Thursday, July 26, 2007

Meadows FireSafe Council Update

The biological study, dealing with plants and animals in the area covered by the FireSafe Council project, is ongoing and must be completed and shown to the Forest Service before any additional grant money will be released.

Bids for fuel reduction have been received, and are currently being considered and clarified. Since danger of erosion is compounded by our extremely dry summer, treatment of the steeper canyon walls is not envisioned at this time.

Any grant money remaining after paying the contractor(s) for fuel reduction will be used in reducing fire hazards within the Meadows proper. The property assessments performed earlier will play a significant role in determining which hazards are the worst and should therefore be prioritized for hazard abatement.

Street captains have made final attempts to contact residents who had not responded to our invitation for property assessments. This outreach is now finished, unless some homeowners need to be contacted regarding special hazards in strategic areas.

It should be noted that works performed by the Fire Safe Council do not relieve property owners of the obligation to perform hazard abatement procedures on their properties as may be required by inspectors of the Forest Service or, in the case of Canyon Dell residents, of Los Angeles County.

Our request for an extension of time to qualify for grant moneys has been approved.

August Newsletter

Again, not much information to share so the August Meadows Newsletter will not be published. We're planning on a September Newsletter as monthly neighborhood meetings will begin again in October. I guess no news is good news!

Update on Canyon Crest Car

Thanks to many residents for actions taken regarding the vehicle on the vacant Canyon Crest land. It is a violation of County code. Here’s a recap of what’s happening.

A neighbor has called “211” to report the County code violation. We were able to provide the Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN) so that they can file a violation.

I’ve talked directly to the owner of the land who stated that his plan was to restore the car at the site.

Another neighbor, who is very familiar with County code, stated that vehicles must be on a driveway and be operable. It's illegal to leave it on the "grass".

Here’s the actual code:
22.20.025 Keeping or parking of vehicles--Prohibited when.

A. A person shall not keep, store, park, maintain or otherwise permit any vehicle or any component thereof in the front yard, corner side yard or any additional area of a lot or parcel of land situated between the road and any building or structure located thereon, except that the parking of passenger vehicles including pickup trucks, other than a motor home or travel trailer, is permitted on a driveway.

B. A person shall not keep, store, park, maintain or otherwise permit an inoperative vehicle as defined in Section 22.08.220 in any residential zone. Inoperative vehicles shall be removed within 30 days from the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section.


Since County has been informed, I’d like to suggest that we all monitor the situation. If the car is not removed, additional calls to “211” sighting the above code may be useful. The APN is 5830-003-014.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Lower Canyon Crest Blood on Pavement

Does anyone know anything about the supposed blood stains at the hairpin turn on lower Canyon Crest?

A neighbor called and stated that she thinks a deer may have been hit and killed at the hairpin turn. She reported seeing a bloody t-shirt last Monday and then a pack of deer sniffing at the blood stain which you can clearly see on the pavement.

Does anyone have any more information on this?

Blooming Cactus


Just a quick pic of the cactus that has been in overdrive this summer. The blooms are happening almost daily.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Car on Lower Canyon Crest

I contacted the owner of the car that looks like it was abandoned on lower Canyon Crest. The owner told me that he has plans to fix it up and will be working on it in the next few weeks. He also stated that the sheriffs had called him already as the car had been reported to them as possibly stolen.

Why he is choosing to use his vacant land as the place to fix a car is unknown.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Mountain Lion Sighting

Heads up - A neighbor reported seeing a mountain lion at the corner of Canyon Crest and Cloverhill two weekends ago.

FairPlan Alternative

A neighbor in The Meadows has found someone writing insurance plans for The Meadows. This may be a good California FairPlan alternative:

CONTACT PERSON:
Greg Hooper Insurance Agency
324 Foothill Blvd. Suite 202
Arcadia, CA. 91006
626 357-7002
FAX: 626 357-7002

Friday, July 06, 2007

PUSD School Info

I'm often asked the state of our local school system when I'm hosting open houses here in The Meadows. This website was provided by our Altadena Town Council Alternate for our Census Tract. Looks like a good source of information and an opportunity for parents to become engaged in PUSD input.

You can download from the PEN site flyers and fact sheets about our schools. They also have info on charter schools and private.
http://www.penfamilies.org/?page=72

Parents wanting info on PUSD can contact the Pasadena Education Network. There is a wealth of info and this group is very well connected to each other, to their schools and the school board.
Great group!

Gas Shut-Off Valves

A neighbor on Risinghill suggested the following:

"My sister moved into a new neighborhood in the bay area and their community is really into safety and such. One of the things that they do is have all the neighbors' gas meter shut off valve locations on a map/list. If we get the big quake, one fire could do us all in."

Anyone interested in taking on this project or helping coordinate it? Let me know.

Rubio Crest Canyon Trail

If anyone attended the L.A. County meeting regarding the Rubio Crest Canyon Trail last month, please let me know. A neighbor missed the meeting and would like to get an update. I'll connect the two parties.

Need a Housecleaner?

Here's a recommendation from a neighbor on El Prieto. Her housecleaner, Elena Rosales, is looking for more work in the area.

"She has worked cleaning homes for years and does a very good job. Her English is very good, she is extremely honest, has a car, is dependable - all that one would wish. She is looking for more cleaning jobs.

"Housecleaning - once a week, every 2 weeks, whatever suits your schedule. Also available for one time cleaning jobs. Over 15 years experience, good references (including in the Meadows!), has own transportation, is very reliable and reasonable rates."

If interested, please call Elena Rosales - cell #626.354.7975

No News is No Newsletter

Sorry for the delay in posting, but this has been a busy last couple of weeks.

We didn't publish a July Meadows Newsletter as there was not really any news (suppose that's a good thing). We're planning on August. If you have articles you want to include, please pass them on to me.