September General Meeting:

the drought, its impacts, and

what can be done about it

Wednesday Sept 17 7:00pm
Richardson Middle School
doors open at 6:30

This first program for 2013-14 will feature two excellent speakers to discuss the effects of the drought on our area, and to suggest ways to minimize the impact on your own home and yard, including information on drought-resistant and native California plants.

Light refreshments will be served; succulent plants will be available for sale from the Cactus Society.

Come early to pick up flyers and information, and use the opportunity to renew your membership and meet with RHA Board members and other neighbors.

New development on PCH

You may know of the proposed Legado re-development of the PCH/PV Blvd corner, including the PV Inn and the retail component including the old Bristol Farms building.  This is in Redondo Beach, not Torrance, but directly across PCH from Hollywood Riviera, which will be impacted by construction, and increased traffic.    There will be a hearing November 20 in Redondo Beach, and comments are being accepted by that city now.   The RHA Board has taken no formal position on this, but did want to bring it to residents’ attention.  For more information on this project, please visit the city website (link here).

View of proposed Legado development
Source: Visual Impact Study for City of Redondo Beach

We reprint here information from the Riviera Sunset Homeowners Association, which represents the residents in the condominiums behind the project on Avenue G: 

SAY NO TO LEGADO REDONDO!

HAVE YOU HEARD THAT THE 1700 PCH (OLD BRISTOL FARMS SITE) DEVELOPMENT PLAN IS UP FOR REVIEW BY THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH?

• 180 APARTMENTS AT PCH/PV BL
• INCLUDING LOW INCOME UNITS
• MASSIVE UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE AT PCH/PV BL
• INCREASED COMMERCIAL/RETAIL SPACE

JOIN US IN SAYING NO TO MORE TRAFFIC, NOISE & AIR POLLUTION IN THE RIVIERA!!

E-MAIL, FAX OR MAIL YOUR COMMENTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES BY 9/8/14 at 5:30PM TO:

Anita Kroeger, Associate Planner
415 Diamond Street, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
kroeger@redondo.org or Fax: 310-372-8021

We hope you have received (or are about to) the September issue of the Riviera Reporter with even more news of the Riviera.  We thank our advertisers for helping offset the cost of this newsletter, which the RHA believes is an important means of keeping neighbors informed.   Most of the cost of this and all the other efforts of the RHA are dependent on your voluntary membership dues, and we THANK YOU for those!

To view the current Riviera Reporter, click here, and also please take the time to peruse other pages of this hollywoodriviera.org website (also supported by your dues).  One way to stay involved is to renew your membership.  Make your community the best it can be – get involved!

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 The May 14 General Meeting was well attended by residents, and for good reason.   A rash of burglaries (and robberies) in the Riviera and nearby neighborhoods had residents deeply concerned about safety and what measures to take.  A team of officers took time out to address the issue with statistics, department reactions, and advice for keeping lives and property safe.

A rapt audience hears about crime and deterrence

The RHA also introduced Marquis Olison, representing the new neighborhood social media site Nextdoor.com, who described how the neighborhood could draw together (and become safer) by using new online tools to stay in touch, share ideas, and promote local activities.  Since then, the number of Nextdoor subscribers in the Riviera has grown to over 300 subscribers. After more than a year in existence, it’s clear that Nextdoor is a valuable tool for making the Riviera a more close-knit, vibrant community.

Spreading the word on Nextdoor.com

 For more information on Nextdoor.com, visit their website and consider signing up.

The RHA was pleased to present this year’s scholarship award winners, South High seniors Christina Bitten and Anna Spallino.  One of the greatest pleasures of the RHA is to be able to recognize the achievements of outstanding seniors each year.  Congratulations to these fine young graduates!

2014 scholarship winners
Anna Spallino and Christina Bitten

Finally, the RHA Board thanked Judy Brunetti for her 2 terms as president, the many (and late) hours advocating on behalf of Riviera residents, and her dedication to the city of Torrance.  Job well done!

Outgoing President, Judy Brunetti, accepts gifts from board member Cindy Constantino on behalf of her grateful RHA Board.

 Prepare for news about upcoming RHA and neighborhood happenings.
Have a safe and enjoyable last weeks of summer!

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Come the early hours of Sunday, September 21, the streets of the Riviera might be abuzz with the sounds of thudding running shoes and whooshing bicycle wheels. A “World Cup Triathlon” is being negotiated with the city of Torrance, and we may be eyewitness to a doozy of a sport spectacular. A mailer recently went to many Riviera residents (click here to see it) recently describing the proposed route.
In addition, the City Council will hear more about this proposal and be able to take comments from residents, so whether you’re for or against the idea, come to tomorrow’s City Council meeting at 7:00pm to learn more or let your voice be heard. We’ll continue to keep you updated through the summer as events unfold. For more information:

• City staff report on the proposal
• Daily Breeze article

City Candidate Q&A redo

Once again, we remind you of the answers provided to our candidates’ questionnaire  by mayoral and city council candidates.  And once again your webmaster apologizes, this time for omitting from our last edition the answers provided by candidate Tim Goodrich (who was first to respond).  The complete Q&A is available hereand hopefully serves you as a useful guide for the upcoming June 3 election.

Airport noise update

At last week’s Airport Commission meeting , a representative from WebTrak (the City’s new online flight tracking system), appeared and explained why the system is not working.    Staff is to report back to the Commission next month (June 12) on options to get the system to work.  If they cannot get it to work, they will not be able to enforce the rule against “early left turns” over the Riviera or training on the south side of the Airport.  Also, the Commission seemed pleased with the format and content of the new Quarterly Noise Abatement Report.  It has a  lot more useful information, including a list of the specific violations.  This report was for the first three months of this year.  There were 123 noise violations.  For more info on helicopter noise issues, please visit http://www.helicopternoise.org/

Reminder: Crime Awareness & Prevention

Don’t forget, this Wednesday’s important general meeting at Richardson Middle School, focused on, yes, crime awareness and prevention.  More details on our webpage: http://hollywoodriviera.org. 
This would be a good time to forward this notice to your friends and neighbors who might not have been made aware of the meeting.

Take care and be safe during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend!

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Please be sure to attend the RHA’s next General Meeting with guest speakers from the Torrance Police Department to discuss recent crime incidents in and around the Riviera.  Learn what is being done to beef up safety and how you can contribute to your own home’s safety and security.   It’s a matter for watching out for your neighbors as well as your own family.   We will also announce this year’s RHA scholarship winners and their plans for college and beyond. For those interested in the PCH landscaping project, there will be a short meeting before hand, at 6:30 sharp to share the progress being made and solicit input from residents. This will be our last regularly scheduled meeting for the 2013-14 year.   As we make plans for next fall, we’ll be looking at the available funds and predicting next year’s budget.   If you haven’t yet paid your voluntary dues, it’s not too late; your donation will make a difference in the amount of support your neighborhood champion can provide.  Please visit our website for information on how to contribute your dues.

New landscape award winners

If you haven’t seen our champions of the front yard, check out the latest award winners, selected jointly with the Riviera Garden Club.  We thank all those who keep the Riviera beautiful with their hard work and thoughtfulness applied to their own homes.

Updated City Council Q&A

Due to an oversight for which we apologize, we left out responses to our questionnaire from 3 of the City Council candidates when we posted last week.  Please click here to view the updated, complete Q&A addressed to the 3 mayoral candidates and the 16 city council candidates.   You’ll find useful information to help you in deciding where your votes go on June 3.

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Last week’s city council meeting focused on the emerging issue of new street sweeping rules, including signs to be posted for weekly no parking days. Tickets for parking on  a street during the three hours of  street sweeping time may be set to $43.00, once the details of the new policy are established

At the meeting, several residents of the Seaside neighborhood had comments and complaints about the proposed placement of the poles and signs for street sweeping.  The residents there have been asking for fewer signs than were originally planned for (over 5,000 signs to be placed 300 feet apart all over Torrance).   After walking around Seaside with the residents and a city engineer in April, RHA President Judy Brunetti felt that the marked sign locations were not good either—for example, directly in front of homes rather than at property lines.

 After hearing from anyone who wished to speak on the matter, council decided that :

1)  They agreed that there has not been sufficient communication letting residents know that mandatory street sweeping is coming to Torrance.  It must be done to lessen the debris in rainwater runoff to the bay and limit the debris going into the gutters.
The council decided to send out mailed flyers to inform everyone in Torrance.

2)  They will limit the number of signs–maybe just one at each end of the street. Mr. John Dettle, public works engineer, said he would personally check the sign placement to make sure they are correct (ie. not too many, and at the property line when necessary).

3) Contractors will start installing the open-and-close grates on the rain gutters right away, but the signs will come later.

4) City council needs to discuss further what to do about street sweeping on streets that have parking only on one side of the street, like many streets in the Riviera.

5) The current fine for parking on the street during street sweeping hours is $43.00.  This is likely going to stay the same, but may also be discussed.

 Further discussion on signage and parking issues by the council has been delayed until July 22, when there will be new council members seated.

 Here are some links to background information motivating the initiating of street sweeping signage:

• What’s going on at Lake Machado? 
• Torrance participation in the Machado Lake Project showing “full capture trash screens on catch basins”
• Proposition 84 Stormwater Grant Program
• Proposition 84 (passed in 2006)

 The RHA is actively working with the city to provide feedback on the proposed signage (and penalties) and also with the other homeowner associations in the area to coordinate better across our communities.  We will continue to keep you posted on future developments.

 Candidate forum followup

As part of our candidate forum Q&A at South High earlier this month, we solicited answers to several questions that would be of concern to Riviera residents.  A compilation of those questions and answers are now available at this link.  Thank you to all the candidates for mayor and city council who took the time to respond to this questionnaire. 

Election Day is June 3 – put it on your calendars and don’t forget to vote!!
Vote for Mayor
Vote for City Council
Vote for City Clerk

May General meeting – Crime Awareness & Prevention

Our next meeting announcement is on our website, we are excited to have an informative and timely presentation, with great relevance today to all Riviera homeowners and residents.   You’ll also get a chance to learn who this year’s college scholarship winners are. 

Relay for Life 2014

Congratulations to all the relay walkers at last weekend’s Relay for Life who dedicated part of last weekend at South High in the fight against cancer.  All funds raised support the American Cancer Society for their research and support efforts.   The Hollywood Riviera Sportsmen’s Club was among the groups providing the most fundraising, as well as delicious pancakes for the Sunday morning wrapup.  If you’d like to help push the group over their fundraising target of $12,000, click here and give generously.

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