Public Safety
Since 1949, The Association's Top Priority Has Been Community Safety
Prepare for Wildfire
Once we get clear of June Gloom, we are likely to head into several months of high fire danger. The Los Angeles Fire Department has a fire preparedness program called Ready, Set, Go which explains how to prepare, shows you how to identify your escape routes, and describes what to do when fire is approaching.
Wildfire is a real danger. We had a major fire in the Kirkwood Bowl in 1979, which the older LCA board members witnessed personally. More recently, we've seen major fires in the Oakland Hills, Monticeto Hills and Laguna Hills. This can happen to us, which is why LCA reps have attended police and fire readiness meetings, have hosted community preparedness meetings locally and have sent out email preparedness advisors for over two decades.
The risk of fire is the main reason the email exchange was launched.
Emergencies: Call 911
Los Angeles Police Department, Hollywood Division (non-emergency)
1358 N. Wilcox Avenue, between Sunset Blvd and Fountain Ave.
Hollywood CA 90028
Non-Emergency Front Desk: 213-972-2971
LAPD: www.lapdonline.org
Hollywood Division: www.lapdonline.org/hollywood_community_police_station
The unit patrolling our area is called, Basic Car 6A31
Senior Lead Officer Ralph Sanchez
Phone: 213/485-4316, Mobile: 213-793-0704
Email: 16893@lapd.lacity.org
Basic Car District Coordinator Sergeant Harris
Cellular: 213-509-3561
Fire & Paramedics (non-emergency)
Our area straddles two station districts:
Los Angeles Fire Department, Fire Station 97
8021 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles CA 91604
Non-Emergency Business Phone: (818) 756-8697
www.lafd.org
Los Angeles Fire Department, Fire Station 41
1439 N. Gardner Street, Los Angeles CA 90046
Non-Emergency Business Phone: (213) 485-6241
www.lafd.org
Emergency Email Notification System
Originally set up to communicate emergency notices, the Laurel Canyon Association Email Exchange is a widely used and effective tool in sharing traffic, crime and emergency information. Since 2003, hundreds of households have used this system to stay informed.
Annual Emergency Preparedness Advisory
Every year ahead of fire season, LCA publishes an emergency preparedness advisory explaining escape routes, shelter options, etc. all to be used in case of wildfire or other disaster.
Neighborhood Watch
Run separately is a local Neighborhood Watch program.
LAFD Wildfire Education
At selected board meetings, officials from the Los Angeles Fire Department are invited to speak to residents and update them on the latest fire prevention and evacuation procedures. You can also read up on it here.
LAPD Crime Reports and Crime Prevention Advisory
At selected board meetings, officials from the Los Angeles Police Department, City Attorney's Office and Postal Inspectors are invited to speak to residents about traffic and crime in the canyon.
Mail Theft / Car Break-ins
LAPD and LCA have encouraged all residents to get secure, locking mailboxes and never post mail from your house. Drop it at the post office. Catching these crooks is nearly impossible so this is the best but not perfect solution.
Many of the car break-ins reported to LCA involved vehicles that were left unlocked or had valuables visible in the car. Even though we live in a relatively low crime area, don't invite trouble. Remove valuables and lock up, even in carports.
Wonderland School Traffic Control
LCA supports Wonderland School in its efforts to pay City traffic control officers to direct traffic at Wonderland, Laurel Pass and Lookout during school sessions.
Speeding and Running Stop Signs
This is a chronic problem exacerbated by Waze and other GPS apps that guide short-cutters through our neighborhood. This is hard to enforce unless police are present to catch scofflaws, but many of the speeders are our own neighbors. We can begin to get a handle on this problem by asking everyone to drive legally. Please don't speed. Please stop fully at stop signs.
Party Houses
Everyone is entitled to throw a few parties, but chronic party houses that go into the wee hours are illegal. If you are sure that a residence is hosting multiple parties, send the address to LCA. We will send a board member over to politely talk to the occupants. This works most of the time. In any case, neighbors can file complaints with the police.
CERT Training
Over the years, many Laurel Canyon Association board members and resident volunteers have used the Community Emergency Response Teams program to prepare for individual health crisis or community-wide emergencies.
Noise and Noise Regulations
From time to time, we are all exposed to noise problems from parties, construction, barking dogs. Many people don't realize that there are laws covering this, so often all it takes is a polite visit to a neighbor to point out the problem and connect them to this page. We've found that most will cooperate once alerted to the problem. In other cases, you can contact one of your LCA board members and/or police for assistance. LCA board members will make visits to help reach an accommodation. In any case, here is an excellent LAPD summary on noise enforcement guidelines:
Highlights:
41.40 LAMC- Construction Noise
▪ Engaging in construction, repair, or excavation work with any construction type device, or job-site delivering of construction materials without a Police Commission permit;
▪ Between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.;
▪ In any residential zone, or within 500 feet of land so occupied, before 8:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. on any Saturday, nor at any time on any Sunday;
▪ In a manner as to disturb the peace and quiet of neighboring residents or any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area.
(LCA recommends that contractors not begin making loud noises before 8am on weekdays even though it is allowed after 7am. That's because the canyons echo and amplify noise. Remind your contractor as it is a courtesy to your neighbors.)
112.01 LAMC- Radios, Television Sets, and Similar Devices
▪ Operating any radio, television, phonograph, musical 'instrument, or other sound producing device;
▪ Audible to the human ear at a distance in excess of 150 feet from the property line of the noise source;
▪ In a residential zone or within 500 feet thereof;
▪ In such a manner as to disturb the peace, quiet, and comfort of neighboring residents or any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area.
(This section covers loud parties with amplified music. If you want peace with your neighbors, do not play music so loud that the surrounding population becomes your uninvited guests and stop all music and shout outs before 11pm, 9pm on weekdays.)
41.57 LAMC- Loud and Raucous Noise
▪ Every person who allows, causes, or permits;
▪ Loud noises from any sound making or amplifying device;
▪ On any private property, public street, of any other public place;
▪ In such a manner as to interfere with the peace and quiet of any person within or upon any of such places.
(This section covers chronic party houses, which LAPD quickly moves to close down. Commercial admission parties are strictly prohibited as we are zoned R-1, except for fund raisers which are limited to (I believe) four per year on any given property. And if you don't provide a valet service, you could get dinged by traffic enforcement.)
The Department of Animal Regulation is responsible for the enforcement of Noise Ordinance violations involving animal-generated noises, such as barking dogs or crowing roosters.
(Chronic barking dogs are an issue in the canyon as the dogs can be heard for great distances and their barks tend to set off other dogs. The trick is identifying the dog's owner. Once identified, the first step is to approach the owner and ask them politely to correct the problem. As an owner of a barking dog, it's not so easy . . . so be patient. Keeping barking dogs inside in the evening is the first solution. Consider an interior room away from open windows. In the case of owners who just don't care, you can ramp up and contact Animal Regulation. But that won't be necessary, right? We're all responsible pet owners here.)
Tree Falls / Canopy Fires
For over fifteen years, LCA has encouraged residents to be mindful of the condition of trees, particularly to the risk of tree falls during high winds. Additionally, LCA encourages residents to remove non-native eucalyptus trees as possible over time. Eucalyptus pose a unique set of problems: Their oil soaked leaves and bark are highly flammable spraying surrounding areas with hot embers, their resins can be toxic to some native wildlife, and they tend to topple over in high winds due to shallow root systems. Because they reach such huge mass and height relatively quickly, eucalyptus are especially damaging when they fall. Replace them with native species. Eucalyptus were blamed as major contributors to the recent Oakland Hills, Montecito Hills and Laguna Hills fires.