September 2014 — N 1409
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Next HOA Meeting
The next HOA meeting will be the first Tuesday of October 2014 (10/7/14) at 7:00PM at the Depot (at Pass and Katherine Rds.)
County Encroachment Enforcement
At our October 7th meeting David Fieisch Director of the Ventura County Transportation Department will make a presentation on the recent changes on encroachments in the County road right-of-way (ROW).
Due to problems across the County with encroachments into the County right-of-way the County decided at their April 22, 2014 BOS meeting to establish criteria to evaluate removal of, modification of, or to take no action against encroachments and establish standards for new encroachments.
As many of you know this was a big issue for the development of the Colton Lee project and the right-of-way (ROW) on Katherine Road. As a result, at least on Katherine, we know where the County owns the right-of-way and where it is in question. We do not know this for any of the other County roads in the Knolls. The new County ROW standards may impact many existing homes not only on Katherine but all the other County roads.
The County considers an encroachment to include any object of any kind on, in, along, under, over, or across the ROW. All work and all encroachments in the ROW must be authorized by an encroachment permit
Here are the standards for new encroachments for property owners:
No encroachments within 5 feet back of curb/edge of the pavement except for driveway, USPS approved mailbox, or low laying landscaping fences, walls or hedges no more than 3 feet, and fences up to 6 feet in side or rear yard when consistent with planning standards.
Encroachments that affect existing utilities will require a no-objection letter from the affected utility prior to approval.
The new standards will evaluate existing encroachments for their level of risk and liability versus the severity of the encroachment. This evaluation will be grouped into three categories as follows:
Significant Risk - Encroachment must be removed immediately or modified to make it a lower risk and permitted,
Low Risk - Encroachment will be permitted as is with a hold harmless agreement included,
Trivial Risk - County will take no action at this time.
In the future encroachments will be addressed through a set of standards, to ensure consistency of application along County roadways.
Here are the Legal Principles for County Highway Encroachment:
• The County holds County highways in trust for public use.
• Unpermitted encroachments are both crimes and civil nuisances.
• The road commissioner has authority to require removal of all encroachments, no matter how old or how minor.
• Encroachments may be permitted by way of an encroachment permit, but only with a hold-harmless agreement.
• A road encroachment potentially exposes both the property owner and a public entity to liability for injuries caused by the encroachment.
This is a very important issue for the homes along the County roads in the Knolls and all should plan on attending this meeting to get questions and concerns answered by the County representative who will be making the presentation.
Newsletter
The Newsletter of the Susana Knolls is published monthly and provides information of vital importance to the neighborhood. Occasionally we also provide interesting stories about living in the Knolls. We encourage everyone in the neighborhood to submit articles that would be of interest to our community. Please send your articles to susanaknollshoa@roadrunner.com.
Living With The Wild
Western Scrub-Jays
Assertive, vocal, and curious, deep-blue and white Western Scrub-Jays are a fixture in the Knolls, often seen high in trees, on wires, or on fences where they act as lookouts.
A regular bird feeder patron, Western Scrub-Jays eat acorns, insects, fruits, nuts (they love unsalted peanuts!), and seeds, and occasionally small animals, foraging in pairs or family groups. Known as planters of acorns, Jays hide thousands of acorns each fall, often depositing them in damp soil. Some of these acorns sprout into seedlings, replenishing our neighborhood with new oak trees. Western Scrub-Jays have the ability to remember their food storage sites, storing enough food to plan for the future. Jays will also steal acorns from Woodpecker caches and from other Jays, looking around to make sure no other birds are watching before they stash their prize. Jays have also been observed picking parasites such as ticks from the backs of mule deer.
Western Scrub-Jays are relatively long-lived birds and can live fifteen years in the wild. Unfortunately, West Nile Virus has caused widespread declines of birds in North America—and is especially lethal for birds in the Jay family. This is another reason to get rid of any standing water, making sure there is no where for mosquitoes to breed on your property.
Western Scrub-Jay pairs make basket-shaped nests of twigs lined with fibers and hair, concealed behind foliage generally in an oak or pine tree, but sometimes in hedges. Pairs stay together through the year, and are very territorial during the breeding season. They will fiercely defend their nests, often swooping down and pulling the hairs of dogs, cats and humans who venture too close to their nests. They have one brood of one to five eggs, and the young remain with the parents for about five months.
Western Scrub-Jays appear to have “funerals” in reaction to finding a dead jay. They will screech over the body, attracting other Jays, for as long as 30 minutes and stay near the body for a day or two.
The next time you see a flash of azure blue and gray, look for the Scrub-Jay, a beautiful and unique part of the Knolls.
This newsletter is a production of the Santa Susana Knolls Homeowners Association (SSKHA). If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please let us know. Please share this newsletter with your neighbors. You do not have to be a member of the SSKHA to be on our email list. To subscribe to this newsletter click here. If you are a member of the HOA we really do not want you to unsubscribe but if you must, you can use this link: unsubscribe. The newsletter is produced from the spacious Santa Susana Knolls town center offices at 1409 Kuehner, No. 5, Santa Susana, CA 93063.