April 2015 — N 1504
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Next HOA Meeting
The next HOA meeting will be the first Tuesday of June 2015, (6/2/15) at 7:00PM at the Depot (at Pass and Katherine Rds.)
Newsletter
The Susana Knolls Newsletter is going bimonthly (every other month). Since we successfully fought and won against the large development that would have required major changes to our neighborhood it’s been relatively quiet in the Knolls. We will be sending out the newsletter after the bimonthly HOA meetings so watch your INBOX! Of course, if there is ever anything that the neighborhood needs to know we will send out a notification. Also, if you think there is something the HOA should know please email us at susanaknollshoa@roadrunner.com
Emergency Preparedness
The HOA was contacted by the Park District about emergency preparedness. The Park District has offered Knolls residents a location at Fire Station 43 that can be used for emergency supplies. Is anyone interested in pursuing this? We are looking for volunteers to check into what it would take. The folks in Oak Park have emergency supplies for their neighborhood. We can talk with them and see how they did it for their neighborhood. If you are interested in participating please send an email to susanaknollshoa@roadrunner.com.
Old Fire Station 43 – what’s happening?
The Park District has been diligently working on the new "Knolls Station!" They are making it ADA accessible (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990), splitting the restrooms, creating 2 meeting rooms, adding HVAC, adding doors to the back (keeping the large roll up door in front), adding stairs by the park, adding picnic tables that overlook the ball field, adding a hardball wall, and lowering the windows. WOW! The plan is to relocate the Knolls after School Club from Knolls Elementary to this new park facility. The hours of operation are early afternoon until 6:00PM so the facility can be used for other purposes during the week as well. The grand opening of the Knolls station is tentatively planned for August 2015. Stay tuned for further updates.
Historic Items for the Knolls Station
The Park District is looking for old pictures or other old items from "back in the day" that have something to do with the Knolls or Station 43. They can photocopy and enlarge old pictures or perhaps put in a display case for miscellaneous items. If anyone has any pictures or items they would like to be considered send an email to susanaknollshoa@roadrunner.com.
Knolls Beautification Event
(Knolls Clean-up)
The County sponsored Knolls Beautification Day is scheduled for May 16 at the Santa Susana Park – just in time for annual weed abatement! Watch for a flyer coming via U.S. Mail. There is also a Free Residential Landfill Day on May 17 so if you miss the local event in the park on May 16 you can take your items to the landfill the next day.
Living with the Wild
Light Pollution
One of the greatest gifts of Knolls living is our nighttime sky. Our night skies are significantly darker than the City of Simi's. Because we are a rural neighborhood and are not plagued by mandatory, glaring streetlights, our night skies offer us an abundance of stars and planets we can see just outside our front doors. Unfortunately, light pollution is becoming an increasing threat to the Knolls, as it is in most of the world!
Light pollution is the result of excessive outdoor lighting, and lighting that is not properly shielded, allowing light to be directed into eyes, a neighbor's yard and windows, and into the night sky (skyglow).
Light pollution not only causes resentment among neighbors, but medical studies have shown that it can cause increased headaches, stress, anxiety, hormonal imbalance, sleep deprivation and fatigue! Light during nighttime hours has also been linked to human cancers. In addition, glare from overuse of lighting affects night vision, thus making night driving hazardous.
Nocturnal animals, especially birds such as rodent-eating owls, are at dire risk from light pollution. These denizens of the night are biologically dependent on a minimum amount of darkness in order to hunt, reproduce and survive. Bright lights in their environment, and skyglow in general, negatively impacts their behavior, food procurement, migration and survival.
The good news is that light pollution can be greatly reduced! A rule of thumb is that if your outdoor lighting is bathing your neighbor's house, windows or yard in light, it is light pollution and also very costly for you! You can save money and decrease light pollution by using the lowest-wattage bulb needed for the job, turn the light off when it is not needed, and point it toward the ground. Never use indirect lighting, which bounces light on a wall in order to light the ground. Use a shield or cover, so that you are not creating light scatter. Motion detectors and timers are a great way to save energy and money since they turn lights off when they are not needed. Think about how much light you really need and use only the minimum.
Keeping our sky dark is a good way to preserve this little gem of a neighborhood. Turn off the lights and let the sky light your night!
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.