Riviera Homeowners Association

Please attend this first General Meeting of the 2013-14 year. 

Featured  presenters at Wednesday’s meeting will be engineers from the Torrance Department of Public Works  to discuss plans for re-landscaping PCH eastward from Calle Mayor.   This area has become an eyesore, not just for the residents along PCH and the students attending South High, but for the entire Riviera for which this roadway is an important gateway to our community.  This may be the best opportunity to see the pending proposals for improving this area and get your questions answered.

You’ll also have a chance to get an update on the coyote situation, which has many residents concerned where it comes to their pets and their survival amidst these wily predators.

General Meeting
Wednesday, October 16 7:00pm
Richardson Middle School cafeteria

Your 2013-14 voluntary RHA dues will be gladly accepted.  Plenty of parking, and free refreshments!  Come join with fellow neighbors and volunteers seeking to make the Hollywood Riviera a better place to live.

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Greetings to all Riviera residents after a long summer hiatus.  We’ve been away, but we’re back and ready for action.  Not that action hasn’t been the watchword these past few months.  Much of your RHA board has been busy meeting with city leaders, pushing forward on a view/tree ordinance, making progress on the aircraft noise issues, advocating for beautification of the PCH corridor, keeping an eye on Rock & Brews, and … wait, weren’t we supposed to take the summer off?

On top of that, we awarded scholarships, as is the custom in June, to two well-deserving graduating seniors – Cali Almeida and James Redmond  out of a crowded field — and handed out monthly landscaping awards for the great work that homeowners have done in their front yards.

Our first RHA Board meeting will be coming up this week, after which we’ll announce the calendar for the rest of the 2013-14 year.  This is a great time to consider getting more involved in your community – taking on as little or as much as you’re willing to contribute.  (Click here to find out more.)  Of course we’ll be asking for your annual voluntary dues to help continue the valuable work of the RHA.

Hope you had a great summer – but don’t put away the beach towels and sunscreen yet!

Labor Day sunset over the lower Riviera

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Hello neighbors,
 
Please mark the date – Tuesday, May 21 – and encourage your neighbors to come down to a Torrance city council meeting.    The city is having their second budget meeting and will decide at this meeting whether they will (A) Have a survey asking residents if they would be interested in a tree ordinance or (B) Advertise for a public hearing on a tree ordinance, and hold the hearing.

The city council is currently split on this issue, which  is likely to come up for discussion  some time after 7:30 PM  (the meetings start at 7:00 pm). 

The RHA urges you to please come down to listen to the proposals and discuss your point of view, your situation, your frustration or whatever.  Please bring a friend or neighbor.  If you feel at all inclined, please bring a short letter to read to the council or be prepared to speak without notes.  The council gives more weight to spoken comments than to emails or phone calls.
 
If you would also like to send an email to the mayor (Frank Scotto) or council members, their email addresses are fscotto@torranceca.gov, cnumark@torranceca.gov,  gbarnett@torranceca.gov, srhilinger@torranceca.gov, pfurey@torranceca.gov, bsutherland@torranceca.gov  and tbrewer@torranceca.gov.  The city manager’s email is ljackson@torranceca.gov .
 
The RHA has been doing advocating for a tree ordinance for some time.  We deserve a chance to have a hearing on the issue!

Thank you in advance for attending, or contacting your council representative.

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Fight the blight!

The RHA, together with some concerned residents, have been petitioning the city and Caltrans (who operates PCH) about the sad state of PCH in the South High vicinity.  Consequently, the City of Torrance Public Works Department will conduct a neighborhood meeting on Monday, May 13 at 7:00 pm to discuss the design of the proposed Fence, Guardrail, and Landscaping on the south side of Pacific Coast Highway from Calle Mayor to Janet Lane.
The project also consists of the fence removal in the center median on Pacific Coast Highway and the removal of some trees and decaying vegetation in the service road median.
We urge you to attend to show the level of interest in the Riviera about eliminating the blighted look of our ‘front door’.  The meeting will be at the Walteria Park Meeting Room, 3855 242nd. St
Click here for more information!

On Tuesday May 21, the city budget meetings will discuss the possibility of allocating funds to review a tree and view ordinance for the city of Torrance.  This is only a possibility, not a done deal.  City Manager Leroy Jackson said that this issue and others with it are part of a “wish list” that the city may consider.
If you have any interest in trees and views, which can affect your property values, your privacy, and your relations with neighbors, make it a point to attend.  The meetings are held at Torrance City Hall and begin at 7:00 pm.  The more interest is shown, the more likely action will be taken.  Contact the RHA if you wish to stay up to date with these breaking developments.

April General Meeting

A valuable, and entertaining, presentation was the highlight of the April 17 General meeting, the last for the 2012-13 RHA fiscal year. Kathi Galbasin, the city’s CERT volunteer coordinator, gave some excellent hands-on advice for dealing with the aftermath of a disaster, such as a major earthquake.  She and her team demonstrated with items to have on hand, at home, to minimize trauma and to get help to your loved ones and neighbors, in the event that emergency first responders are too overwhelmed.   If you missed it, and the valuable material handed out, you really should visit the Torrance CERT website, and see what CERT events are in the offing.

Kathi Galbasin (center) and her training team

The RHA sincerely thanks Kathi and the CERT volunteer team for spending the evening with us.

The annual RHA elections were held for open board positions, and the neighbors voted in by acclimation were:

• Secretary: Nancy Staudt
• Newspaper Editors: Julian Chasin, Judy Brunetti, Pam Popovich
• Scholarships: Amy Josefek
• Historian: Janet Kaplan
• School Liaison: Judy English

We would also like to thank our meeting sponsors for the April meeting:

Kim Bright CPA See Kim Bright for all your financial planning needs

Joshua Davidson MD Physician and allergy specialist

Don’t fall for it

Torrance PD will present one of its regular, free, “Seniors Don’t be Scammed!” classes featuring information on the 5 top scams targeting seniors, (Tuesday, May,21, 2013, 10:00 am -noon). In addition, there will be a bonus feature regarding Emergency Disaster Preparedness for Seniors. Seniors, caregivers, family and friends are invited to learn about the latest scams. The class will be held in the Katy Geissert Civic Center Library community meeting room, (3301 Torrance Blvd.)
For more information call 310-618-5735 or click here.

Please don’t eat the arugula

Check out the latest landscape awards at our website’s landscape page.  Make that front yard shine, and you may get the Outstanding Landscape Award!

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Hope to see you at the last General Meeting of the 2012-13 year, tomorrow,
April 17 at 7:00 pm at the Richardson Middle School cafeteria.
Our featured speaker will acquaint us with what to do when the BIG ONE hits.  In addition, there will be updates on view issues, and RHA board  elections for the coming year.

Your board has also been active recently in addressing concerns about two cell phone antennas being proposed for the corner of Paseo de la Playa and Palos Verdes Blvd. which has the potential to be a view and noise issue.  There was recently a hearing held by the Torrance City Council Telecommunications Committee.  Come to hear more about this issue at the meeting.

And don’t miss the refreshments!

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