Atwater Village Neighborhood Council:
Certified: 02/11/2003
 

Address: 
Atwater Village Neighborhood Council
3371 Glendale Blvd. Unit 105
Los Angeles, CA 90039

(323) 230-3406

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What is a Neighborhood Council?

Neighborhood Councils are the closest form of government to the people. They are advisory bodies, who advocate for their communities with City Hall on important issues like development, homelessness, and emergency preparedness. Neighborhood Councils are part of the Los Angeles City government and have annual budgets funded by taxpayer dollars. Neighborhood Council board members are City officials who are elected by the members of their local communities, but they donate their time as volunteers. The Neighborhood Council system was established in 1999 as a way of ensuring that the City government remains responsive to the different needs and lifestyles of Los Angeles’ rich variety of communities. There are currently 99 Neighborhood Councils in Los Angeles, each serving about 40,000 people.
 

Who are the Atwater Village “Stakeholders”?

Stakeholders are defined in the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council Bylaws. Stakeholders include individuals who:

1. Lives, works, or owns real property within the boundaries of the neighborhoodcouncil; or

2. Is a Community Interest Stakeholder, defined as an individual who is a member of or participates in a Community Organization* within the boundaries of the neighborhood council.

 

*A “Community Organization” is an entity that has continuously maintained a physical street address within the boundaries of the neighborhood council for not less than one year, and that performs ongoing and verifiable activities and operations that confer some benefit on the community within the boundaries of the neighborhood council. A for-profit entity shall not qualify as a Community Organization. Examples of Community Organizations may include Chambers of Commerce, houses of worship or other faith-based organizations, educational institutions, or non-profit organizations.
 

Stakeholders shall include the following in this Council area:

1.   Homeowners

2.   Renters

3.   Property owners

4.   Business owners

5.   Employees of businesses

6.   Cultural institutions and their members

7.   Religious institutions and their members

8.   Service or community nonprofit organizations and their members

9.   Schools and their students

10.   Parks and recreation
     

What can Neighborhood Councils do?

Neighborhood Councils play an advisory role in the Los Angeles municipal government. They gather, vet, debate, and come to a consensus on matters that impact City life and policy, and deliver their official stance on these issues in letters called “Community Impact Statements” (CIS), which are shared with City decision-makers, such as the Mayor, City Council, or City Departments such as City Planning. The Neighborhood Council may also attend meetings of these decision-making officials in person, to advocate for their board’s position on a matter. Neighborhood Councils members take action as a board, and not as individuals, so they do not take an official position without a majority vote first.
 

Neighborhood Councils receive public funds of about $32,000 each year to support their activities. Each member takes state-mandated training on the ethical management of public funds, and the funds must be allocated by board consensus. The funds may be used to create events and programs that respond to community needs, or spent to advocate for issues that the board cares about such as crime prevention, better roads and streets, safe spaces for children, help for the homeless, arts, or local economic development.
 

Atwater Neighborhood Council Boundaries:
Details / Map / Interactive Map

Atwater Village lies between the Los Angeles River to the west and Glendale to the north and east. In addition, the neighborhood shares borders with the neighborhoods of Silver Lake to the south, Elysian Valley to the southeast, Glassell Park to the northeast, and Los Feliz and Griffith Park across the river to the west. Much of Atwater lies in the old river flood plain, which resulted in deep, fertile soil.

Principal thoroughfares include San Fernando Road, Fletcher Drive, and Los Feliz and Glendale Boulevards. The Golden State and Glendale Freeways run along the district’s western and southeastern borders, respectively.
 

History
What is now Atwater Village began originally as a part of Rancho San Rafael, which covered much of what is now Glendale and northeastern Los Angeles. In 1868, W.C.B. Richardson purchased a portion of the rancho and renamed it Rancho Santa Eulalia. This land eventually fell into the family of Harriet Atwater Paramore, for whom the neighborhood was originally named as “Atwater Park”, which was a poppy field at the time it was first subdivided in 1912.
 

In subsequent decades, residents began to settle in the area. Many new residents were newly prosperous workers, including many working at the nearby DWP substation. Spanish-style houses, bungalows, and other unique housing styles were built in the 1920s to 1940s, many of which still retain their original details. Growth was aided by the construction of a line of the Pacific Electric Railway with its distinctive “red cars”, which ran down Glendale Boulevard. The line, along with the rest of the streetcar system, however, was dismantled in favor of freeways and buses.
 

The Tam O’Shanter Inn, established in 1922, is one of the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles County. Walt Disney was a frequent patron there.
 

Franciscan Pottery, a well-known manufacturer of pottery and dinnerware, was located in Atwater. The company moved the plant to China in 1978 and the large property is now occupied by Costco and Best Buy, and other retail and restaurants.
 

Before Interstate 5 there was a drive-in movie theatre at the corner of Riverside Dr. and Los Feliz for a brief period in the late 1950s.
 

Demographics *
According to respondents of the 2010 census, there are 14,101 people in Atwater Village (The 2000 census listed over 16,000). The makeup of the neighborhood is 26.72% White; 48.22% Hispanic or Latino; 1.69% African American; 0.74% Native American or Alaska Native American; 21.74% Asian; 0.20% Pacific Islander; 19.36% from other races, and 5.30% from two or more races.
 

Atwater has 12,000 households. About 90% of residences are single-family homes. In 2003, the Atwater Village neighborhood had an estimated 16,000 residents.
 

Education
Los Angeles Unified School District operates the following public schools:

* Atwater Avenue Elementary School
* Glenfeliz Boulevard Elementary School
* Washington Irving Middle School
* John Marshall High School

National Catholic Educational Association operates Holy Trinity School.**

Los Angeles Public Library operates the Atwater Village Branch.
 

References:

* Los Angeles Almanac: http://www.laalmanac.com/population/po24la.php
** (information supplied from Wikipedia.com)

Frequently Asked Questions: FAQ’s