DWP Water Conservation Measures in Effect

DWP water conservation measures are now in effect, restricting lawn watering with automatic sprinklers to Mondays and Thursdays, before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m.

Watering by hand with a flow-control nozzle is allowed on any day, before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m.

Here are several links with detailed information on the water conservation measures:

Shortage Year Rates Fact Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

Sprinkler Use Ordinance

Prohibited Uses of Water

DWP Phone: (800) Dial DWP
DWP Website: LADWP.com 

To report water waste call   (800) Dial DWP.

For information on the DWP's Residential Drought Resistant Landscape Incentive Program, call (888) 376-3314. For information on any of the Department's other rebates and incentives visit LADWP.com
and click on "Rebates and Programs" or (800) dial DWP.

 

Seniors Meet Every Monday, Thursday

Chatsworth seniors 50-plus meet every Monday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mason Park Recreation Center, 10500 Mason Ave.

A hot lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. But, because lunches are limited in number, seniors need to sign up beginning at 9:30 a.m.

A lunch donation of $1.25 is requested for seniors 60-plus and  $4.50 for seniors age 50-60. You do not have to be a member
to enjoy lunch, which is funded by the Department of Aging.

Membership activities include chair exercise, line dancing, mah jong, bridge, square dancing, poker and more. Exercise chairs were donated by the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council.

For information, stop in or call the park, at (818 ) 998-6377 on meeting days, or e-mail Chatsworth Senior Center President Harriet Van Tiger at chatsworth4seniors@yahoo.
com; or contact Phyllis Fisher at (818) 701-6099.

Donate DVDs
to Benefit Veterans

DVDs4Vets is a non-profit organization that collects new and used DVDs and donates them to wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Many of these veterans have physical and economic hardships that make it difficult for them to obtain some of the basic entertainment that most civilians take for granted.

In the last year, DVDs4Vets has delivered more than 38,000 DVDs to various V.A. Hospitals, homes, centers and clinics for veterans.

For more information on how to donate DVDs, visit DVDs4Vets.org.

Here's Where You
Can Recycle Locally

Vons Shopping Center,
20440 Devonshire St. (behind Rite-Aid)

Valley Recycling Center,
20220 Plummer St.,
818-885-7318

Budget Recycling,
21250 Nordhoff St.,
818-998-1700

 

"Metro expects to have a design-build contractor on-board -- a notice to proceed has to be issued -- approximately around the end of the year," she told The Roundup.

But construction of the Lassen Street overpass will not begin until utility lines are relocated underground, she said. Construction will take approximately 15 months.

"Traffic will be impacted during the undergrounding of the overhead powerlines, but the extent of the disruption will be determined by the design of the underground work, which is not completed, as of yet," L�pez said. "There is a possibility that motorists and pedestrians will be impacted. We will work with the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation and comply with their approved detours."

You Can Meet the Monsters,
And the Men Who Made Them
Tour Chatsworth's Fantasy Factory

Want to see monsters? Well, the date's been changed.

Amalgamated Dynamics Inc. (ADI), an Academy Award-winning studio that builds aliens, monsters, beasts and costumes for Hollywood's greatest science fiction and fantasy films, will be the site of the Cinema Heritage Project's next presentation on Saturday, Aug. 8, in Chatsworth.

The free event will include the first public tours of the studio, where the creatures in the Alien, Predator and Tremors films were created. ADI also built the "bugs" in Starship Troopers, the beasts of Jumanji and Goro of Mortal Kombat, as well as costumes used in the Spider-Man films.

The ADI studio at 20100 Plummer St. (at Winnetka Avenue) includes a museum and a large workshop where its creations are built and displayed. 

Tours of the studio, for which reservations are required, will begin at 3 p.m. and continue into the evening. Cameras will not be allowed inside the studio.  

As the sun begins to set at 7 p.m., guests will hear presentations by people who work in the special effects industry, followed at 8 p.m. by a screening of Alien vs. Predator  in ADI's parking lot.  

Among the speakers will be Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., founders of ADI. In the movies, Gillis supervises the facial performances from outside the suits, working with the director to get the right performances on film, while Woodruff often wears the suits, performing as the Alien and other creatures. For information about ADI, visit studioadi.com. 

The Cinema Heritage Project is a grassroots nonprofit corporation that presents movies at the locations where they were made. CHP events include speakers, site tours and other features to celebrate the movies and the people who made them, as well as the locations and their histories. Major sponsors of this event include the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council, the West Hills Neighborhood Council, Fallbrook Center and other businesses and agencies. 

To obtain reservations for tours, contact the Cinema Heritage Project at info@cinemaheritage.com or call (818) 348-8657. For event information, visit cinemaheritage.com. 

While Parks, Golf Courses Win
Water Rationing Exemption, Equestrians Await a Decision
Work on Mason Park Sprinklers Set for August

While the City Council has voted 12-0 to exempt city parks and golf courses from the tough watering restrictions in effect for everyone else, the DWP is still dithering over whether to relax water rationing on large Chatsworth horse properties.

At the same time, the DWP says that water demand reached a 32-year low in June, dropping 11% compared with the same period in 2008.

Richard West, DWP water rates manager, speaking at a Braude Center briefing in Van Nuys on June 25, said that property owners with up to five licensed horses or other livestock of 500 pounds or greater would be allocated 25 gallons per day (748 gallons per month) for each animal. To qualify, the property must be zoned for horses and livestock.

But that doesn't account for legally required sprinkling for dust control, plus the bathing of horses and the occasional waterline leaks in barns.  And many Chatsworth boarding stables have more than five horses. West told Steve Columbus, chairman of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council Equestrian Committee,   that 50 gallons per day might be considered, but additional water would be charged under the more expensive Tier 2 rates. 

The fact that the rate program would go into effect in less than a week was hotly pointed out to West, Columbus said.  Equestrians are still waiting for an answer.

Officials said the park and golf course irrigation exemption was needed to preserve the quality of public facilities -- especially locations like golf courses that generate revenue for the city, the Daily News reported.

John Mukri, general manager of the Parks Department said, however, that "smart" sprinkler systems that irrigate based on weather and other conditions have been installed at most locations, and reclaimed water is used to irrigate five of the city's 13 municipal courses.

Councilman Greig Smith proposed modifying the current twice-a-week DWP water-use restrictions.

"The twice-a-week restrictions are turning people's lawns brown, which hurts home values in our neighborhoods," he was quoted by the Los Angeles Times.

"The motion would change the restriction to Monday, Wednesday and Saturday for 8 minutes per day, before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m. This would help lawns, trees and shrubs survive while still meeting conservation goals. It would even reduce watering by 6 minutes per home per week, saving many thousands of gallons of water," Smith wrote in his weekly newsletter.

"This motion is in addition to our earlier motions to offer rebates for installing smart sprinkler systems, allow exemptions from the watering restrictions for people with disabilities or special medical circumstances, and allow exemptions for homes and businesses in high fire severity zones. We also authored a motion to increase the water allotment for registered horse owners," he said.

But while the new sprinkler system to be installed at Mason Park is a smart system, it is not designed to use reclaimed water, according to Megan Cottier of Smith's office. "In order for the recycled water to be used DWP would need to run a pipe from the Tillman plant [near the Sepulveda Dam] to the park, which is quite a distance," she said.

Park West Construction has won the contract to install the Mason Park sprinkling system. "The first phase, which will likely start construction in mid-August, 2009, will consist of the work on the north side of the park (the non-softball/soccer field side)," Neil Drucker, program manager for the Bureau of Engineering, said in a memo.  

"I anticipate that work will take a minimum of four  months to complete, maybe longer," Drucker said.  "Generally, it should not affect the AYSO [youth soccer] regular season, which I understand lasts from Mid-August through end of November."

He said he would try to schedule the balance of the project for mid-to-late December after the soccer playoffs.

Chatsworth Park South remains closed due to testing for lead buckshot pellets in the soil from an old skeet range. However, "the good news is we are still fully funded for the Phase 2 testing.  We'll have to see the results of those tests before we know any more" about reopening the park, Cottier said.

DWP has a new website atLADWPNeighborhoodNews.com.

By Kevin Roderick
LA Observed

The Orange Line busway extension from Woodland Hills to Chatsworth will follow the route of old Southern Pacific railroad tracks that crossed the Valley starting in 1888. The trains carried out crops, brought in settlers and lumber to build the suburbs, and transported paraplegic GIs to Birmingham Army Hospital (now high school) during World War II. It was the route north up the coast from Los Angeles, via tunnels dug under the Santa Susana Mountains that are still used.

About 900 feet of the historical tracks still remain alongside Canoga Avenue. The last car to occupy those tracks [was]  loaded up [the] weekend [of June 26] and taken to Omaha, according to local railroad salvage contractor [and member of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council] Dan Huffman. The tracks will be torn out. I went out and grabbed a one-minute video of the scene, including an Amtrak Surfliner passing by on the active line that intersects with the old route at Plummer Street.

Neighbors Protest Plans
for Church on CHIME Land

A contentious standing-room-only crowd of nearly 70 neighbors overflowed a CHIME charter school classroom last Tuesday to hear the latest proposals to build a church on the property.

Both the room and rhetoric were hot. Many arrived believing the gathering was a "Stop the Church" meeting. However, the meeting was scheduled by the Saints Peter and Paul Mission of the Maronite Catholic Church which is buying the property at 22280 Devonshire St. for $2.4 million.

This was the third in a series of informal, voluntary neighborhood meetings, although some attendees said they were never notified of the previous briefings. One was with the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council Land Use Committee. When the city orders official hearings, residents within 500 feet of the project will get notices in the mail. Meanwhile, the Land Use Committee will be monitoring plans for the development.

Council President Judith Daniels and Council Member Dan Huffman were in attendance. Both serve on the Land Use Committee.

Church spokesman Mark Dierking said the church plans to lease the buildings back to CHIME for two years, before embarking on a $6 million four-building complex to include a circular community hall, a two-story classroom-office building, a pastor's house and the church itself.

Neighbors loudly voiced objections to the architectural style and building heights which they claimed to be out of character with the rural neighborhood. They also questioned the provision for 130 parking spaces when the sanctuary will hold 365 worshipers. Dierking said the city only requires 88 parking spaces. Dierking said there would be a maximum of 300 families using the facilities.

Residents were assured that the church will not be ringing bells.

NUCLEAR MELTDOWN -- John Pace kneels at the reactor in 1959 inside the Sodium Reactor Experiment at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in the mountains above Chatsworth. In 1957, CBS' Edward R. Murrow narrated a "See it Now" report on the reactor lighting the city of Moorpark -- a first. The nuclear meltdown 19 months later was covered up for years. Details.

Zero Waste
The City has a Zero Waste team soliciting opinions on how to reduce solid waste. Find out how you can participate. Zero waste brochure.

Bureau of Sanitation
The BOS is working to convert our solid waste into renewable energy. Read the brochure.

Be Prepared for the 'Big One'
This is the 150th anniversary of the last great San Andreas Earthquake. Dare to Prepare is a campaign to prepare for the next big quake. Find out what you can do at the Dare to Prepare site. Read the LAFD letter.

Free Shade Trees
You can get free shade trees through DWP. Read about the Trees for a Green LA program

DWP Residential Energy and Water Saving Programs
The DWP offers incentives to recycle your old refrigerator and buy an energy efficient one. Other appliance incentives are available too. Receive $100 toward an ultra low flush toilet. Read about DWP rebates.
 
Online Service Requests
You can place service requests for street repair, tree trimming, downed trees or palm fronds in the street online.
This is a service provided by the  Bureau of Street Services.

Property Activity Reports
Did you know that you can view all permit requests for a property online? Click here to access the City's online reporting system. Enter in the address and view the permits.
This is a service provided by the Department of Building and Safety.

 

Bring this coupon to the next Neighborhood Council Meeting and receive a free Be Safe, Be Seen safety flasher.  Wear it while jogging, cycling, walking the dog.

Name: ________________________________________

Email: ________________________________________

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