LETTERS

David Szymanski, Superintendent of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) spoke of L.A. County Measure H passed in 1992 to save nearly 20,000 acres of wildland and rolled out a huge map of the mountains showing what lands have been preserved and how much more land needs to be saved. (SMMNRA was established as the 295th unit of the National Park System as part of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978.)

“This is the most special state park in the system,” Szymanski said about SMMNRA. “In 1978, we established 156,000 acres under the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and it is now an area of national interest—60

Kim Lamorie, president of the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation (LVHF), forwarded this letter from David W. Pedersen, P.E., General Manager, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, to Friends of the Santa Monica Mountains and The Canyon Chronicle. While LVMWD is not Topanga’s water district (West Basin MWD is), this is good news regarding an important water update.

Dear Kim,

I am reaching out to give you and the LVHF an update on the latest water supply conditions and advance notice of a staff recommendation to our Board that, if approved, would involve a measured softening of LVMWD’s current drought restrictions.

Although the drought is not over and conservation remains a top priority for LVMWD, water supply conditions have materially improved for agencies like ours that receive a majority of their deliveries from the State Water Project.

On January 26, 2023, the California Department of Water Resources (CADWR) increased its State Water Project allocation from 5% to 30% of requested amounts due to the large amount of rain and snow in December/January. Subsequently, on February 1, 2023, CADWR completed its second percent of this land is public land and we need to protect it into perpetuity.”

Supervisor Horvath then stepped up to speak following an extended standing ovation.

“I am incredibly grateful, for this awesome opportunity and incredibly grateful for your trust in me,” Horvath said. “I am grateful for the gift of this district that I know you all so carefully steward… there is so much that is special about the Santa Monica Mountains; the biodiversity and all that makes this special. So, we will fight like hell to protect this region for sure,” Horvath said. “I will say, many of you were on that journey with us, with banners, with the signs you put in your yards and driving us through the neighborhoods to help us understand the issues, so we could speak with understanding.”

Horvath also spoke of holding the telecommunications companies accountable.

“Telecommunications, the sighting of cell towers, we are continuing to fight the federal government and not let them have a blank check to write their own ticket as to where to put their facilities, but in getting more local control as to where those towers are placed to protect our communities from harmful impact.” with the sanctity that it deserves.”

Horvath further spoke of her responsibility to the diverse neighborhoods and constituents in her district and especially the need for accountability while in office.

Horvath oversees the Third District, which includes much of the West Side, most of the San Fernando Valley, the Conejo Valley, Topanga and the Santa Monica Mountains all the way to the Ventura County line, with the northern border including Chatsworth and Porter Ranch.

Horvath previously served as a City Councilmember and is the longest consecutively serving Mayor for the City of West Hollywood. She is the youngest woman to ever be elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the first millennial and only renter to serve on the historic all-female Board.

“It was a wild journey to get here manual snow survey for the year and reported that statewide snowpack is at 205% of average levels for this time of year. Together, these conditions improve LVMWD’s water supply conditions and warrant a re-look at our current drought restrictions.

With this in mind, staff is recommending that the LVMWD Board consider de-escalating its implementation of the District’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan by one “notch”—from Stage 3 (Water Shortage Emergency) to Stage 2 (Water Shortage Warning). If approved, this would mean that outdoor water budget reductions (50% reduction for potable water and 25% reduction for recycled water) would be eliminated (no drought reduction factors), and we would no longer be installing flow restriction devices. We would, however, still be encouraging customers to use water efficiently and stay within their water budgets. We would also be encouraging customers to transform their landscapes to be drought-tolerant and climate-appropriate since 70% of water use within the service area is outdoors. Finally, the oneday-per-week watering restriction (potable water only) would remain in effect until lifted by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which is expected to occur on March 14th.

“We were speaking of people who have my title or who are in similar positions who are afraid of accountability, which is a little shocking because we run [for office] saying we can do things, and if we can’t do them, why should we continue to hold this seat,” she said. “I think of accountability as a conversation; [you] tell us what we are doing well so we can keep doing that for you, tell us what you need so we can fill those gaps, tell us what didn’t really work out the way we intended so we can do it better.

“In partnership we will make this a region that continues to be so beautiful, so special and a space to be so incredibly proud of,” Horvath said. “I am honored and humbled to be your servant in this seat, and I look forward to the partnership we will have in the years to come. Thank you very, very much, I thank you all.”

For information: lacounty.gov/ government/board-of-supervisors/ lindsey-p-horvath.

Last but not least, I want to thank the LVHF and residents of the Santa Monica Mountains for such tremendous work thus far to conserve water. Your efforts have been truly historic and collectively resulted in an average 37% Districtwide reduction in water demand from June 1 through December 31, 2022. This is among the highest levels in the entire state. All of us at LVMWD are forever thankful for your partnership and support. Thank you!

All the best, Dave

Pederson

Kim Lamorie responds: “Congratulations to you, responsive stakeholders that you always are, for your tremendous historic conservation efforts that are among the highest levels in the state!! This is why we like the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District. Responsive and community focused. They will be at our meeting this month to elaborate and answer questions too!

Congratulations, too, to Jeremy Wolf whom you all know from his years of conservation advocacy, from the Federation, or from working for State Senator, Henry Stern, or as an Agoura Hills Planning Commissioner, or now, as an Agoura Hills Councilmember, he is working for the LVMWD as their Legislative Program Manager. They are lucky to have him!

For information: lvhf.org.