New Members Named to Neighborhood Panels

Councilwoman Laura Chick has named a new round of appointees to three community panels that weigh in on development decisions in their neighborhoods, often helping to shape projects to satisfy both developers and residents.

Chick set up the groups, known as Neighborhood Planning Advisory Councils, after she was elected in 1993 to give residents greater influence in planning their communities. Developers hoping to build in Chick’s district generally begin by meeting with the appropriate neighborhood council to discuss their plans.

The new members of the Canoga Park/Winnetka council include Maria Torres and the Rev. Gail Geisenhainer, according to Chick’s office. Gumaro Garay, David Lynn and Michelle Topolsky were appointed to the Reseda/Tarzana/Encino/West Van Nuys group, and the Woodland Hills/West Hills council will be joined by Eric Elias, Mehrdad Golshani, Steven Rheuban, Caryn Veasey and Ed Viramontes..

The councilwoman will welcome the newcomers and honor those stepping down after serving three-year terms at a ceremony Thursday.

“It’s a way for the community to have a voice,” said Cindy Orland, the retiring chair of the Woodland Hills/West Hills group. “A lot of them are members of their homeowners associations or their area associations, and they know what’s going on in each of their individual areas in a way that no council person could ever know.”

In one instance, Orland’s neighborhood council worked with officials from Home Depot to steer the company away from one traffic-clogged Woodland Hills site to build at another location that the community supported.

“We gave them suggestions and then they complied with the things we suggested,” Orland said.