Topic of the Month: Safety in Portuguese Bend

We're spoiled.

We are used to leaving our garages open, our cars unlocked and our front doors unlatched. We hike the hills and stroll the streets at all hours and never give safety a thought. We've always done it that way.

Well...here's a news flash for you. This ain't Mayberry anymore.

Over the last few months, Portuguese Bend residents have reported assorted burglaries, identity theft resulting from mailbox burglary, and one scary incident involving a young teenager and an overly-friendly truck driver. Some of these have been solved (at least one thanks to the video cameras at the Narcissa gate).

Board Seeks Possible Solutions

These incidents have been the topic of discussion at the monthly board meetings, and last month board members promised to look into various solutions such as locked mailboxes and the cost of local security companies.Other options included a full-time gate guard, a part time gate guard, more frequent changes to the gate code,  changing the hours when the gate requires a card and setting up a neighborhood watch program.

After all the discusion, most people agreed on one thing:  Your safety begins with you. That means:

• Lock your doors
• Lock your garage
• Lock any cars in your driveway (and don't leave anything valuable inside.) 
• Tell youngsters not to talk to any strangers, even if they ask for directions. 
• And finally, report any suspicious activities to a board member.

Sheriff Will Speak at July Meeting

The July 11 Board Meeting will feature a visit from a local sheriff who will address the topic of community safety.  If you are concerned about this, (and who isn't?) this might be a good time to turn off the TV and attend the Board meeting. It begins at 7 p.m. at Ladera Linda. First thing on the agenda is the Architectural Committee meeting. Once that's over, the regular meeting will begin.

New Faces on Board and Architectural Committee

Other updates to Board business over the last couple of months: Mike Cooper, who recently ran for re-election to the board, resigned one month after the election. The board did not ask for nominations for a replacement but simply named Joan McClellan to fill unexpired portion of the two year term. Also, Tim Vaughn resigned from the Architectural Committee and Joe Oliver was named to replace him.

No one has been named to update the community web site. Anyone interested in taking on that task should contact Board Chairman Tim Kelly.

Art Tour Here?

Last month, representatives from the Palos Verdes Art Association, which sponsors an annual homes tour,  addressed the meeting about their desire to make Portuguese Bend the site of their homes tour next year, April 14-15, 2012. Board members mentioned that visitors would need to be bussed into the area to reduce traffic, and PVAC representatives agreed to that. Other details remain to be worked out. Board members did not make a decision but said they would discuss the issue.

Also mentioned at the June meeting was the difficulty of walking around the neighborhood, particularly now that there are so many construction vehicles in the area. Some residents commented that it would be possible to walk around if the mandated three or five foot setbacks in front of each house were enforced.  Board members noted that this is difficult to enforce fairly and consistently but several community members Gordon Leon, Suzanne Hoffman and Lynn Petak volunteered to walk the community and try to spot problem areas and suggest solutions.

Also discussed: a revision to the Architectural Standards to cover building of homes on hillside lots. This will be a long, drawn-out process but Gordon Leon volunteered to work on the wording for this. It was suggested that he also talk to Jim Knight about the issue. Both Leon and Knight are members of the RPV Planning Commission.

Roads ... and what needs to happen to them

Finally, there was the issue of roads and access control. This includes:

• Finishing unfinished road work (budget problems here)
• Dealing with speeders and those who fail to stop at stop signs
• Installing speed bumps at stop signs (board members will get a price on this but noted that speed bumps may not interfere with water flow)
• Striping the streets. This must be done to keep our insurance current. 
• Access control: a construction truck demolished the wall at the Narcissa gate. Inasmuch as there had already been talk of remodeling and widening that gate area, this topic is open for discussion. As of last month, Board Member Suzanne Black- Griffith was waiting to hear from the truck driver's insurance company about payment for the damage.

Hope to see you tomorrow at the Board Meeting.