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BEVERLY
HILLS’ SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT
As
City officials are enjoying their hermetically sealed, air conditioned,
up-to-code facilities, they appear to be unaware of what many of the
taxpaying serfs below them are experiencing.
Going
for a walk in Beverly Hills’ residential neighborhoods or taking a
swim in a friend’s nearby pool should be a relaxing pleasure. Instead,
it’s frequently like being in the midst of a battlefield.
All
too often there is the constant cacophony of gardeners’ illegal
gas-powered blowers obliterating the peace and tranquility of our homes
and yards. Sometimes one gardener is blasting the front yard while his
assistant is blowing up a dust storm in the back yard.
Telling
a resident to call the police, to get them to issue a citation, is not
the answer. By the time an officer arrives, assuming you can determine
precisely from which garden on which side of the alley the noise is
emanating, the gardener has gone.
This
needs to be a City-sponsored, pro-active program. When word gets around
that big fines are being imposed, peace will be restored in the
neighborhood.
Other
Health Issues At Roxbury Park
Meanwhile,
I thought that perhaps Roxbury Park might offer a sanctuary from such
environmental stress. So, Saturday I decided to try the yoga class
there, about which I’d heard such good things.
Being
disabled, I arrived ten minutes ahead of its start time to make sure I
could get a nearby parking space. There were none on the street at all.
At
9:20 AM, in the parking lot, every one of the four disabled parking
spaces were taken. There were seven empty staff-only spaces. But,
parking in one of them, if you’re just a taxpayer, will bring you a
pricey ticket to be paid. So, what to do?
You
can, unwittingly, become a participant in a slow-motion vehicular
version of musical chairs, circling around and around, hoping you’ll
get lucky and someone will finally leave. That’s what happened to me.
Blessedly, someone vacated a disabled spot shortly before the class
began.
The
yoga instructor, Caroline, could not have been better. Patient but not
patronizing, she gave this absolute beginner hope that eventually I
might catch on. However, when the breathing exercises commenced, I
looked above my mat and noticed a 4’ X 4’ cavernous air conditioning
vent, missing its cover, with fiberglass insulation exposed.
I
looked ahead, through the door, and saw that the cars were still
circling, emitting their toxic fumes and then exiting the parking lot.
Where was the South Coast Air Quality Management District when we needed
them? Breathing deeply may be hazardous to one’s health under these
absurd circumstances.
Were
this not a city-owned facility, an inspector might have cited the owner
for a violation of the health code, as fiberglass is a hazardous
material if inhaled. If this were a privately operated parking lot, when
it was full, the required “Lot is Full” sign would be posted.
Often,
employees in the commercial area of the City are required to park
off-site, to leave enough parking spaces for patrons. Shuttle vans take
them from periphery parking buildings to their work locale. Park
personnel could do the same, thus freeing up spaces for park patrons.
The
yoga class was so crowded that there was barely enough space to stretch
out and avoid accidentally hitting one’s neighbor. There’s no reason
such a class could not be scheduled at another City-owned facility. For
instance, Greystone, the Library Auditorium, the newly refurbished south
wing of city hall or even our completely unused, historic Crescent
Station Post Office.
City
officials’ accountability and ingenuity, in the public’s interest,
are all that’s needed.
Ellen
Stern Harris
Executive Director,
Fund for The Environment
Editor of www.BeverlyHillsCitizen.org
P.O. Box 228 / Beverly Hills, CA 90213
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