Riviera Homeowners Association

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!

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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

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

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Legado Developments

Are you tired of OVERDEVELOPMENT in our area?

The City of Redondo Beach is holding a meeting to address the plan for the old Bristol Farms / Palos Verdes Inn site (corner of PCH & Palos Verdes Blvd).

Legado Corp is submitting plans for a mixed-use development that will bring:

• HIGH DENSITY rental units (180 [small] apartments PLUS 37,000SF commercial space PLUS 110 rooms remaining in PV Inn!  Too many units on too small a parcel.)
• TALL BUILDINGS 3 + 4 stories-high (too bulky and tall for this neighborhood!)
• EVEN MORE TRAFFIC (Caltrans estimates an additional 2,600 cars daily through this already overloaded intersection!) and spillover cut-through traffic through the Riviera
• INADEQUATE PARKING (leading to parking overflow on our residential streets!)

We may not get to vote in Redondo Beach elections, but we have a right to have our voices heard, and to do what’s necessary to protect our wonderful community.

We strongly urge you to attend the RB Planning Commission meeting next Thursday, March 19th, at 7:00pm (at 415 Diamond Street, off PCH, in Redondo Beach).  Come early as this meeting will attract quite a lot of people, many of whom are sure to be speaking in support of overdevelopment!

Have your voice heard!  This project will impact our neighborhood!!!

The project includes the demolition of the existing Bristol Farms and commercial structures and construction of a mixed-use residential development. The project includes 180 residential units (168,562 gross square feet), 37,600 square feet of ground level commercial, and a 28,000 square foot public plaza. –Legado Redondo
Visual Impact Assessment

Click here for more info and full description of the Legado proposal, as well as comments by area residents (Appendix J), at the RB website (www.redondo.org).

Visit www.SaveTheRiviera.com for more info from other concerned neighbors.

We strongly urge Riviera residents to attend the Redondo Beach Planning Commission meeting at which Legado officials will present their plans, on Thursday, March 19th, at 7:00PM.

Hospitality Chair Needed

Would you like to help out the RHA?  We need someone who is willing to bring hot water and cookies for our beverage table at the meetings.  There are four meetings a year.  We pay for the food purchases. Call 310 378-5616 and ask for Judy.

Finances

Several residents have asked about where their dues to the RHA are spent–we’re happy to oblige.   It costs us upwards of $3,000 to mail out 3,400 newsletters to the Riviera for each mailing.  We also pay for liability insurance allowing us to host meetings at the school, signs for advertising meetings and stipends to Richardson School for helping us set up the PA systems.  It’s our great pleasure to give out 2 or 3  scholarships each year to local high school seniors heading to college (and would like to do more).   We also pay for the beverages and snacks that are served at each meeting.  Oh, and we pay nothing to our dedicated board members!
We are a 501 (c)3 organization, a non-profit, and your dues and donations are the only income that we take in. Thanks to all residents for your continued voluntary support.  Click here for more membership data.

Aquatic Center

The Torrance Unified School District will be holding its “Quarterly Construction Update” meeting on Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 7 PM at the Torrance City Hall, 3031 Torrance Blvd.  This is a new date and location change for this meeting only.

It is expected that the location of the new Aquatic Center will be finalized at this meeting.  There will not be any pre-meetings and it is likely the location will be decided at this meeting.  This probably will be your only chance to be heard on this issue.

TUSD Board member Michael Wermers is encouraging your participation in the meeting and if you have any questions, please contact Michael  at mwermers@gpsd.com.

Hospitality Chair Needed

Would you like to help out the RHA?  We need someone who is willing to bring hot water and cookies for our beverage table at the meetings.  There are four meetings a year.  We pay for the food purchases. Call 310 378-5616 and ask for Judy.

April General Meeting – save the date: April 22

Our next main speaker will be drawn from the ranks of our Torrance City Council.  In addition, there will be special topics helping our community celebrate Earth Day.

Know about the Birds and the Bees?

At the March 3rd City Council meeting, there was thoughtful conversation and eloquent testimony about proposals to allow Torrance residents to keep chickens (4 max, and no roosters) and bees (2 hives, max) on single-family property.

The Council brought up a number of points that they want staff to address, preferably in the draft ordinances.

Final vote was 7-0, directing city staff to draft ordinances allowing chicken and beekeeping, that can be brought back to the Council at a later date for further consideration.   We’ll keep you posted as this issue develops.

El Retiro Library Events

April 4, 2015:   DClutter your home, create a space that is free of clutter and chaos.

Tired of the clutter? Get organized with tips from an expert. Join us for a morning with Tracy McCubbin, founder and owner of dClutterfly, a service designed to help people take on a mess and create a space free of clutter and chaos. Tracy will present real, practical tips that everyone can use to organize their lives.
Please call El Retiro Library at 310 375-0922 for reservations. Lecture begins at 12 noon.

April 7, 2015: Jane Austen book club, by Karen Joy Fowler.

 In California’s central valley, five women and one man join to discuss Jane Austen’s novels.
Over the six months they get together, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens.
Read the book and come in for an interesting discussion.
The group meets on the first Tuesday of each month from 10-11 a.m.  Right here in the Hollywood Riviera.

Save the Water!

The City of Torrance, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), is sponsoring  several sessions of a innovative Water Efficient Landscape/Gardening Workshop,  at no cost to participants. All workshops will be held on Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. until noon at West High School in Torrance located at 20401 Victor Street, with parking in the adjacent lot (click here for flyer).

By the way, if you’re still watering your lawn, check your sprinklers now and then.

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Tree/vegetation views aired at February 11 RHA General Meeting

On February 11, the RHA hosted Ms. Linda Cessna and staff from the city Community Development Department to discuss the city’s proposed Tree and View Ordinance.

A packed Richardson auditorium discusses options for a view ordinance

The RHA started the meeting by showing several pictured examples of view obstruction and spite trees in the Riviera, noting how an ordinance would resolve these problems.  Ms. Cessna stated that the city is looking at existing tree/view ordinances in the South Bay and California, and will draft an ordinance after all of the community meetings are completed, and community input has been noted.   After the presentations, there was lively input from several Riviera neighbors, who gave valuable input to the process the city will use to pursue this.  Not just private trees, but also city trees were blamed for view loss in many cases.  Apologies to those who could not find seats and chose to leave early.  We will continue to keep Riviera residents posted as these ideas make their way to the City Council, and hopefully, into an ordinance.

Linda Cessna covers the implications of an ordinance

It’s a long process, but we’re on our way!!

        If you missed the Feb 11 presentation, you may attend a hearing Monday, March 2, at the Torrance Airport Meeting room from 7 to 9 pm.  City staff will be making the same informational presentation as previously, and then taking input from attendees.   If you are unable to attend the meeting but would like to comment, feel free to send an e-mail to LCESSNA@TorranceCA.gov  with your views, questions or concerns.  These will become part of the public record as the process progresses, so you can be sure that your views are represented.  (If you cannot Monday, there is a final hearing tentatively scheduled a the Katy Geisert (main) Torrance library on Tuesday March 31.)

Thank you to all the new and renewing neighbors who updated their RHA memberships at the meeting!

Update on Legado project (old Bristol Farm property at PCH and Palos Verdes Blvd)

Summary:  the Legado development company is pursuing construction of a mixed-use (residential/commercial) development consisting of 180 residential apartment units.  Concerns have been raised over density, view impairment (for apartments to the north in Redondo Beach), and increased traffic congestion. The Planning Commission of the City of Redondo Beach is scheduled to hold a public hearing on this project on March 19, 2015 at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, in the City Council Chambers, 415 Diamond Street.  Click here for a link to the hearing notice. Hollywood Riviera residents are advised that there will be a community meeting on Thursday, March 5 at the Palos Verdes Inn from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.[corrected from original post]  to prepare for that RB Council hearing. As we saw during the recent Rock & Brews planning process (and, earlier, for the condos on PCH between PV Blvd and Colinas), a series of meetings between the developer and Riviera residents provided fruitful communication opportunity for our comments and concerns.  Most would agree that the final project ended up being far better than had we not had the opportunity for that dialogue.  We are certainly hopeful that this meeting will encourage the same give and take with Legado.

PCH beautification efforts moving at the speed of government

The PCH Fencing and Landscaping Project is still in the works, but is being slowed by a soil sample requirement by CalTrans.  CalTrans is testing the soil in the median for lead content, and will determine what to do next based on the results of the soil testing. While waiting for the results, RHA board members contacted State Senator Ben Allen to try to help expedite this process.   Senator Allen’s District Representative, James Reina, has been in contact with both Caltrans administrators and Craig Bilezarian of Torrance Public Works.  While the soil sample process cannot be waived, Mr. Reina confirmed that the funding is in place for the project and “appears to be ready to go” as soon as Caltrans and the City deal with the results of the soil survey.

Landscaping along PCH, during construction, and after.

We applaud the city and Caltrans for completion of the re-landscaping on the north side of PCH fronting South High, and look forward to resolution on the residential south side.  The RHA will continue to encourage progress on the part of the agencies concerned.

Refinery reminders

The recent accident at the ExxonMobil refinery north of us is a reminder to know about Torrance’s shelter in place notifications.  Read this summary  so you’ll know what to do if disaster strikes and you’re in harm’s way. For additional information, visit ExxonMobil’s web site: www.ExxonMobiltorrance.com Please share this information with your friends, family, and co-workers.

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