March Newsbites

***BAHA’s Annual Membership Drive***  January and February are the months when BAHA strives to have all existing members renew their memberships and encourages all nonmembers to support their community by joining BAHA. But memberships are accepted at any time. This year, in addition to our usual mailed letter and membership form, notices were emailed, making it very easy to join or renew with just a few clicks, and even sign up for automatic membership renewals directly from the email. Joining is easy – just go to https://www.baha.la and click on the green “Join/Renew Membership” tab.  Our website contains a lot of information about BAHA, such as what we do, and the benefits of membership. If you are unsure whether you have renewed for 2024, or prefer to join by mail and can’t locate the membership mailer you received in the mail (or didn’t get one), you can email us at [email protected] and we will be happy to help.

***New Discount for BAHA Members***  BAHA members can now enjoy a 15% discount at Ava Kro Restaurant, located at 2337 Roscomare Road. Ava Kro had its official grand opening on Saturday February 24th to celebrate receiving its liquor license (wine and beer) and the debut of its new husband and wife chef team, who displayed their talents at the grand opening to rave reviews. You can check out Ava Kro’s menu and hours at www.AvaKro.com. See the following attached list for the other member discounts currently being offered.

List of Member Discounts 

***BAHA Needs New Board Members***  BAHA’s Annual Meeting will be held in May and that is the time for the election of new Board members. It is important to have Board members representing the various demographics of our neighborhood, including young adults, families, retired folks, etc., as well as the different streets in our neighborhood. Therefore, if you care about your neighborhood, want to have an impact on local and neighborhood issues, like to make new friends, and can devote, on average, 2-3 hours per week, please let us know at [email protected]. 

***Speed Hump Applications***  The next Open Application Day will be Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 9:00AM. Applications spots fill up quickly so anyone wanting to begin the process of getting a speed hump in their area should submit an application at 9 am on March 21st. There are very specific instructions for the process so please read them carefully in advance at: https://ladot.lacity.gov/projects/safety-programs/speed-humps. The next application period will likely not occur for at least 6 months.

***Congestion Pricing on Roscomare Road?*** Metro is studying the possibility of traffic congestion pricing in the Santa Monica Mountains, including the 405 Fwy and cross mountain roads such as Roscomare. Since such a plan could be a good thing or a bad thing for our neighborhood, depending on the details, and because the documents and webinars on Metro’s website leave many questions unanswered, BAHA’s President wrote to Metro, in part, as follows:

“….BAHA has learned from third parties that Metro’s Traffic Reduction Study contemplates tolling vehicular traffic on Roscomare Road as part of the Santa Monica Mountains Concept Area congestion pricing plan….As our neighborhood is nearly entirely residential - it has no grocery stores, pharmacies, healthcare offices, etc., no sidewalks for most of its two-mile length and no public transportation, most of our residents have no choice but to travel by car in order to access necessary goods and services. Additionally, the Roscomare Road School, an LAUSD elementary school, is located on Roscomare Road.

At the same time, Roscomare Road is plagued by cut-through traffic during rush hour. Roscomare Road is only 30ft wide, and parking on both sides of the streets results in a mere 16 feet of road width for bi-directional traffic. Consequently, the status quo of thousands of cut-through drivers during rush hour is an ongoing safety issue.

Given how directly our residents would be impacted by congestion pricing on Roscomare Road, we feel strongly that Metro owes a duty to our neighborhood to present its plan in a meeting open to all our residents, with an opportunity for the residents to ask questions. Our Annual Meeting is in May, and we would welcome the opportunity to have Metro present and answer questions at that meeting.”
 

Metro has responded and it appears that they will be able to attend the Annual Meeting. In the meantime, you can learn more about the study, and watch the webinars, on Metro’s website at https://www.metro.net/projects/trafficreduction.

***Wildlife Ordinance***  The Wildlife Ordinance is back with the Planning Department to make some changes that the City Attorney’s office has requested. Those changes have not been made public so far. Once the new draft has been made public, BAHA will review it and inform our residents how it could affect them. 

***Sober Living Facilities in the Hills***  BAHA was contacted by a member about a neighboring property that is being advertised for lease as a possible “sober living facility.” Upon researching the issue, BAHA learned that state law (not local zoning law) requires municipalities such as the City of LA to allow alcohol and drug abuse treatment facilities with six or fewer residents in areas that are zoned residential, including those zoned for single family homes. In addition, municipalities may not require a conditional use permit, zoning variance or other zoning clearance for community care or alcohol and drug abuse treatment facilities that are not required of comparable single-family dwellings. Because studies have found that smoking rates among those with substance abuse issues are as high as 70%, BAHA is concerned about the fire danger from such facilities in our neighborhood, which is located in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ). BAHA believes that in VHFHSZs such facilities should either not be allowed or should be subject to additional requirements to decrease the fire danger to the surrounding neighborhood. BAHA’s representatives on the Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council (BABCNC), an advisory body to City Hall, brought the matter before that Council. The BABCNC shared BAHA’s concerns and will be writing a letter to local and state representatives. BAHA representatives to the Hillside Federation are in the process of getting the issue placed on that organization’s agenda, and BAHA will also be contacting our City and State representatives. 

***Real-Time Rainfall Totals***  Here is a link to a fun site that the Los Angeles Department of Public Works maintains where you will be able to see how much rain Bel Air Hills is receiving in real-time or over different time periods (you may have to zoom in to see Bel Air’s data):  https://dpw.lacounty.gov/wrd/rainfall.