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Selected issues which have been considered by the Board in recent months include:

Residential Burglaries in Hacienda Heights

The Industry Sheriff's Station is asking for help from Hacienda Heights residents. There is reportedly an ongoing rash of residential burglaries; 42 since 4/1/08, in a shotgun pattern, primarily daytime until about 9:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Some of these reportedly involve knocking on doors to see if anyone is home, some involve poorly secured homes. Perpetrators may be driving in from distant cities, many are thought to be motivated by drug use. Rowland Heights is reportedly experiencing a similar rash.

Suspicious vehicles in the area have been stopped by police and burglary paraphernalia discovered. There has not yet been a significant increase in vehicle burglaries. The LASD is asking all Hacienda Heights residents to report any suspicious activity immediately (a citizen call constitutes probable cause for police to stop an individual or vehicle). We are obviously in a down economy with significant inflation, and prudence dictates taking every necessary precaution.

Rowland heights proposed city boundary. View map

How We Can Save Lives.
Each day 7,000 tons of unused American medical supplies go to waste. Each of the following websites finds donors - hospitals, clinics, doctors offices - who can donate unused medical supplies for shipment to overseas people in need. Check these websites for additonal information:

DoctoDock.org
Med-Eq.org

Ask your doctor and/or hospital whether they re participating. See L. A. Times Parade Magazine, August 19, 2007.

Graffiti in Unincorporated areas can now be reported online 24/7 via the link below. The information is automatically forwarded to the abatement contractor that services the area, images can be uploaded, and constituents do not need to leave their personal information unless they want to. Please visit the link and feel free to share it. You can also dial 211 and be connected to an operator who will direct your call to the appropriate County department.
http://www.ladpw.org/go/graffiti 

Additional graffiti cleanup services Graffiti cleanup services will soon be coming to Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights seven days a week thanks to a recent expansion of community services were approved after a request by Supervisor Don Knabe. Cleanup crews will concentrate on schools, parks and major intersections, and will also be available to respond to individual service calls. Dial 211 or call the County's graffiti hotline at (800) 675-4357. It is available with a live operator 24/7.

 
Colima Road from Camino Del Sur to Nogales Street. County Public Works is planning to restripe Colima three lanes east and west, reconstruct traffic medians, and adjust signal timing to enhance traffic flow. Construction includes pavement rehabilitation, installation of curb ramps, left turn lanes and raised medians. Striping for the bike lanes will be removed but will be retained as a designated bike route. Signs will be posted along Colima Road from Allenton Avenue through Larkvane Park to Nogales Street. Interested parties may submit comments to Mr. Dale Sakamoto, L.A. County Public Works Dept, P.O. Box 1460, Alhambra, 91802-1460, or call 626-458-3915, Monday through Thursday, between 7: AM and 5:00 PM.

 
Zoning Permit. County Regional Planning is reviewing an application for a Karaoke Bar on Hacienda Blvd in the Von's parking area. HHIA Board presented no objection to the project with the understanding that no alcoholic beverages would served. Project # R2006-02213-(4).

How to have a clean car and still save water
Car washes are a popular fund raiser for schools and community organizations. The Western Carwash Association has launched a Wash 'N' Cash program which provides opportunities to team up with car wash businesses that recycle 85% of their water. For information, call (800) 344-9274.

New Information About Mitigation of Disaster Damage at: www.hazardmitigation.oes.ca.gov SACRAMENTO - For nearly a century, California has been a national and
international leader in the effort to reduce deaths, injuries and property
losses in earthquakes, fires, floods and other emergencies by enacting
stricter standards for the building of schools and dams, retrofitting
bridges and overpasses, widening channels and culverts, creating fuel fire
breaks and elevating houses.

Access to vital information that can help public officials, emergency
planners and individuals succeed in future mitigation efforts is now
available via a new portal on the Governor's Office of Emergency Services
(OES) Web page.

"As Californians, we live with a variety of natural, technological and
human-caused hazards that can pose a serious threat to our lives, property
and the environment with little or no warning," said OES Director Henry
Renteria. "Although we can't prevent every type of hazard we face from
occurring, history has shown that we can reduce the impacts."

The new Web portal, which was developed with strategic and technical
assistance from a team of developers at the California Resources Agency,
features links to a wide range of loss-reduction strategies, maps showing
where major hazards are located, examples of mitigation success stories and
other resources developed by state and federal agencies. Users can access
the portal through the Hazard Mitigation link on the OES Web page at
www.oes.ca.gov or at www.hazardmitigation.oes.ca.gov.

"This new Web portal will provide Californians with valuable information
that will empower them to do their part in helping save lives and protect
both their personal property and the environment," said Renteria.

General and emergency planners from cities, counties and special districts
can use the Web portal to access the State Hazard Mitigation Plan, hazard
mitigation plans developed by select California cities, counties and special
districts, as well as hazard maps and geographic information system
(GIS) data. They also can use the portal to obtain information about
grants, mitigation-related regulations such as the California Seismic Hazard
Mapping Act and the California Building Code, as well as examples of
mitigation success stories implemented by cities, counties and special
districts throughout the state. Through the portal, individuals can learn
about California's disaster history, laws pertaining to disasters, and
download publications and videos on how to strengthen wood-frame houses.

To visit the OES website containing this news bulletin as well as previous
news bulletins, either click on the link below or copy and paste it into the
address bar of your web browser: http://www.oes.ca.gov/Executive/Public/OES+News+Bulletin.nsf/
Web%20News%20Lookup?openview

Puente-Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor Threatened by Developer

The following letter explains the issue and the problem we are facing. HHIA encourages all residents of Hacienda Heights to send this, or a comparable, letter immediately to the Texas office of Shell Oil. You can copy and paste the folowing text or right-click the following link and choose "Save as..." to download this letter as a PDF.

Date

Mr. Raoul Restucci, President and CEO
Shell Exploration and Production Company
200 North Dairy Ashford
Houston, Texas 77009

Dear Mr. Restucci,

Shell Oil's proposed project to build 3600 houses on the Puente-Chino Hills Corridor in Southern California would destroy one of the 20 biological hot spots in the world. It would add 40,000 vehicle trips per day to already overcrowded roads. Six surrounding communities are already on record opposing this project because we are the people who will bear the negative impact of the construction. With 17,000 acres saved so far, your project would irreparably damage the decades-long effort to establish the Puente-Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor.

Please fulfill a commitment to Shell's own principles of sustainability and sell this land to parties who will preserve this critically important wildlife habitat. Thank you for your consideration.

Name
(street address)
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
(email address)

Code Enforcement

Problems may be sent to Jim Goethals at Jgoethals@co.la.ca.us, or by calling him at (213) 974-6483. You may also inform HHIA by emailing to info@hhia.net


High Speed Rail - Check this website for important information about this development in the not too distant future: cahighspeedrail.ca.gov.


County Building and Safety Office - Now open on Tuesdays, in La Puente City Hall, 16005 East Central.

Hills for Everyone, Special Report – Friends of the Puente-Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor are circulating information about the proposed real estate development of 3600 houses and three commercial complexes between Fullerton Road and the 57 Freeway. For over 25 years, Hills for Everyone has been working for the creation of a wildlife corridor stretching from the 605 Freeway to below the 91 Freeway. All that effort will prove fruitless if the development - right in the middle of the corridor - by Aera Energy, owned by Shell/ExxonMobil, moves forward.
Learn more about this threat and what you can do by calling (714) 687-1555, or visit their website at www.HillsForEveryone.org


Pacific Heights Project – HHIA has been informed by Supervisor Knabe's deputy that this is a proposed project to build 47 homes in a very small tract of land adjacent to the Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Preservation Authority open space.

The staff person handling the project for Regional Planning is Annie Lin, email: ALin@planniing.co.la.ca.us.

In adddition to Ms. Lin, communications may also be directed to Supervisor Knabe's field deupty, email: dsimmons@lacbos.org.


Pomona Freeway Carpool Lane and Soundwalls – This project is constructing soundwalls on both sides of the freeway east of Hacienda Blvd. Caltrans has also scheduled a carpool lane project which will include construction of the remaining soundwalls in Hacienda Heights.

The 11.5 mile project will cost $125 million and will extend the existing Pomona Freeway HOV lanes from the 605 Freeway to I-15. The work will also include construction of soundwalls at various locations. Minor widening will be required at some locations, but will be done within the existing right of way. The work will start on May 21 and is scheduled to be completed by the Summer of 2011.


Puente Hills Landfill – The extension of the landfill was approved by the County Sanitation Districts. Although the impact of the landfill on our community will not be significantly reduced, the HHIA-led opposition did obtain some concessions: termination of the expansion at the end of the ten years,
a one dollar per ton surcharge which will generate $23 million for projects in the communities adjacent to the landfill, a property loss compensation program, and the appointment of an ombudsman to represent the concerns of our community. The latter is a subject which HHIA will monitor closely. The one dollar per ton surcharge began on November 1, 2003.