Riviera Homeowners Association

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   The massive 4-story mixed use development at the old Bristol Farms site has been withdrawn, but the developer, Legado Companies, still intends to submit plans based on as yet unknown revisions.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!

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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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