Thank you for your past support for Citizens for Enforcement of Parkland Covenants (CEPC) and/or the nomination of Residents for Open Ballot Elections (ROBE) candidates who are challenging the incumbents in the upcoming Palos Verdes Homes Association (PVHA) election.
Much has transpired since our last update on November 24th, so here is an update.
Latest Developments
VOTE! The election is in full swing. By now all PVHA members should have received ballots by mail, and it is important that you mail them back so they are received before January 4th. If you did not receive it, or misplaced it, please go the PHVA office in City Hall (Malaga Cove) at 340 Palos Verdes Drive West to request a replacement. PVHA is open weekdays (other than Tuesday) and closes at lunch time.
LMV/LBHOA Candidate Forum on Dec 12th: The League of Women’s Voters in collaboration with the Lunada Bay Homeowners Association are hosting a Candidates Forum for the PVHA Board of Directors. It will be from 7 – 9 pm on Monday December 12th at Palos Verdes Estates City Council Chambers (340 Palos Verdes Drive West, PVE). In accordance with LMV rules, all 8 candidates have been invited to the forum. Questions for candidates will be collected ahead of time and provision will be made for audience questions to be collected at the forum as well. LBHOA is requesting anyone interested in attending to register here. Seating is limited, so please sign up if you expect to attend. Please check the Lunada Bay Homeowner’s Association website (www.lbhoa.org) for updates or other information.
History of PVHA and Background for the Current Litigation: Joe Ryan has written an excellent blog that explains the context for the current controversy over Parklands that is a key issue in the current PVHA Board Election. For those of us without legal training, Joe has researched the topic and applied his legal mind in a way understandable by us non-lawyers. For the blog, click here.
Mailings: In recent weeks, you probably received via USPS two mailers concerning the election:
- 11/25/16 ROBE Mailer arrives in mailboxes of all PVHA members -- click here
- 11/26/16 Mailer with letter from Phil Frengs arrives in mailboxes of all PVHA members. For the letter and John Harbison's comments on the many erroneous statements made by Mr. Frengs, click here.
Errors and Corrections: Two errors in the PVHA ballot package have caused concern:
- Ballot “Years as Member” error: On the ballot, PVHA misrepresented the years of membership by overstating incumbent Carolbeth Cozen by eleven years (15 years instead of 4 years) and understating petition candidate Marlene Breene by ten years (21 years instead of 31 years). This error was corrected in a postcard that should have arrived on or about December 3rd, although some people have reported the ink was smeared. For examples, click here.
- Address Error: On the pre-paid return envelope, the street address is in error – showing “11960 Wilshire Boulevard” not “10960 Wilshire Boulevard.” Click here for a sample. This caused some people to wonder why the zip code was confusingly not the same as the Moss Adams address listed on the ballot itself (“90099-9811” on the outside envelope instead of “90024”). The incorrect house number was reported to Kim Robinson at PVHA, but PHVA took no action to explain this to the public. However, we have been told that the bar code contains the correct information and that the envelopes will be delivered correctly to Moss Adams, the CPA firm that is doing the counting.
- Suggestion to allow members to verify receipt denied: With over 60 comments on NextDoor with residents expressing concern over whether their ballot would arrive to be counted, John Harbison proposed to the PVHA Board of Directors that they ask Moss Adams to post online a list of ballots received so that people can overcome their distrust and each confirm that their ballot has been received. PVHA President Phil Frengs responded they did not take responsibility for the address error or their failure to answer members’ concerns posted on NextDoor, and that they would not allow members to verify if their ballots were received and counted. John Harbison responded saying that he had already been encouraging members to send ballots in using the envelopes provided, and it was not his responsibility to clarify the PVHA process or to make representations /assurances that it would work. For this email interchange, – click here.
- Letter to Judge Latin: ROBE’s attorney Jeff Lewis sent a letter to Judge Latin, who is overseeing the PVHA Election, pointing out the above errors and asking for a method for members to verify receipt, as well as asking for PVHA to follow their By-Laws and to extend the election should there be no quorum. The By-Laws stipulate PVHA’s by-laws state in Article V on page 51:
…“at such annual meeting of the members, directors for the ensuing year shall be elected by secret ballot, to serve as herein provided and until their successors are elected. If, however, for want of a quorum or other cause, a member's meeting shall not be held on the day above named, or should the members fail to complete their elections, or such other business as may be presented for their consideration, those present may adjourn from day to day until the same shall be accomplished.”
“Day to day” does not mean “until a year from now”. The language means PVHA should extend the election long enough to establish a quorum. For the letter, click here.
There have been several articles in the local newspapers on the PV Homes Association Election:
- 11/20/16 Article in Daily Breeze on "Opposition regroups for new Palos Verdes Homes Association election" -- click here
- 11/24/16 Article in Peninsula News on "Opposition regroups for new Palos Verdes Homes Association election" -- click here
- 12/8/16 Article in Peninsula News on "Address Error: No effect on Election". This article incorrectly leaves the impression the address error is a non-issue by quoting Kim Robinson (manager for PVHA) as saying that "so far all but one person has been comfortable with the Homes Association's handling of the issue." This statement is far from the truth. Dozens of residents have contacted the PVHA, written emails to PVHA, or posted comments expressing concern on NextDoor (click here for a sample). For the article, click here.
How Can You Help?
The election is in its final month. Here are some ways you can get involved:
- Most importantly, please cast your vote and mail in your ballot in the envelope provided. For the first time in 90+ years, there will be choice on the ballot of the PV Homes Association. Vote for the three ROBE candidates (Marlene Breene, Dick Fay and Ried Schott) -- you need not vote for five candidates in total. Note this year the PVHA is no longer accepting ballots that are emailed, faxed or even hand-delivered – all actions that make it more difficult to achieve a quorum.
- Forward this email to all of your friends and urge them to become informed and vote.
- Stay informed by reading the material on www.pvegoodgov.org. We’ve presented documents from all sides of the issues and believe strongly in transparency. For a two-page flyer, click here.
- Put a yard sign in front of your house – contact info@pvegoodgov.org or pick one up at 916 Via Panorama 24 hours a day
- Follow the conversations on NextDoor.com, and weigh in with your own perspectives by replying to posts or “thanking” people who post. Just search for “PVHA” or “HOA” to see the many conversations on the Election.
- Tell your neighbors and sign up for our door-to-door campaign and we will provide you with flyers -- contact info@pvegoodgov.org to make arrangements
- Come to the LMV/LBHOA Candidate Forum on Dec 12th: It will be from 7 – 9 pm on Monday December 12th at Palos Verdes Estates City Council Chambers (340 Palos Verdes Drive West, PVE) – register here.
- Come to our next “Meet the Candidates Night” at the Gallery on the bottom floor of the Malaga Cove Library at 2400 Via Campesina on December 15th at 7pm. Given the LMV/LBHOA Candidates Forum will be earlier in the week, this will be an informal chance to sit with the candidates and ask questions. All candidates have been invited.
- Help pass out flyers at PVE’s schools at pickup time as parents are in their cars waiting for their kids – contact info@pvegoodgov.org to make arrangements
- Make a donation to ROBE – contact info@pvegoodgov.org
Every Vote is Essential
PVHA’s bylaws require that 50% of PVE and Miraleste property owners return their ballots in order to reach a quorum. Without a quorum, the current incumbents will simply re-appoint themselves, as they have every year since 2009. ROBE has asked PVHA to petition the courts to lower the threshold, which has been done successfully in other HOAs. However, PVHA has declined to do so. The stakes are high because the PVHA just released a new Resolution that states they will not even count the ballots if 50% (2712) are not received; this gives them the excuse to reappoint themselves without the embarrassment of reporting that the majority of votes cast are for the non-incumbent candidates (even though the PVHA By-Laws say they must extend the election until a quorum is reached). ROBE has offered to have volunteers count the ballots under PVHA supervision, but PVHA declined.
Why vote for change?
In 2012, the PVHA (along with PVE City Council) unanimously approved the sale of 1.7 acres of parkland to a resident who had built extensive encroachments on the parkland around his home over the past 40 years; this was the first sale of parkland in PVE. In 2013, a group called Citizens for Enforcement of Parkland Covenants (CEPC) sued to reverse that sale, and in June 2015 a Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of CEPC. The Judge declared that the actions of the PVHA and PVE City were “ultra vires” (illegal) and mandated that the sale be reversed and all encroachments be removed; the Judge also made it clear that all 800 acres of parkland/school property in PVE are bound by similar deed restrictions prohibiting sale to private entities. To read all the documents and press articles for yourself, see www.pveopenspace.com. Last fall, the PVHA (and City of PVE) decided to appeal the decision, despite public opposition to an appeal. In addition, in June 2015, the President of the PVHA wrote a letter that supported closing a portion of the most popular hiking trail in PVE by erecting a 300-foot long (7 foot high) fence that would have barred public access to several acres, and further, PVHA offered to partially fund the project – even though this would be a violation of the underlying deed restrictions that require maintaining public access.
Why does it matter?
If the PVHA wins the appeal, then they will have established a legal precedent that deed restrictions no longer apply in PVE, and that all of the 800 acres of open space can be sold for development. Open Space has been an essential aspect of PVE since the founding of our community in 1924, and it contributes immensely to our quality of life and our property values.
About ROBE (Residents for Open Board Elections)
We are a group of concerned residents that includes six former PVE Mayors and two former PVHA Directors. Bios of our candidates and names of our Steering Committee are on our website at www.pvegoodgov.org.
Save Our Parkland and Preserve our Home Values – Vote for Change at PVHA
All the best,
John
John Harbison
john_harbison@techspin.com
(310) 739-1838
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