Crestwood Hills Association Special Meeting
In late October, residents received letters inviting them to a Crestwood Hills Association Special Meeting. Signs and emails are up and out to remind residents that the meeting will take place in a few short weeks — on Sunday, December 16th at 3:30pm in the Crestwood Hills Park Recreation Center.
The purpose of the meeting.
A CHA annual dues increase of $25 per household is being recommended to support important neighborhood goals, including public and emergency safety initiatives. The purpose of the meeting, as outlined in the letter, is to give homeowners an opportunity to vote on the measure. To be able to vote at the CHA Special Meeting, a member’s dues must be paid for the 2018 calendar year. Dues can be paid here or by bringing a check to the meeting.
Learn more about Association goals.
The meeting will last about an hour, so there will also be time to share what the Association has been focusing on—particularly as those goals pertain to community safety. With the ongoing threat of fires in California, emergency preparedness is a top priority.
The Association is energized and excited to share the work that has been going on behind the scenes to insure the future of this very special hillside community. Hope to see you at the meeting!
LAPD Warns of Sharp Burglary Uptick In Brentwood, including Crestwood Hills
In the last few days Crestwood Hills and the immediate surrounding vicinity have experienced an uptick in burglaries. Please read the following Community Alert we received from Officer Maria Gray of the West Los Angeles Community Police Station.
Letter from Officer Maria Gray:
May 30, 2018
Detectives know from experience that crime tends to rise during the warmer, summer months. Burglary detectives specifically, also know this to be true, as do the burglars who make their living by stealing your stuff. But more importantly, do YOU know this? Have you prepared for this fact of life in Los Angeles?
Folks tend to leave their homes for extended getaways and vacations during this season. The other factor is that residential windows are more often left open and/or unsecured due to the heat. We have experienced a sharp and notable spike of burglaries (four in the last few days) within the Brentwood area bordered by Saltair Ave on the east, Mandeville Canyon on the West, Sunset Blvd on the South and Hanley Ave on the North. Specifically (and rounded to the nearest 100 block for the sake of privacy) they have occurred at:
· 5/24/18, 800 block of Hanley
· 5/26/18, 200 block of N. Saltiar
· 5/29/18, 800 block of Hanley
· 5/29/18, 700 block of Kenter
· 5/29/18, 1000 block of Hanley
In some cases, the burglars accessed the homes through side or rear kitchen windows—windows that were either left open/unsecured or were pried/forced open. Detectives have also mentioned to me that in some cases, the homes were quite concealed by high fences and landscaping. While this affords people privacy, it also allows for burglars to walk comfortably around your property without being seen from the street or by neighbors (please consider making environmental design changes to remedy this). At present time, there is no suspect or vehicle description that I can share with the community. If things change, I will send out a supplemental notification. Property taken has been jewelry, watches and cash.
For those of you who have already heard these suggestions, please excuse the redundancy, but at present, one of the best tools to protect your home today is a system of instant notification. You want a system that has your smart phone alert you immediately when someone is at your front door, AND alerts you when they are along either side of your home, AND alerts you when they are to the rear of your home. Nothing less will suffice, in my opinion (and the opinion of many of my fellow officers). The traditional home alarm systems can be a very low priority in terms of police response, but if you call 911 and tell the operator that you see someone in your backyard right now, and here’s their description and here’s what they’re doing, the priority gets bumped up to a lights and sirens scenario and the likelihood of the thief or thieves getting caught or deterred goes up considerably. So does the likelihood that you’ll retain your possessions.
These systems are relatively inexpensive, easy to install with either rechargeable batteries or hardwired or even solar options. To see examples of these systems in action, go to www.youtube.com and search ‘Ring Video Doorbell’ Helps Bust Gang Member in Home and just scroll from there.
Please monitor the criminal activity in your neighborhood via www.crimemapping.com. Through this website, you can receive email alerts as to what’s going on in the radius and time frame you choose.
Feel free to contact me should you have any questions or concerns.
Maria
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EMERGENCY: 911
NON-EMERGENCY: 1-877-275-5273
All other City Services: 311
Website: www.lapdonline.org
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What you can do.
In addition to reviewing the information and safety tips shared by Officer Gray, we are looking for people to help form a neighborhood watch—cited last year by Detective Brian Espin as an effective community defense. If you are interested in being part of a Crestwood Hills Neighborhood Watch, please email hello@crestwoodhills.com.
Neighbors are also joining together on a block-by-block basis to hire patrol security services. The Crestwood Hills Board does not endorse a specific company, but ACS Security has provided the Association with a contact number for those interested in using ACS services. If you are interested in ACS Security, please contact us via hello@crestwoodhills.com and we will send you the representative’s contact information.
2018 Annual Meeting set for May 6th
The Crestwood Hills Association Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, May 6th, 2018 at 3pm in the Crestwood Hills Park Recreation Center.
We invite you to attend and learn what Crestwood Hills Association volunteers have been up to this past year. Included in the discussion will be topics impacting our community such as development and safety. Elections will also be held for board officers whose 2-year terms are up for review.
Please mark your calendars and encourage your neighbors to attend. To be able to vote, dues must be paid for the 2018 calendar year. Light refreshments will be served.
For more information, please see our Save the Date notice or contact us at hello@crestwoodhills.com.
We look forward to seeing you there!
