Thanks to everyone who came out to the LA 32 Neighborhood Council meeting last night!!!! There were approximately 200 people in attendance.

To get right to the point: THE LA 32 NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE RESOLUTION which opposed the SWD proposed development of 24 luxury homes, called for no more extensions of tract map 35022 and to preserve the entire Elephant Hill open space for passive recreation. The vote was 9 in favor, 1 opposed and 1 abstention.

The public comment by over 20 residents was impressive, impassioned and

unanimous. Our organizing efforts tapped into a sentiment felt deeply by El Sereno and neighboring Northeast LA residents that the current wave of development is out of control and that it is our fundamental right to have a say about how the land surrounding our homes is used and protected.

A special thank you goes out to our neighbors from Montecito Heights, Mount Washington, Hermon, Highland Park, Boyle Heights, South Pasadena and other communities that came out in solidarity with our efforts to Save Elephant Hill. Thanks are also due to the organizations that took a public stand: the Audubon Center, the Latino Urban Forum, the Eastside Cafe, and others. We appreciate your efforts to collect petition signatures and post our announcements on your listservs, among other actions.

Also in attendance was owner/developer Mr. William D. Foote, his SWD

Communities staff and representatives from Diversified Strategies for

Organizing (DSO). DSO is Mr. Foote's recently retained PR firm headed by Victor Griego. Clearly, Mr. Foote has a public relations nightmare on his hands.

Mr. Foote's 10 minute speech to address community concerns went over like a lead balloon. His best arguments to persuade the audience to support the development consisted of unfounded and demeaning allegations. He stated that Elephant Hill was not the most pristine open space area around, implying that it is not worthy of preserving. He cited the potential for $50,000 increase in home value and suggested that the new houses would eliminate the illegal dumping of trash and refuse, and control gang activity. The residents who provided public comments eloquently effectively refuted Mr. Foote's weak,inaccurate and offensive claims.

The sweetest part of the victory came after the vote, when Jennie Carreon, head of Council Member Antonio Villaraigosa's El Sereno field office was asked where the Council Member stood on the Elephant Hill issue. Jennie clearly stated that Council Member Villaraigosa stands with the community in opposition to this development.

We relish our victory, but as we said last night, this is simply round one of the first phase of our struggle. Our next steps are critical:

1. Please send thank you letters to the LA 32 Neighborhood Council and Council Member Antonio Villaraigosa for their strong support. Mark

Woodsmall, LA 32 Neighbhood Council President can be reached at:

mwoodsmall@yahoo.com.

Council Member Villaraigosa can be reached at: jcarreon@council.lacity.org.

2. On April 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the El Sereno Senior Center (Eastern and Klamath Place), the Council District office will be hosting a meeting at which the developer will present his case in detail. We must again come out to demonstrate our unity and opposition to the development. We hope to have a rally prior to the meeting, starting at 5:30 p.m. at a location to be determined.

3. At 10 a.m., Saturday, April 17th there will be a tour of Elephant

Hill sponsored by the newly formed Northeast Los Angeles Open Space Coalition. Invitations are being extended to our elected officials and we anticipate a good showing. We would like to do a community-clean up in advance of the tour, so please stay tuned for more details.

4. We know there are going to be counter-organizing activities by the developer's hired guns. A number of unfamiliar faces at the meeting who indicated they were 'community members' were in deep discussions with the developers' people after the meeting. Sell-outs who carry the water for special interests are among the lowest life forms in the political arena and we can expect lots of dirty tricks from them including: telephone 'push' polls, direct mail, creative efforts to outright buy residents' support, a newly formed coalition in support of the development, etc., etc.

5. Remember, successful advocacy campaigns are about fights, about

helping people to understand which side they are on and why. The

most effective advocacy campaigns clearly identify the opposition-in this case Mr. Foote and SWD Communities-and aggressively attack their motives and strategies. To be successful, we will have to have the courage to point fingers and name names-in a respectful and composed manner, course.

Thank you for all that you have done to make this grassroots effort so powerful and effective. Please watch for further updates.