Riviera Homeowners Association

The  PCH fencing and greenery project

…still in process! On June 19,  Public Works was notified by CalTrans that they will be doing soil testing on the south side median as the first step in constructing a permanent fence along PCH across from South High School.  Due to the drought, landscaping plans are in jeopardy.  The RHA is continuing to encourage the city and CalTrans to provide an alternative to unsightly and unhealthy bare dirt.

The Tree and View ordinance

…is still being reviewed by a city council committee and will come back to a city council meeting with their recommendation, by this fall.  We will notify residents when this issue is on the city council agenda, so that those who are interested can attend and speak at the meeting.

New developments with…

…LEGADO:

It’s imperative that we have an incredibly strong resident turnout, when the Planning Commission of the City of Redondo Beach holds their public hearing on the Project this Thursday July 16, 2015 at 7:00 p.m., in the City Council Chambers, 415 Diamond Street, Redondo Beach CA, 90277. Check into facebook.com/SavetheRiviera for the most current information.
While we are told that Legado is planning on presenting a slightly revised plan (for 149 rental units, in addition to almost 40,000 SF of retail space, plus the 110-room PV Inn), we still feel that is too great a density on the old Bristol Farms site.  The plans, as far as Legado has been willing to share, still indicate big, bulky blocks of concrete, with little public or green space, a look that is simply not in keeping with our beach community, and density that will bring an unmanageable amount of additional traffic to our streets.
We did a great job in conveying our dissatisfaction with the initial plans, at the March 19th Planning Commission hearing.  We’ll need to make sure that a huge number of residents show up for this next hearing, trumpeting the same message, so that the Commissioners understand they simply cannot approve these plans, created by folks who don’t live anywhere near here, and have no interest in truly improving our area, but simply making big bucks out of our community.
The architectural plans/drawings, environmental documents and other background documents and studies referenced are online here.

…1914-1926 PCH (Cape Point)

This mixed use project of 52 condos and some 10,000 SF of retail space was unanimously approved by the RB Planning Commission at the May 21st hearing.
Unfortunately, the Commissioners allowed this also too-dense project, with major traffic and safety problems, to go through unchallenged and unrevised.  .  A major problem here is that the alley that runs between the church and the condo/property will serve as the in/out road for these new homeowners, and will create even bigger safety and traffic concerns than it already does, for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists alike. This is the same alley used by parents dropping off kids for the St Lawrence Martyr Church School!
Happily, an appeal has been filed on behalf of all of us, and residents will be able to make their voices heard by the Redondo Beach City Council (rather than Planning Commission) this time.  They’ll need to hear us loud and clear, and know that there must be a vision for this community, without continuous approval of piecemeal projects that will continue to put pedestrian (and driver) safety at risk.
This appeal hearing is at 6pm on Tuesday, July 21st, at Redondo Beach City Council chambers (415 Diamond, off PCH).
Please be sure to share the information with your friends and neighbors, both in the Hollywood Riviera, and nearby communities.  These overdevelopment plans will affect us ALL, and for many, many years to come!  We are all for development of these properties, but they must be appropriate, sustainable plans for each.
Whether you live directly across from one of these sites, or many blocks or even miles away (think of PV residents who are forced to pass thru the PCH + PVB intersection daily), if you use our streets, and enjoy spending time in our community, you are sure to feel the results of these new projects. Recent votes in Hermosa and Redondo (as well as Manhattan Beach’s just-announced moratorium on downtown building) have shown how citizens can work together to get the right things done! Please be sure to take the time to join us in these efforts.

Our cool treasure

Have you been to the El Retiro Library lately?  With the onset of hot weather, think of the library as a place to cool down, read a magazine, or check out the new acquisition shelf for the latest books.  If you have little ones, there’s Toddlertime at 11:00am on Wednesdays.  It’s not just for homework any more!

Save the movie date:

Everyone’s invited for a Family Movie Night August 29 at El Retiro Park. Picnics, blankets, and lawn chairs are welcome as the park turns into movie theaters! Movie begins at dusk (around 8:00 p.m.). So bring your warm clothes, popcorn, cocoa, and snacks; and join in watching ‘Happy Feet’!
Movies in the Park brought to us by the Torrance Community Service division.  For more information, please call (310) 618-2930.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Summer doldrums – not for us!

If you’ve been following our website, you know the RHA has been researching and participating in discussions regarding the two proposed Redondo Beach developments which border our community.   The massive 4-story mixed use development at the old Bristol Farms site has been withdrawn, but the developer, Legado Companies, still intends to submit plans based on as yet unknown revisions.  According to the city “the applicant has requested to postpone the May 21, 2015 public hearing to prepare a revised project, which reduces the number of residential units and eliminates the request for a Density Bonus and associated concessions.”

Please try to stay informed on this subject.   The hearing by the Redondo Beach City Council was postponed, but is coming up quickly: June 18.  Click here for the RB Planning Commission agendas.  Meanwhile the “Legado Outreach Team” is offering a meeting: Saturday, May 30, 2015  9:00 AM-11:00 AM at the Palos Verdes Inn- 1700 S. Pacific Coast Hwy, where you may be able to learn what new plans are being considered.

The other development, at PCH and Prospect is being considered for approval this week at the May 21 RB Planning Commission meeting.  Click here for that agenda.  This is being described as “a mixed-use development to include 52 residential condominium units and approximately 10,552 square feet of ground floor retail and office spacewith a total of 182 parking spaces on a 1.49 acre property.”  As with the Legado development, there are concerns about traffic flow, increased congestion, and adjacency to a school.

Still developing…

The RHA encourages you to stay informed on these 2 developments which will create an impact on the Hollywood Riviera, during construction, and for years thereafter.  A good source of information is the Save the Riviera website.  Also, you may email the RHA co-presidents to get updates delivered to your email address.

New market opening

H Mart, a grocery store specializing in Asian foods, will be coming to the former OSH space, at the Vista Project, 4340 Pacific Coast Highway (at Anza).  This is in Torrance, and so on Wednesday, May 20th at 7pm, at Torrance Civic Auditorium, the Planning Commission will publicly review their Conditional Use Permit, pertaining to H Mart’s planned store and food court at that location.  They plan to open this October.  Click here to see the Planning Commission’s agenda for that date.  More traffic, but more food!

View obstruction ordinance goes before city council Tuesday night

According to the Torrance Community Development department, there will be an item regarding the potential ordinance on the Tuesday, May 19 Council Agenda.  However, the item is only asking for direction as to what body will hear the next steps, and is not intended to address the actual issue at this time.  Once a hearing body has been designated, they will schedule a meeting to discuss next steps in formulating an ordinance.  If you’re interested in the progress toward a view ordinance you may wish to attend; however, there may not be public input at this time.  For the full City Council agenda, click here. To view the City Council meetings on video, click here.

Busy week!

Filed under: Uncategorized | Comments Off on New developments with 2 local developments

This month’s RHA homeowners meeting on April 22 will feature city councilman Tim Goodrich to discuss current city government projects and issues.  There’s a lot on the City Council’s plate this year, and many decisions will affect Riviera homeowners.  You’re welcome to bring your questions and concerns to the meeting and find out what your city and homeowners association is up to.

Also on our agenda,  is an area representative from Heal the Bay, Jose Bacallao, who will spend the last part of Earth Day with us, discussing the state of local beaches in the Torrance/Redondo area.  He will share some insights into the defeat of the Hermosa Oil Initiative, and whether there may be future attempts to bring oil drilling to the area.

Finally, an annual highlight of the RHA is the awarding of college scholarships to applicants selected by an RHA committee, who examined many worthy high school seniors to determine this year’s awardees.  Come to the meeting to learn who this year’s scholars are and cheer them on to greater academic heights. 

There will also be updates on the Legado project (planned for the Bristol Farms property on PCH), the landscaping along PCH across from South High, and other news you can use.   And refreshments!

Torrance Relay for Life

This 24-hour event will be held April 25th and 26th at South High School from 9 a.m. to 9 a.m.  It is truly an exciting and inspirational festival with teams from all parts of the community gathered together to celebrate those who have survived cancer and remember those we have lost. In addition to fundraising, each team member agrees to spend one hour walking (or jogging) around the track.  And this continues for 24 hours because “cancer never sleeps.”

If you have any questions, please contact Pam Popovich at (310) 375-8729 or pampop1@verizon.net. The easiest way to contribute is online at the American Cancer Society’s Torrance Relay site: www.relayforlife.org/torranceca
◾First: Click on Donate.  Next: Choose Participant and then enter Pamela Popovich

2015 Movies in the Park
   This year’s features are:

• The Muppets – Saturday, June 27 @ Victor Park

• Hairspray – Saturday, July 25 @ Greenwood Park

•  Happy Feet – Saturday, August 29 @ El Retiro Park

  • Contact Suzanne Wand at swand@torranceca.gov with any questions.

Thanks to all our paid-up members for your support!

Filed under: Uncategorized | Comments Off on April 22 RHA General meeting

To: Concerned residents
Now there is something you can do about helicopter noise. You may have seen the recent article in the Daily Breeze on the FAA’s new Automated Complaint System for helicopter noise in LA County. If not, click on this link to the article online.

We can all use this system to file complaints whenever bothered by helicopter noise. By doing so, we can help document the extent of the problem which may lead to some real improvements.

There are three ways to file complaints about helicopter noise:
1) Call (424) 348-HELI (4354)
2) Use the general complaint form at http://heli-noise-la.com/how-to-use/
3) Use the WebTrak system at http://heli-noise-la.com/webtrak/

Option 3, WebTrak for helicopter noise, is a flight tracking system that allows you to find and report the specific helicopter flight that bothered you. However, this WebTrak system is experiencing problems. It does not show many of the helicopter flights taking place in the South Bay area. Also, because the system has a built-in delay, you have to make a note of the time, wait up to an hour, then go to the WebTrak website to find your flight and file your complaint. Therefore, for the present time, it may be easier for most residents to file complaints by using either of the first two options (phone or general complaint form).

Attached is a flyer you can print and keep available for future reference:

More information on the LA Helicopter Noise Initiative is available at the LA Area Helicopter Noise Coalition website: LAHelicopternoise.org.

For this information, we thank:
Richard Root
Founder, Citizens for Quiet Helicopters
Board Member, LA Area Helicopter Noise Coalition

Filed under: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Bothered by the Buzz?

On Tuesday, March 31, there will be two important meetings for Torrance residents:

Filed under: Uncategorized | Comments Off on TWO IMPORTANT MEETINGS. ONE EVENING.