July/August 2005 GCCA Newsletter

MEMORIES OF A FORMER DEVELOPMENT REPRESENTATIVE

Weeds, Blocked Views, C.C.&R. Compliance, etc.

By Barbara Hooker, Former California Lighthouse Representative

After I retired from the Glen Cove Community Association, Ruth O. Fisher asked me to write about my recollections during my time as the Representative (and Alternate) for the California Lighthouse development. I first became a G.C.C.A. Alternate, working with Frank Shober about seven years ago; when Frank moved to New Mexico, I became the development’s Representative. Frank was an excellent teacher because he cared so much for Glen Cove. In fact, he was one of the founders of G.C.C.A.

California Lighthouse, along with a few of the other developments, is in dire need of a Representative and/or an Alternate. If I just “bullet” some of my experiences and memories, it will give you an idea of what the Representative’s job is and encourage some of you to volunteer for the open positions.

Some of the items are from my own experience; some of them are from the experiences of other Reps from other developments.

~A young lady called to tell me that her boyfriend had beaten her up and that she was moving out. She was very determined that I write down his name and address, a description of him and his car, his employer’s name, his financial status, and additional personal information about him so that, “G.C.C.A. can watch him carefully and get rid of him.” I explained that we don’t “watch” residents and could only advise her to call the police or leave. She was so upset I finally just thanked her for “warning” us and ended the call.

~Other residents have called to tell me they were having problems with their spouse and could we please talk to them. I’d always tell them we don’t get involved in anything like that. I’ve found that sometimes the caller was really only hoping for a sympathetic listener.

~There have been too many calls to count about view blockage by neighbors’ trees and bushes. I usually made a visit to the residence to see for myself if the blockage was unreasonable. If so, I’d contact the neighbor, usually by letter, and try to work out something agreeable to both sides. The majority of the contacted neighbors were cooperative and agreed to remedy the problem fairly quickly. However, some were not. They have offered to allow their inconvenienced neighbor to prune, cut, and haul away the debris (at their neighbor’s expense, of course!) Some refused to do anything to improve the situation unless they were sued. I have no idea why some people would rather spend money on an attorney to harass their neighbors and thereby create lifetime enemies instead of spending the same or less amount of money on voluntarily pruning, trimming, and removing weeds and earning the love and loyalty of good neighbors.

~Many calls were from people concerned about weeds. Weeds create a fire hazard; they also blow weed seed all over the adjacent properties and spread the problem. I usually followed the same procedure as for view problems. However, if the violator refused to remedy the problem, I’d then forward a complaint to either City of Vallejo Code Enforcement or the Vallejo Fire Department.

~I’ve had many different responses to the G.C.C.A. notices and/or letters. Many of the people truly were cooperative and were just not aware of the problem. Some have told me the notice/letter seemed intrusive. Perhaps; but the problem was intrusive to many others or there wouldn’t have been cause to send the notice/letter. Frequently, I was asked, “Why do I have to comply when others don’t?” Well, I tried to explain that not everyone is doing the same thing—just look around the area. The other non-compliers were probably being contacted, too, and that someone had to be first. And, I’ve been told that it would have been much friendlier to just knock on their door and state the problem rather than leave a notice. Maybe. However, everyone has their own way of doing things.

~I’ve had a number of requests for building permit pre-approval service. I always enjoyed doing that part of the G.C.C.A. Rep. duties. It was, and is, so nice to see improvements being planned in our neighborhood and to see the pride, happiness, and excitement of the resident who is upgrading his/her property. I loved seeing the creativity shown by people in their property and landscaping improvement projects.

~I remember when G.C.C.A. objected to an illegal garage conversion to living space. We appeared before the Vallejo City Council, and we prevailed. The garage had to be restored.

~I was fortunate to be on the G.C.C.A. Board of Directors during the battles against the proposed apartment complex that would have ruined the beautiful, tiny valley leading to the Glen Cove Marina and the L.N.G. project. Again, we prevailed.

~I have been proud to watch other G.C.C.A. Board Members take on projects that resulted in much better open space landscaping maintenance; better services from the City like street re-striping and cleaning, graffiti removal; park access; and the General Meetings spread throughout the years that have created a forum for the Glen Cove residents to be heard.

In closing, I have met many lovely residents while I was a Board Member. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been involved in the work of the G.C.C.A. My former fellow Board Members were outstanding people with a strong commitment to the good of every resident in Glen Cove and who shared a willingness to give up their personal time to work hard to make a better life for all of us who live in this special neighborhood. I will miss working with each and every one of them.

CHAIR’S CHIT-CHAT

By Ruth O. Fisher, G.C.C.A. Chair

Get ready. Get set. Go…mark your calendar on October 20th—it’s the date for the year’s final G.C.C.A. General Meeting.

Thank you, interested residents and Board Members, who attended the June 16th General Meeting that featured four guest speakers.

Jeanine Perasso-Kaczmarczyk, City of Vallejo Senior Landscaping Maintenance District Inspector, focused her presentation on the three Glen Cove L.M.D. areas. Details of the Public Works Department’s efforts that benefit our neighborhood are included in a Page 9 article, “L.M.D. Corner.”

The Thursday night audience members were introduced to a proposed 25-Mile Carquinez Loop by invited speaker Dee Swanhuyzer, North Bay Trail Director. Completion of walkways on the Zampa and Benicia-Martinez Bridges will enable eventual completion of the regional hiking trail.

Bay Area Ridge Trail projects were further highlighted by Randy Anderson of LandPeople. He focused on the Interim Bluff Trail, connecting Glen Cove to the I-80 Magazine Street overpass. Additionally, the owner of the landscaping architectural firm presented a brief update on the Glen Cove Waterfront Park and indicated a tentative plan for a late-July workshop, open to the public.

Newly-installed P.T.A. President, Barbara Hurst, addressed the various fundraising programs enlisted by the organization to enhance the Glen Cove Elementary School’s educational efforts.

Gratitude is extended to all of the guest speakers for their time and participation. A note of thanks also goes out to the Safeway store for providing the assortment of bakery treats.

To check out other topics of neighborhood interest, log on to www.glencovevallejo.com to view and participate in Message Board commentary. Recent items range from mail boxes to pride of home ownership—always a plus in Glen Cove!

Latch on to the remnants of summer!!

Join Us at the Glen Cove Waterfront Park!

By Wendy Dugan, Harbor Homes Alternate

California Coastal Cleanup Day is the premier volunteer event focused on the marine environment in the country. On this day, 50,000 volunteers turn out to over 700 cleanup sites statewide to conduct what has been hailed by The Guinness Book of World Records as “the largest garbage collection” (1993).

Since the program started in 1985, over 650,000 Californians have removed more than 10 million pounds of debris from our state’s shorelines and coastal areas. When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The Ocean Conservancy and taking place on the same day, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events of the year.

Coastal Cleanup Day is the highlight of the California Coastal Commission’s year ‘round Adopt-A-Beach program and takes place every year on the third Saturday of September, from 9 a.m. to Noon. In 2005, that day falls on September 17th.

Coming at the end of the summer beach season and right near the start of the school year, Coastal Cleanup Day is a great way for families, students, service groups, and neighbors to join together, take care of our fragile marine environment, show community support for our shared natural resources, learn about the impacts of marine debris and how we can prevent it, and to have fun! Coastal Cleanup Day is also the kick-off event for Coastweeks—three weeks of coastal and water-related events for the whole family.

Participating in Coastal Cleanup Day is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Pre-register with your local Coordinator, Wendy Dugan, at 557-2925.

For more information, contact (800) COAST-4U. Join us on Saturday, September 17th, from 9 a.m. to Noon, for the 21st Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day.

L.M.D. CORNER

By Dennis Albright, Headlands Representative

New Contractor

On June 16th, the City of Vallejo Senior Landscaping Inspector spoke to residents at our quarterly G.C.C.A. General Meeting which was held at the Glen Cove Elementary School. Jeanine Perasso-Kaczmarcyzk discussed the general status and enhancement plans for the Glen Cove Landscape Maintenance District (L.M.D.) for the upcoming fiscal year which began July 1st.

She reminded us that we will see the D&H Landscaping logo on vehicles operated by the new contractor that replaces TruGreen Land Care. The D&H Landscaping company has a successful track record here in Vallejo, where they have held L.M.D. contracts in several districts. Accordingly, we are anticipating a smooth transition.

City Trees

The City is giving serious consideration to incorporating the maintenance of “City Trees” into our L.M.D. work. The City’s Maintenance Division normally has that responsibility, but it no longer has the resources to keep up with the workload and has incurred a huge backlog.

“City Trees” are those that were originally planted on most of our lots in the City easements that extend several feet back from the sidewalks into our property. Sam Gonzales, a City of Vallejo Assistant Maintenance Superintendent, is working on a pilot project here in Glen Cove. Ideally, our “City Trees” would get trimmed on a rotating cycle of once every six or seven years, so it would take awhile before everyone’s tree got trimmed initially.

It appears that this could be accomplished without requiring any increase in our annual L.M.D. assessment, considering much of our major landscaping rehabilitation work has been completed; thereby, freeing up some resources from that area. We will keep you apprised of progress on this initiative.

Volunteer Needed

I am looking for a volunteer to assist me in coordinating with the City of Vallejo Inspectors on oversight of our L.M.D. work, primarily in the area of improvement/rehabilitation project planning and financial analysis of our budget.

A basic knowledge of budgeting and/or financial management would be ideal. I will be gradually phasing out my involvement in the future. A phased transition is desirable. If you are interested, or know someone else who might be, please contact me at 554-3589.

HOW TO RESPOND TO A G.C.C.A. NOTICE

Call your G.C.C.A. Representative if you ever get a notice—explain whether the item of concern is temporary. Your development Rep. is on your side and may have some suggestions that will help you quickly resolve the issue. Keep any promise you make to your Rep. The G.C.C.A. Reps. want to remedy such matters at the neighborhood level. To ignore any reported problem will likely escalate things to Vallejo’s City Code Enforcement, Police, or Fire Departments. The G.C.C.A. wants problems resolved so our neighborhood looks clean, safe, and inviting to ourselves and to our visitors.

CALIFORNIA WEST NILE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM

Dead Bird Reporting

Glen Cove residents are asked to promptly report the finding of a dead bird, particularly a crow, jay, magpie, raven, sparrow, finch, or raptor to the toll-free phone number (877) 968-2473.

The California Department of Health Services urges residents not to touch the bird and will arrange for pickup and laboratory testing for West Nile Virus when appropriate.

The monitoring program will help identify where the virus is occurring within the State.