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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

NEIGHBORHOODS—Neighborhood Kind of Guy

Tony Lucente Title: President, Studio City Residents Association Age: 46 Education: B.A. in political science, Wittenberg University, Ohio Career-turning point: Talking an executive into making him a manager at the age of 25 Personal: Single, no children Tony Lucente of the Studio City Residents Association is a fan of neighborhood councils in a Valley that views them with suspicion Recently named to the board of directors of the new Los Angeles Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, 46-year-old Tony Lucente has become a point man for the Valley’s controversial neighborhood council movement. Approved by voters in 1999, neighborhood councils are intended to act as the lowest rung of representative government in the city. Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Association, says the councils have been slow in getting started but will ultimately prove pivotal in improving the quality of life in local communities by placing citizens closer to city government. Others see the neighborhood councils as little more than failed attempts to slow the momentum of a Valley secession drive. The Dayton, Ohio native isn’t new to community activism. In fact, the director of internal corporate communications for Nissan North America has been active in local issues for the past 14 years. Lucente took a high profile in an effort to resolve a noise dispute between residents and a controversial nightclub on Ventura Boulevard in 1996, culminating in Club Aftershock’s closing last year. He was instrumental in the establishment of the popular Studio City Farmers Market in 1999 and was a leader in the campaign for charter reform two years ago. Lucente is a member of the L.A. County Citizens Economy and Efficiency Commission, state Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg’s Business Advisory Commission, and the city’s Ventura Boulevard/Cahuenga Boulevard Specific Plan Review Board. In 1999, Lucente ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Charter Commission. Lucente spoke with Business Journal reporter Carlos Martinez about neighborhood councils, the secession movement, the Studio City Residents Association and his political aspirations. Question: Why are you so interested in seeing neighborhood councils succeed? Answer: I was a candidate for the L.A. Charter Reform Commission. I didn’t win but I’ve been active for charter reform, so I guess the mayor (Richard Riordan) thought that I would be a good candidate to be on this board. I certainly had views that I’ve developed over the years based on my experience on the community level and he thought that it would make a good fit. Q: There are conflicting opinions about the ultimate value of these councils. Are you prepared to deal with the criticism? A: There’s been a wide response, depending on what community you’re looking at. People are skeptical and they don’t know what the councils will be like. There were concerns because of the lack of specificity about the role of neighborhood councils, but we now have a clear idea of what we have to do. Q: What will your role on the commission be? A: I’ll be looking specifically at how these neighborhood councils are progressing and make sure that they get off the ground. Our role will be especially important as the very first neighborhood councils are formed. No one knows how many neighborhood councils there will be or how quickly they will come up to speed. Q: What is the benefit of these neighborhood councils? A: They establish a real opportunity for strengthening the community’s voice in city government that didn’t exist before. Certain communities like Studio City have strong residents groups and we’ve had a good relationship with business, but that’s not the norm by any means. This provides an opportunity that previously did not exist. Q: Given the interest in secession and suspicion about neighborhood councils, how can they ever be effective in Valley communities? A: It’s all part of the evolution of how people view city government. The question of secession will be raised in these councils possibly, but it will not be decided solely on the neighborhood councils. The bottom line is that people want to be heard by city government and that gives them the opportunity. If they support secession, that’s fine, but it doesn’t mean they’ll stop participating in the process. The area planning commissions were established as part of the new charter and they replaced the one big planning commission. It shows that neighborhood councils can work. I’ve seen a huge difference in how people engage in the planning process. We meet in the evenings and broaden participation and both developers and residents come up to me after the meetings and say, “We feel we got a fair shot at this thing and that we got a fair hearing.” Neighborhood councils provide the same service; it’s another mechanism in how they can improve city government. Q: What are some of the issues the councils could undertake? A: It could be several things and not just land use issues, but a wide range of issues, like crime and safety and all kinds of stuff. Things like organizing events in Studio City like the farmers market and the holiday parade. The councils are designed to be all-inclusive for both residents and merchants, and business plays an important role in shaping any community. Neighborhood councils will serve as an early warning where people will learn about projects. So while people have expressed concern that it’s going to provide less certainty and an added layer of bureaucracy, I’m comfortable that people will be involved in the process. Q: Your name occasionally comes up when elections roll around. What are your political aspirations? A: It’s no secret that I would like to serve the public in some capacity. But the timing has always been the problem, most recently for Council District 2, for Joel Wachs’ seat. I looked at the opportunity, but I felt that I’m most effective as a volunteer. Right now, I’m not seeking elective office, but it doesn’t mean I won’t in the future. I didn’t feel I was ready to put everything aside to run for Wachs’ seat, but I’m happy to remain a community advocate. Q: A hot issue in Studio City these days is the proposed senior housing complex at the site of the Studio City Golf and Tennis Club. What’s your take on that? A: It’s the wrong place for this project. We’re in desperate need of open space it’s been proven again and again and we just feel that this would be the wrong thing in this community. Our efforts are all directed toward maintaining it as a public space and purchase the property somehow, if that’s what it takes. We have overwhelming support from the community and from elected officials, and that’s because this facility now serves a wide segment of the community. It’s one of the few places where people can enjoy open space in Studio City. I’ve characterized this as a “chain yourself to the bulldozer project” and I’m serious about that. Q: In the past, you’ve characterized the Studio City Residents Association as different from many neighborhood groups because of its close links to the local business community. Why is that important? A: A thriving business community helps support a thriving residential community, and vice versa. I really believe that. It helps to have relationships that cross all boundaries and have partnerships of all kinds that are effective. I’ve decided to operate the residents association like a business and get results. You only get results when you form partnerships and get collaboration instead of confrontation. But sometimes you have to confront business and it does get results. We want to work with business. When CBS Studio Center wanted to expand, we wanted to make sure that it could be done without impacting the surrounding residential community. A lot of our members work in the entertainment industry and they understood what CBS wanted to do but they also share a sense of respect for the neighborhood. So CBS ultimately shared our vision and we all realized that we were all shooting for the same thing. Q: How did you get involved in the residents association? A: It was Thanksgiving Day in 1987 and there was a developer that wanted to circumvent some city oversight. They decided to bulldoze some houses and the neighborhood went ballistic. So out of curiosity, I went to this meeting and they said they would help us in the neighborhood to organize. A couple of years later I was president.

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