The following report is sourced from Steven Felschundneff at the Claremont Courier: https://claremont-courier.com/author/stevenclaremont-courier-com/
Starting June 1st, residents across Southern California have to limit how much they water their yards under new restrictions put in place in response to the drought.
The Metropolitan Water District (MWD) for the first time ever declared a water shortage emergency in April, taking the unprecedented action of limiting outdoor watering for millions of residents in dozens of cities and communities in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties.
The affected communities are ones that depend on water from Northern California, through the State Water Project, and have limited or no access to water from the Colorado River or local resources.
“We cannot afford green lawns,” MWD General Manager Adel Hagekhalil said last month when announcing the new rules.
The outdoor watering restrictions affect customers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), Calleguas Municipal Water District, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, Three Valleys Municipal Water District and Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District.
Customers with street addresses ending in odd numbers may water only on Mondays and Fridays, and customers with even-numbered street addresses may water on Thursdays and Sundays.
And all outdoor watering is prohibited from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Watering with sprinklers is limited to one cycle of up to eight minutes per watering day for typical, nonconserving residential nozzle sprinkler systems or two 15-minute cycles per watering day for conserving nozzle sprinkler systems.
However, hand watering with a self-closing shut-off nozzle on the hose is allowed any day of the week before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m.
City officials also require that all leaks are repaired in a timely manner and there is no runoff onto streets, driveways and gutters.
Residents also shouldn’t be watering sidewalks, walkways, driveways or parking areas..
All or part of the below cities and communities are dependent on water from the State Water Project and will be affected by the Metropolitan Water District’s outdoor watering restrictions:
• Agoura Hills
• Arcadia
• Avocado Heights
• Azusa
• Baldwin Park
• Bassett
• Bradbury
• Calabasas
• Camarillo
• Canoga Park
• Chatsworth
• Chino
• Chino Hills
• City of Industry
• Claremont
• Covina
• Culver City
• Duarte
• El Monte
• Encino
• Fontana
• Granada Hills
• Hacienda Heights
• Irwindale
• La Puente
• La Verne
• Los Angeles
• Mission Hills
• Monrovia
• Montclair
• Moorpark
• Newbury Park
• North Hills
• North Hollywood
• North Whittier
• Northridge
• Oak Park
• Ontario
• Oxnard
• Pacific Palisades
• Pacoima
• Panorama City
• Playa del Rey
• Playa Vista
• Point Mugu NAWC
• Port Hueneme
• Port Hueneme CBC Base
• Porter Ranch
• Rancho Cucamonga
• Reseda
• Rialto
• Rosemead
• San Gabriel
• Sherman Oaks
• Simi Valley
• Somis
• South El Monte
• South Pasadena
• Spy Glass Hill
• Studio City
• Sun Valley
• Sunland
• Sylmar
• Tarzana
• Temple City
• Thousand Oaks
• Tujunga
• Universal City
• Upland
• Valinda
• Valley Village
• Van Nuys
• Venice
• West Covina
• West Hills
• West Hollywood
• Westlake Village
• Whittier
• Winnetka
• Woodland Hills
Local water agencies may have slightly different rules depending on their particular agreement with MWD.
The city of Azusa will look to take $1.9 million from its general fund and put it toward building shelter for homeless individuals. The money was originally received from the American Rescue Plan. This was done as the money from Measure H was slow to move.
Measure H was approved by L.A. County voters in March of 2017. It is a 1/4-cent sales tax to raise a projected $3.5 billion over 10 years to help prevent and combat homelessness.
The funds are funneled through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority(LAHSA) via the county Homeless Initiative. In 2021, the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments became an added layer of that bureaucracy as a mediator of sorts for the distribution of monies to SGV cities.
One of Azusa’s main issues is the homeless in the North San Gabriel Riverbed, where 57 of its homeless population of 181 were recently residing. If Azusa doesn’t have enough beds to shelter its homeless, it can’t enforce its anti-camping laws as per Martin v. Boise, a Federal law enacted in 2018 that states anti-camping laws cannot be administered if a city does not have enough shelter beds for homeless individuals.
The office of Supervisor Hilda L. Solis of the First District said it is glad to see Azusa taking the action to build a shelter. In a statement, she detailed how she is working to more quickly expedite the needs of San Gabriel Valley cities dealing with homeless issues with various options.
Solis said she has also used her discretionary funds to support a shower program, additional housing navigation for the San Gabriel Valley as well as food for the unhoused.
Beginning in the fiscal year 2017-18, the office of Solis said the county has provided the city of Azusa $160,000 to develop a City Homelessness Plan and $343,250 for case management services in partnership with neighboring cities. All but $50,000 of that were Measure H dollars.
The county has also allocated more than $7.5 million ($2.35 million for fiscal year ’22-’23) to the SGV Council of Governments, which provides regional coordination and investing in regional and city-specific programs, said Solis’ office, which also noted that the county allocated $15 million at the end of the 2021 fiscal year that went to San Gabriel Valley service providers.
The LA Fitness at 13822 Garvey Avenue in Baldwin Park has sold in a 1031 Exchange for $18.08 million.
The 45,000-square-foot facility is on 4 acres of freeway frontage at the prime intersection of Interstate 10 and Garvey Avenue, with traffic counts exceeding 236,000 cars per day. The area population is 56,268 with an average household income of $85,562 in a 3-mile radius.
The Chino housing measure that appeared on the Tuesday June 7t primary election ballot appears to have won by a 3-1 margin.
Unofficial election results posted by the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters on Thursday at 4 p.m. showed Measure Y winning with 73.3 percent of the vote.
More than 3,800 votes were cast in support of the measure, and 1,394 voted against it.
The City of Chino placed the measure on the ballot to allow for the creation of two overlay zones that would accommodate 91 locations for multi-family housing to comply with the state’s mandate to build 6,978 residential units by 2029.
The City of Chino Hills has partnered with local water agencies to offer rebates and water-saving programs to help residents save water and money.
The city declared a Stage III High Water Conservation Alert that went into effect June 1.
Residents and businesses can find information on available rebates and programs in one place on the city’s website by visiting chinohills.org/rebates.
The website is a central location for all rebates and programs offered to Chino Hills customers by the city’s partner agencies like the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, the Metropolitan Water District, or the Chino Basin Water Conservation District.
Programs include a landscape efficiency consultation and rebates for turf removal projects, a Flume device allowing residents to monitor their own water use, and a no-cost sprinkler timer upgrade that allows residents to remotely monitor their sprinkler systems.
The rebate levels for toilets (starting July 1) and clothes washers have been increased since most of the regional programs deal with outdoor water use, Ms. Freeman said.
Most rebates, excluding turf removal, can be applied for quickly so long as customers have all the necessary information, she said.
Residents are encouraged to contact the city’s Water Use Efficiency Coordinator at (909) 364-2608 if they have questions about the rebates or conservation in general.
Residents and businesses are being asked to conserve 30 percent. Watering is prohibited between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and cannot exceed 15 minutes per watering station, except for drip irrigation systems, which cannot exceed 30 minutes per station.
The use of a water hose without a shutoff valve is prohibited. Vehicles, trailers, boats, and livestock can be washed with a hose equipped with a shut-off nozzle.
Claremont residents have been able to attend a series of meetings on a proposal to build affordable housing for formerly homeless people.
Jamboree Housing Corporation has a plan to house formerly homeless people with special needs in a proposed 33-unit four-story building at 731 Harrison Avenue.
The project, called Larkin Place, would be limited to extremely low-income people, those who earn at or below 30% of the area median and who also have some type of disability. It would offer housing, as well as onsite resident services such as counseling, health resources, and adult enrichment and education classes.
Emotions are strong with both proponents and opponents of the project. At the core of the project’s controversy lies the very real possibility that Claremont officials, including the city council, have little or no power to prevent Larkin Place from being built. California code identifies housing as a critical issue for the state’s future, and requires that “a local government not reject or make infeasible housing development projects, including emergency shelters, that contribute to meeting the need.”
If a community wants to fight the construction of affordable housing, it must show a preponderance of evidence that one of five distinct conditions have been met: the city has met or exceeded its Regional Housing Needs Assessment; the project would have a specific, adverse impact on public health or safety; a specific state or federal law supersedes; the proposed project is on land zoned for agriculture or resource preservation; or the housing development is inconsistent with both the jurisdiction’s zoning ordinance and general plan. None of these apply to Claremont, according to the city’s planning staff.
Such projects are referred to as “by-right,” meaning the approval process is largely ministerial, including a density bonus that boosted the unit count at Larkin Place by 80%.
Several residents voiced exasperation with what they say is misinformation about the project, including the assertion that all formerly homeless people have addiction issues or are mentally ill and therefore are inherently dangerous.
According to officials, the target population in Claremont is people experiencing homelessness who are also disabled. Of that population, 50% have some type of chronic health issue that, in many cases, has been exacerbated by living on the streets. Approximately 28% exhibited some type of mental illness, while 17% had substance abuse issues.
Future tenants of Larkin Place will be vetted by the company and by county officials to ensure that they are a good fit for housing. However, overnight visitors will not be screened, which raised concerns that a multitude of unvetted guests will essentially be living there. Officials said that visitors would be limited to 21 nights per year, far fewer than was reported at the previous meeting, and would have a maximum consecutive stay of seven days.
A program for tenant selection process is being developed that would give preferential access to homeless people currently living in Claremont.
In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors moved to approve the release of nearly $15-million in tax-exempt bonds to Domus Development for the construction of a new affordable housing complex in El Monte's downtown hub.
The Ramona Metro Point apartments, slated for a vacant city-owned site located at 11016 Ramona Boulevard, would consist of a multi-story building featuring 50 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, restricted to households earning at or below 25 and 40 percent of the Los Angeles area median income for a period of 55 years. Nearly half of the units would be reserved for homeless households where at least one person is living with a severe mental illness.
The project, per a project landing page on the website Domus partner company Newport Partners, will consist of a four-story U-shaped building. In addition to housing, plans call for on-site offices for social services providers, community meeting areas, and parking for 76 vehicles.
The new funding approved by the Board of Supervisors complements existing money allocated to Ramona Metro Point, including $5.5 million in No Place Like Home Funds, a $1.1-million Infill Infrastructure Grant, and $5.7-million in state Multifamily Housing Program funds.
Romana Metro Point, located less than a half-mile east of Metro's El Monte Station, the busiest bus station on the West Coast, joins a handful of large mixed-use and multi-family residential buildings are planned or under construction on publicly-owned land surrounding the transit hub, as well as additional affordable housing developments rising next to the city's Metrolink station.
Domus Development is currently in the midst of construction at similar projects in Koreatown, Panorama City, and Echo Park.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors have approved more than $28 million to turn a former landfill where the 60 and 605 freeways meet in the City of Industry into a regional park, the county's first in more than 35 years.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, who authored the motion, says the future Puente Hills Regional Park will give the 25-mile regional area of the East San Gabriel Valley 142 acres of new parkland.
The $28,250,000 came from the 2021 sale of 9.13 acres of Diamond Bar Golf Course to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which plans to use the property to help implement the SR-57/60 Confluence Project. The funds were approved Tuesday to be reallocated toward the development of the future Puente Hills Regional Park, which officials say will help replace what the county sold at the Diamond Bar Golf Course.
Realterm has acquired a 136,580-square-foot final mile warehouse located at 359 N. Covina Lane in La Puente, Calif. The facility sits on 9.2 acres and includes 5,000 square feet of office space, 23 dock-high doors and three grade-level doors.
The warehouse is strategically located with access to I-605, I-10, Route 60 and I-5 within 15 minutes. With immediate access to the region’s key highway network, the property can easily service more than 17 million people within 50 miles. Additionally, the property is 22 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, 30 minutes from Ontario International Airport and 35 minutes from both LAX International Airport and the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
After more than a decade as La Verne’s city manager, Bob Russi is retiring. Russi announced his retirement after the Monday, June 6, meeting of the La Verne City Council. A formal recruitment process and decision on an interim city manager will begin soon, according to the city.
Russi was hired in July 2010, and took over as city manager in August 2010. Formerly the assistant to the city manager and then assistant city manager, Russi has worked for the city since 2001. He replaced Martin Lomeli — later an interim city manager in Upland — after Lomeli held the position for 23 years. Russi had been recruited to eventually replace Lomeli, former Mayor Don Kendrick said at the time.
For the first time in decades, the new city manager won’t have to live in La Verne or within 5 miles of its borders. The City Council rescinded a 1985 policy requiring residency in 2021, after years of it not being enforced. As of June 2021, Russi lived just over 5 miles from city hall, according to the city’s attorney. At the time of his appointment, he lived in Upland.
Chicago-based Waterton has acquired Terracina, a 736-unit multifamily community in Ontario, CA, from Bridge Investment Group.
The 41.3-acre property has 46 two-story buildings that include one- and two-bedroom garden apartments, each averaging 874 SF. Waterton is planning to renovate the apartments and rebrand Terracina as Citrine Hills.
The Inland Empire multifamily is situated in the Ontario Ranch master-planned community, which when completely developed is expected to have 16M SF of commercial space, eight schools, a park and 1,000 acres of new public open space.
Renovation plans for the Citrine Hills apartments include vinyl plank flooring, stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops and washers and dryers in all units. Communal amenities include four swimming pools, two Jacuzzis, two fitness centers, two soccer fields, two dog parks and a tennis court.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Bridge Investment Group bought the Terracina multifamily from MG Properties Group for $142M in 2016.
Waterton is a real estate investment and property management company with a focus on multifamily, senior living and hospitality properties.
Two Inland Empire developers have filed plans to build a 75-unit affordable housing complex in Pomona.
Non-profit developer National CORE, based in Rancho Cucamonga, and Pomona-based Arteco Partners have teamed up to build the affordable housing and live/work complex on a vacant lot at 501 E. Mission Blvd.
The four-story complex would cover a whole city block of 1.5 acres, and include a 61-space surface parking lot and public green space.
The 75 apartments would include 15 live/work units at street level. The apartments would come in one-, two-, and three-bedroom units ranging between 608 and 1,498 square feet. Each would serve very low-, low, and moderate-income households.
The L-shaped building, designed by SVA Architects, would be sheathed in white and charcoal, with caramel accents around its balconies.
Plans call for a private amenity space at the center of the property that would include public art, an art bench, an art bike rack and picnic table, plus surface parking and public green space at the northeast corner of the site.
A staff report from the Pomona Planning Division recommends approval of its requested project entitlements, including concessions from a number of zoning standards relating to building standards and parking.
T. Hasegawa USA officially opened a new 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., which augments the company’s manufacturing resources in the U.S. market by 50 percent and expands capabilities in sweet flavor production and technology.
In addition to significantly increasing T. Hasegawa’s production capabilities, the new factory will open the door for continued growth of the company’s U.S. staff.
The large new plant will help with T. Hasegawa increased supply chain demands for food and beverage. The new manufacturing facility, located at 8720 Rochester Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., offers an expansion of the company’s manufacturing workspace by nearly 400 percent. T. Hasegawa will continue operations from its U.S. corporate headquarters in Cerritos, Calif., which also serves as the primary location for R&D and production of savory flavors. The company plans to expand its savory food flavor manufacturing at the Cerritos location after sweet flavor production shifts to the new Rancho Cucamonga facility.
The Rancho Cucamonga facility will primarily service the production of sweet food and beverage flavors, and features state-of-the-art, large capacity equipment for liquid blending, spray drying for powdered flavors and extraction equipment for flavor extractions. The large production facility also features high-tech tooling used for development and manufacturing of T. Hasegawa’s recent product innovations.
T. Hasegawa’s new manufacturing facility was constructed with a specific focus on environmental protection, as part of the company’s global commitment to sustainability. The facilities meet or exceed compliance with local regulations and feature state-of-the-art air cleaning and filtration systems, including regenerative thermal oxidizers and catalytic oxidizers, consistent with all T. Hasegawa’s manufacturing facilities. In addition to maintaining clear air quality for employees and the local community, T. Hasegawa is also committed to recycling programs at all facilities that minimize the use of plastics in R&D, production and administration.
Legacy Partners has received approval from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to refinance a $37 million loan from Greystone in order to complete the renovations of The Verandas, a 209-unit apartment community in West Covina, Calif. Legacy Partners has owned and managed the 180,000-square-foot property since 2007.
Located at 200 N. Grand Ave., just off Interstate 10 and with easy access to Highway 57, the community features one, two and three-bedroom apartment homes. The property is some 20 miles from downtown Los Angeles and a five-minute drive from Mt. San Antonio College and retail amenities at Eastland Center.
The makeover includes upgrades to the exterior, all units, the clubhouse and pool area, as well as the dog park, barbecues and outdoor dining areas. Units will feature upgraded cabinets, new wood panel floors, improved lighting and stainless steel appliances. Legacy Partners has contracted Costa Mesa-based interior design firm Commercial Design Solutions to handle the efforts.
Legacy Partners manages a portfolio of more than 60 multifamily communities totaling more than 14,000 apartment homes, including the recently added 183-unit SoCal community ONYX Glendale.