September 2012 — N 1209
October HOA Meeting Moved to Sept. 25th
Supervisor Foy will be attending
The October HOA meeting has been moved to Tuesday, September 25th, 7:00 PM at the Depot. Supervisor Foy will be attending and he typically invites Fire, Planning, Sheriffs, and other County officials so come ready with your questions! You can talk about anything that's on your mind – development in the Knolls, code enforcement, or any other topic.
A lot of people will be interested in talking about the horse ranch development and the potential affects it will have on the Knolls Community. This is a good opportunity to let Supervisor Foy and the other county officials know of our concerns. See you there!!!!
Horse Ranch Development Update
There is no 'New news' on the horse ranch development. The EIR is being completed and we are waiting for it to be released. Once that happens we will get a date for the Planning Commission meeting. We will need the neighborhood to turn out in force to the meeting so stay tuned for more info via email and posted signs in the neighborhood!
We need your support!
News From Across The Tracks
News from Simi Valley City Hall and how their decisions will affect the Knolls.
Update on Runkle Canyon Development — Runkle Canyon is located at the end of Sequoia Avenue along Simi's southern border; the 1,595 acre property is downhill from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a former rocket engine and nuclear test site known to have chemical and radiological contamination. The project consists of 323 single family homes, 25 of which will be custom and 138 senior condominiums of which 62 are designated as affordable units.
Members of the SKHA board spoke at these hearings stating that we thought it would be appropriate to wait for the final data from the SSFL site to be released by the US EPA before making this decision. We explained that US EPA has now found separated Strontium- 90 in locations near Runkle and the data is still coming in. But the developer said their studies did not show anything on their site and the city should move forward with their request.
After hearings at the City of Simi Valley Planning Commission and the Simi Valley City Council it was unanimously recommended approving the request by KB Homes, the developer, to a five year extension to its development agreement.
Living with the Wild—
Living in the unincorporated parts of the county brings with it the beauty of nature and the responsibilities of coexisting with it.
This summer you may have noticed the phenomenon, at least subconsciously. You go out and on the way to your car you notice it is a hot day. But when you get to the Von's parking lot on LA avenue, or TownCenter, or the Regal Cinemas, it feels way hotter!
This is because all that concrete and asphalt in the city absorbs and retains heat and creates an island of heat. In addition concrete and asphalt releases that heat very slowly, even at night. Hence all those parking lots mentioned above and their surrounding areas can be up to 10 degrees HOTTER. By comparison the Knolls feels cooler.
In the Knolls, there are no concrete sidewalks, very few if any un-shaded asphalt parking lots. In their place we have a few more shade trees and grass areas. In the aerial views of the eastern Simi Valley, it is easy to see that the city parts across the tracks from us have about 50% more concrete, than the Knolls does. That's why on any given day the Knolls is cooler than most of the urbanized area of Simi Valley.
For more info on this phenomenon, read this study on how modern cities have become "heat pumps".