KHG 2017-2018 BOARD & OFFICERS
President: Tracy Thrower Conyers
1st Vice President: Aaron Torrence
Secretary: Chris Blatter
Treasurer: Brian Rosenstein
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Happy Fall and welcome to the first newsletter from your new Board!
Following our recent elections, your Board has one new member and one returning member. Welcome to Brian Rosenstein who lives over on Kenyon. Brian will be acting as our Treasurer. I am the returning Board member and will be acting as our President. Our Board is energized and looking forward to an awesome year!
We recently had our annual Board training provided by our law firm and were reminded that it is your Board’s legal obligation to enforce our community rules. Some homeowner associations call these “CC&R’s.” KHG calls them “DPR’s” (Declarations of Protective Restrictions). You can find our DPR’s on our website at www.kentwoodhomeguardians. com/rules. You should have been provided a copy of these rules by your title company in escrow when you purchased your property. These rules are a legally-enforceable deed restriction on each of our properties and are not optional.
Our DPR’s were put in place by the original developer and are designed to preserve the beauty and cohesiveness of our community. Please take a minute to reacquaint yourself with our DPR’s and join us in working to keep Kentwood special. As a realtor actively working in our community, I can tell you that Kentwood has some of the highest home values in Westchester. Let’s all work together to keep it that way.
WESTCHESTER PLAYA COMMUNITY PLAN UPDATE
Do you know what a Community Plan is? The City of LA has 35 of them and collectively they make up the “Land Use” element of the City’s General Plan. These plans establish goals and policies to guide future land use and development within each plan area.
In short, these plans guide the permitted types of development in our community. They are used to guide the City Planning approval process for new development and keep it consistent with the community’s vision.
Our Westchester Playa Community Plan has not been updated since before the development of Playa Vista! I’m sure that we can all agree that much has changed since then.
The Planning Department is actively seeking input from our community regarding the update of our Plan. A team has already been out in the community educating people about the process and there has been one “listening” session where community input was recorded regarding attendees’ likes, desires and concerns about our existing community lifestyle and the future of the same.
The Planning Department is dedicated to hearing from different constituent groups and we would like to organize a KHG-specific meeting with the Planning Department team overseeing the update of our plan, if there is enough interest from members. With 3400 properties, KHG makes up a significant portion of Westchester and we think it’s important for our members to be heard on the future of our broader community.
If you would be interested in attending a KHG-specific event with the Planning Team, please fill out the form on our website at www.kentwoodhome guardians.com/community-plan.
WALKING YOUR PETS
Sanitation laws require all dog owners to immediately pick up after their dogs (LAMC 53.49). Pet waste hinders landscaping efforts and encourages other dogs to mark the same spot. Please remember to take your “doggy bag” home to dispose of in your own trash barrel. It’s not fair to other homeowners to take on the burden of smelling your pet’s decomposing waste.
TRASH CONTAINER REMINDERS
Under current municipal code rules, trash containers may be placed at the curb no earlier than 6:00 pm on the evening before collection (Sunday) and must be removed no later than 8:00 pm on the day of collection (Monday). (LAMC 66.27).
If any of the four following holidays land on a Monday, our trash service is delayed one day to Tuesday: New Year’s Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Christmas Day. For all other holidays, trash pickup remains on Monday.
Do you have an elderly neighbor? Please offer to help with their trash cans. It might mean a lot to them. Good relationships with our neighbors also help cut down on crime, as we all feel more inclined to look out for each other.
KENTWOOD NEIGHBORS
KHG Member Stuart Blashill on Stewart shares his observations on living in Kentwood.
Those familiar with this small column know that I mostly talk about my neighbors in Kentwood and walking around this part of Westchester. Today, I’m introducing you to a different part of my life.
I have been backpacking in the Sierra since I was eleven, quite a long time ago. I’ve missed a few years, but not many. I included each of my sons in these summer adventures once they turned eight – and we still hike together whenever we can. We’ve had hard hikes, easy hikes, short hikes, long hikes, great hikes, and one incredible hike – the subject of this piece. That was in September 2012 when we hiked from Lodgepole to Crescent Meadows in Sequoia. This included an area that John Muir described as one of the yosemites (with no capital Y) – places with the beauty and grandeur of Yosemite Valley, but without the fanfare. We had been told this hike was hard, but a must-do for those really wanting to experience the Sierra in a way similar to what John Muir saw so long ago. I’ll pick up the story on the morning of the fourth day.
That morning we got up at 6:15 and were hiking by 7:35. This was going to be all uphill as the Roaring River camp was the low point of the trip. We were now in Deadman Canyon. You will now hear me complain about the hike. It was hot. It involved ridiculously steep trails. There were slippery rocks. It was trails that disappeared completely. It was steps, both up and down, that were over two feet high. But, it was also the most spectacular scenery we have ever seen in the Sierra – even better than Yosemite Valley. And, this started when we entered Deadman Canyon. The Canyon is a classic glacier-carved valley. On the left were granite cliffs towering 2000 feet. On the right were granite cliffs even higher. There were waterfalls cascading down the cliffs, though these were very subdued due to the low water. There were water slides right by the trail – where the river would go over a mile or so of granite and make it look like a very large and long slip and slide just begging for us to try to ride the river (we didn’t). And, it was a series of giant steps, with each step being a meadow.
We started with Deadman Meadow and a grave. Back in the 1890s, a Portuguese sheepherder had died alone in that meadow while watching the sheep and was buried when he was found. Hence the name “Deadman Canyon.” The grave and the marker are still there. You cannot imagine the grandeur of the location – it was commented on in an early edition of the Sierra Club magazine that no king has ever had a grander tomb. We agree. We next climbed to Ranger Meadow, and finally to Upper Ranger Meadow. This may be the most spectacular spot where we have ever camped. Not only are there cliffs on each side, there is also a canyon headwall cliff at the far end.
We had accomplished the 7+ miles by 11:20. We had lunch, set up camp, played cards, fished (caught a few, but very small – they were all Golden Trout or a Golden Trout hybrid – probably with Brook Trout), gathered wood, got very cold in the wind, and then got much warmer when the sun set as we were enjoying the incredible view. It was a great day.
The next day was not so great, but it was incredible. We had known it would be our hardest day. We had to go over Elizabeth Pass at 11300’ (not really so high, but …) and it would be about 11 or so miles. So, we got up at 6:00 am, hit the trail by 7:17 am, and started walking towards the headwall of the canyon. This was a ridiculous trail through weeds, brush, mud and rocks. It would disappear in places. It would get very steep. It had huge steps when we started to climb. And, it was in the sun very early. We did reach the top of the pass by 11:00 am and took the requisite photo. This was a traditional Sierra pass – very narrow with lots of rocks. However, there weren’t any rocks or rock piles high enough on which to place the camera so we could get all of us into a single picture. So, we used my pack as the “tripod” as it has a wonderful ability to stand up by itself. The trail had been very steep in places getting to the top. But, little did we know, we had seen nothing yet.
As we started down we immediately began to slip and slide as there were loose rocks all over the large granite steps in the trail. And, it then got worse when the trail completely disappeared. Rock cairns had been placed at about 100’ intervals, so we really couldn’t get lost – there just wasn’t a real trail (except in places). And, the trail was completely in very hot sun. It’s supposed to be 3.1 miles from the top of the pass to a sign at the “bottom,” but that took us around four hours. We met a ranger near that sign. She agreed that “3.1” miles is closer to 6. And, she said we had just gone over “Eliza-bitch” Pass. We had wondered why … continued in the Winter 2018 newsletter.
If you would like to submit an essay for our newsletter, please email the office (info@ kentwoodhomeguardians.com) with “KHG News-letter Essay” in the subject line.
LMU PARTY HOUSES
If your student neighbors are misbehaving, you can report incidents by calling both LMU’s Department of Public Safety at 310-338-2893 (24/7) and LAPD’s non-emergency number at 877-275-5273. LAPD has the authority to issue citations if municipal ordinances are violated. DPS has no enforcement authority off campus, but does take action against student(s) provided there is sufficient evidence.
It is very important, when calling LAPD, to file a “Disturbing the Peace Report.” Reports can be filed in person at the Pacific Division Station at 12312 Culver Blvd. If possible, take photos, video, and recordings, but be safe, above all else.
LMU NEIGHBORHOOD ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The LMU NAC was established as a condition of approval for LMU’s 20-year Master Plan. The purpose of this organization is to give residents an opportunity to discuss neighborhood concerns and issues regarding LMU with the school’s administration.
Please consider attending the next NAC meeting on November 7, 2018, from 6:30-8 pm at the Westchester Senior Center (behind the Library on the corner of Manchester and Lincoln). Neighborhood participation and attendance show LMU that we care about LMU being a good neighbor.
LMU’s 20-year Master Plan was approved by the L.A. City Council in February of 2011, effective April 16, 2011. The plan will guide the university’s development over the following 20 years from that date. Read the plan and get more information at www. community.lmu.edu/masterplan.