The Sherman Library and Gardens meets Hollywoodland!
By Chris O’Brien
In 2022 I began collecting acorns scattered on the Hollywoodland roadways while on my daily walks. These were gathered with the purpose of creating a visual, living legacy to celebrate Hollywoodland’s Centennial in 2023.
I started with 100 acorns. That horticultural process was mostly trial and error. Some of the acorns sprouted, some did not, some were meals for hungry squirrels. The survivors grew in pots in our garden, a mini Hollywoodland forest.
A Win for the Hillsides: Affirming the Power of our Hollywoodland Specific Plan
The Los Angeles City Council’s decision to deny the proposed development at 3003 Runyon Canyon Road marks an important victory for hillside preservation—and a powerful affirmation of the value of Specific Plans in Los Angeles.
The appeals, led by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, MRCA, and the Hillside Federation, successfully invoked the protections of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan (MSP), halting an oversized ridgeline residence that threatened the character of Runyon Canyon Park. This ruling sends a clear message: our city’s planning protections matter—and they must be upheld.
For Hollywoodland, this decision reinforces the enduring strength of our own Hollywoodland Specific Plan, adopted in 1987. Designed to preserve our neighborhood’s distinctive scale, topography, and natural setting, the plan remains our best defense against inappropriate development. Like the MSP, it ensures that new construction is compatible with the hillside environment, our historic fabric, and public safety.
MySafeLA: Do You Have Enough Wildfire Insurance?
Our podcast Rebuild:LA is gaining a lot of traction and is growing every few days. If you haven’t had a chance to listen yet, we invite you to do so. As an overview, we’ve had some pretty remarkable guests on the show, and we have many more lined up.
To listen to the podcasts, you can either reach them via our website: www.wildfirela.org/podcasts/ or via the podcast specific page: https://rebuildla.buzzsprout.com or better still, subscribe via your favorite podcast streaming service. Rebuild:LA is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Deezer and other streaming services.
A social start for our new 2025 HHA Board
This week, members of the newly elected Hollywoodland Homeowners Association Board for 2025 met up for a social gathering at the Aster in Hollywood. Thank you to resident Michael Halloran for hosting us in this versatile and friendly club so close to our homes. Following our annual meeting in February, it was fantastic to meet up and get to know each other before we formally start work on March 11, our first meeting of this term.
“Coming Together as a Community”
Thank you to all who attended the HHA’s annual meeting on February 18, 2025 and thanks also to the Beachwood Café for offering us their space to host this event. We also welcomed members participating via zoom.
Thank you to all members who joined and re-joined this year. Your support makes it possible to carry out work to protect and develop our historic community. The HHA does not only need your membership dues, please get involved, volunteer, contribute your ideas, share your stories and raise your concerns with us. If you have not yet joined, you can do so here.
At our annual meeting we covered:
• The work carried out by committees and Board Members in 2024
• Safety, including details on our infrastructure’s history and back story to our relationship with the City of LA and other stakeholders
• The new HHA website
• A presentation of a Certificate from California Assembly member Rick Chavez Zbur to Hollywoodland to commemorate our centenary in 2023. Presented by Field Representative Robbie Staenberg
• Thank you to Sarajane Schwartz for her leadership as 2024 HHA President.
Notice of HHA Annual Meeting
The HHA will be holding its Annual Meeting Tuesday February 18, 2025 at 7 pm The Beachwood Café 2695 Beachwood Drive Los Angeles, CA, 90068
Crime and Safety: taking action
On January 20, 2025, Hollywoodland resident Justin Burnett hosted a community meeting on crime and safety at Besant Lodge. Thank you to all who attended and watched online. The aim of this meeting was to come together to learn and remind ourselves what we can do to address the challenges we face, following the mobilisation of many residents via the Hollywoodland Neighborhood App.
Hollywoodland Visual Identity
We look different! HHA has updated its visual identity and we want to tell you about it.
