCBID security officers, please provide as much detailed information about the criminal activity as possible to the dispatch operator. With more information, the police officers and security officers will be better equipped to assess and prevent or defuse the situation. Providing information such as the exact location of the criminal activity, the type of activity, suspect descriptions, and your name and phone number is crucial.

The LAPD is asking building managers and businesses to post “No Trespassing” signs after filling out a form which can be obtained from the LAPD. Building managers are required to fill out the form and mail it to their local LAPD office. If you have problems with security, adding more exterior lighting may help. LA DWP can survey your property and suggest lighting improvement options. In addition, LAPD recommends installing video cameras.

The WCBID security team besides working with the LAPD also looks out for problems such as illegal dumping, graffiti, street repairs and then calls the City to resolve these issues. They help hundreds of individuals find places like the Consulate offices, buses, restaurants and clubs. Our other team members consist of the contractors TruGreen Land Care and Portals. The cleaning of major sidewalks in our area is performed by Portals. TruGreen maintains the medians along Wilshire Boulevard. For more information go to wilshirecenter.com/wcbic.

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WCBIC Contact: Gary Russell, AIA, WCBIC Executive Director, at gary@wilshirecenter.com,
ph: 213-487-7003, fax : 213-386-5853, 3600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1032, Los Angeles, CA 90010