Outpost Neighborhood Association Wins Its Third Straight Hollywood Bowl Community Grant for $25,000
Image from the 2026 Hollywood Bowl Grant Program.
Image from Outpost Neighborhood Association’s 2026 Hollywood Bowl Grant Program Winning Submission.
The Outpost Neighborhood Association (ONA) has been selected to receive a 2026 Hollywood Bowl Community Grant from the Los Angeles County Parks Foundation (LACPF), capping off a year that started with a neighborhood poll and ended with the strongest application portfolio ONA has put together yet.
🎉 We Got the Grant!
LACPF Board President, Joe Mendoza, notified ONA this week that the Outpost Estates Tree Care & Street Right-of-Way Cleanup Project has been awarded $25,000 through the Hollywood Bowl Community Grant Program, an annual fund sponsored by LACPF, Live Nation Hewitt Silva, and the LA Philharmonic Association. This is ONA's third consecutive year winning this grant, bringing the total raised through the program to $75,000 since 2024. Read more about the 2024 grant here and the 2025 grant here.
Three years, three wins, $75,000 total. None of it happens without residents taking a few minutes to weigh in on the WhatsApp poll each spring. The tree care and cleanup work moves into planning next, and the tile wall, camera network, and traffic island completion projects stay on the list for future funding. Thanks to everyone who voted and helped shape this year's applications, and a huge thank you to the Los Angeles County Parks Foundation for administering this grant program for the neighborhoods surrounding the Hollywood Bowl, and to Live Nation Hewitt Silva and LA Philharmonic Association for funding it each year!
🌳 What the $25,000 Will Fund
Outpost Estates is defined by its aging Carob tree canopy, planted nearly a century ago and now reaching the end of its natural life span. Many of these trees carry Armillaria fungus, which causes interior decay and has led to a rise in fallen branches, exactly the kind of hazard that gets more dangerous during high-traffic Hollywood Bowl event nights. The grant breaks the work into four phases, and since ONA is volunteer-led with no paid staff, all $25,000 goes to the project itself rather than overhead.
Phase 1 ($5,000). A certified arborist evaluates every tree across all 16 streets and delivers a written report on what needs removal, pruning, or replacement.
Phase 2 ($5,000). A licensed, insured tree care contractor handles the trimming, dead-limb removal, and replacement plantings the arborist report calls for.
Phase 3 ($3,000). Brush clearance and right-of-way cleanup, including clearing vegetation that has swallowed the neighborhood's historic "King" street lights and buried street signs and curbs under dirt and debris.
Phase 4 ($12,000). A red curb refresh at Outpost Drive intersections, done with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), to stop the illegal parking that blocks sightlines and slows emergency vehicles during Bowl nights.
The work covers all 16 streets in Outpost Estates (Outpost Drive, Outpost Circle, El Cerrito Place, La Presa Drive, Los Tilos Road, Castilian Drive, Maravilla Drive, Oporto Drive, Senalda Road, Malaga Road, Chelan Drive, Chelan Way, Carmen Crest Drive, Lamar Road, Outpost Cove Drive, and Macapa Drive), not just the blocks closest to the Bowl. We will see how far we get with the grant funds and all this work!
Example of an aging Carob tree on Outpost Drive showing branch failure, interior decay, or recent fallen-limb damage. These trees are reaching the end of their natural lifespan and pose increasing safety hazards during high-traffic Hollywood Bowl event periods. More details here: https://www.outpostestates.com/news/carob
An Outpost Estates historic “King” street light heavily obscured by ivy, vines, and overgrowth — dramatically reducing the amount of light reaching the street and sidewalk below. This is one of dozens of locations across the 16 streets in Outpost Estates that this project will address. More details here: https://www.outpostestates.com/news/lights
Example of an Outpost Estates street sign partially or fully obscured by overgrown vegetation — a safety hazard for both residents and Hollywood Bowl visitors trying to navigate the neighborhood.
Example of an Outpost Estates curb that has been obscured by fallen hillside dirt and accumulated debris. This is unsafe for pedestrians, drainage, and accessibility — and is one of the cleanup tasks the project will address across all 16 streets in the neighborhood.
Example of a faded red curb at one of the intersections along Outpost Drive where the LADOT crew will refresh red paint per the $12,000 cost estimate from Bhuvan Bajaj, P.E. The faded curbs lead to illegal parking that blocks sightlines and slows emergency vehicle response during Bowl event nights. More details here: https://www.outpostestates.com/news/redcurbs
Example of a recently refreshed/re-painted red curb at one of the intersections along Outpost Drive that an LADOT crew recently completed.
🗳️ How the Portfolio Came Together
Back in June, ONA polled residents through the neighborhood WhatsApp text group of about 275 residents to help decide what to apply for this cycle. Since the grant committee only funds one project per organization, the board used that input to build a portfolio of four applications rather than betting everything on a single idea. You can read more about each of the four submissions in the links below:
Outpost Estates Tree Care & Street Right-of-Way Cleanup Project, this year's winner
Outpost Tile Wall Refresh & Native Hillside Garden, restoring the historic tile wall at Outpost Drive and Outpost Circle alongside a fire-safe native plant garden on the hillside above it
Neighborhood Entry Security Camera Network, Phase 1, the first two cameras of a planned five-camera license plate and video network with Post Alarm Systems, replacing the current Flock pilot
Outpost Drive Landscaped Traffic Islands Completion Grant, covering city-driven cost increases to finish the islands already under construction at La Presa Drive and Chelan Way
The committee chose the tree care project, and the other three remain priorities for the board going forward.
🍷 Save the Date for a Celebration Event at the Hollywood Bowl!
Picture from July 2024 with Representatives from Live Nation Hewitt Silva, Los Angeles County Parks Foundation, 5th Supervisorial District of Los Angeles County: Kathryn Barger, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, and Outpost Neighborhood Association pictured at the Hollywood Bowl.
LACPF is inviting the neighborhood to the annual Neighborhood Wine Soiree on September 28, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the Hollywood Bowl, alongside LA County leaders, to celebrate this year's grantees. Check the events page calendar for more details and RSVP using this link.
