National Night Out Another Big Success

Incorporated 1917 August 2015

LAKESHORE H o m e s A s s o c i a t i o n

What’s Up Oakland’s 20th Annual Creek to Bay Day is September 19. Projects help clean and beautify Oakland's creeks, shorelines and Lake

Merritt. Join others to remove invasive weeds, pick up trash, & keep refuse from the Bay and ocean. http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/PWA/o/FE/s/ID/OAK024743 Lakeshore Produce is moving this fall to 3312 Lakeshore, just up the block next to Colonial Donuts. The Main Squeeze opens at 3445 Lakeshore, serving juices, smoothies, Acai bowls. 18|8 Fine Men’s Salon now open at 3340 Lakeshore offering the art of straight razor shaves, classic haircuts & styling, and grooming services. http://eighteeneight.com/oakland-ca/

All over Oakland on August 4th one could see neighbors outside talking with newcomers and long-timers, getting acquainted and re-acquainted. National Night Out is a nationwide block party that encourages just such “get to know one another to reduce crime” parties. The 32nd annual 'America's Night Out Against Crime’ drew over 37 million people, in BBQ’s, ice cream socials, cocktail parties, and street potlucks.

Here in LHA, gatherings could be visited on over 20 streets, some with a few neighbors and a beverage, others with quite a potluck arrayed. It was apparent that neighbors enjoyed the camaraderie and evening outside. The best deterrent to crime continues to be neighbors watching out for each other. Let’s talk to our neighbors often!

LHA is hosting 3 events this fall for us. Come for one, join in all!

Plant Exchange Saturday, September 19, 11 a.m. at LHA garden. Bring clippings and small plants to exchange with your neighbors.

Family Movie Night is Saturday, October 24, 6 p.m. in the LHA garden. Come see a free movie outdoors. Popcorn and drinks offered. Adults BYOB. Movie TBA.

The Newcomer & Long-timer Hello will be Saturday, November 14 at 10 a.m. Greet our new homeowners and talk with long-time residents over coffee and pastries.

ASSOCIATION UPDATES

Summer Evening Neighborhood Stroll These balmy, long summer evenings are just made for strolling our LHA parks. How many have you visited this month? Did you answer the quiz correctly? We have nine parks. See our website for a map and the names of all nine. http://lakeshorehomes.net/administration/lha-parks-map

Election of 2016 Directors Nominations for 2016 Directors are due by September 15, 2015. Let the office know if you wish to run. This year’s election is for 2016 Directors. There are no amendments to the governing documents. Ballots will be mailed to homeowners in early October.

Walkways being Upgraded Good news! As we go to print, two of the public walkways in our neighborhood are being remodeled by the City. The path between Paramount and Longridge is getting railings. The Longridge – Sunnyhills stairs are being repaired and upgraded. Take a stroll in a few weeks when they are finished – visit a nearby LHA park on your walk or take a walkway to the bus.

Email Communications from LHA Get your LHA communications in your inbox! We now can send to 2 email addresses per property. You and yours can each find us in your inbox. And it saves us $$$$ and time. Receive your Association correspon-dence, newsletters, and notices by email. Complete the Email Authorization form that is on our website and return to the office (by email! or hard copy).

Service Provider Referrals The office keeps a list of your referrals for contractors, landscapers, handypersons, plumbers, driveway re-pair, and so on. Our list is made up entirely of your referrals. You tell LHA who is good and who does what kind of service. You also tell us when the work was not as expected. The list is constantly updated – only if you let us know. Email (office@lakeshorehomes.net) or call (510-451-7160). Your neighbors thank you.

I-580 Update This will be old news to those living close to I-580. However, as of August 17, the Caltrans project manager reported that August construction will be noisy. The slab replacements will be ground smooth, then rubber-ized asphalt laid. This work moves along rapidly. Sorry, but there appears nothing further can be done to minimize the noise for this portion of the project.

INCLUDE THE FOOD! LHA’s office has a new addition – a food scrap recycling compost pail. Apparently, we in Alameda County are putting more and more food scraps and food soiled paper than ever in the garbage can, instead of in our green bins. If your green bin seems a bit messy, put a layer of food soiled paper or newspaper on the bottom if there are no yard trimmings in it. Then empty your kitchen pail at will. Coffee filters & grounds, pizza boxes, eggshells, bones, old food…. More tips at stopwaste.org/benchmark.

Annual and Election Meetings November 18, 2015 – Mark your calendar! Guest Speaker Sabrina Landreth

LHA’s Election Meeting will be Wednesday, November 18 at 5:30 p.m. and the Annual Meeting that day at 7:30 p.m., both at Crocker Elementary School (525 Midcrest Road). Guest speaker is Sabrina Landreth, new Oakland City Administrator.

ASSOCIATION UPDATES

News from the President by Peter Turner, President

Tree house Issue You are probably familiar with the “tree house” issue. After 24 hours of mediation, a multipage agreement and a permanent easement were executed. The easement will be recorded. The three days of mediation were only part of the many hours of preparation and discussion that the resolution required. A joint statement re-garding the resolution has been published in our last newsletter, on our website, and on Nextdoor. The legal documents will be filed when ready at the Alameda County Recorder’s office.

Blighted no more The Board encouraged the owners of 842 Grosvenor to sell their long-abandoned property. Many of you have watched this eyesore being transformed from an ugly duckling into a swan. Special thanks to developer Paul Martin for a careful remodel and to realtor Judy Cain who invested much effort establishing a rapport with the former owners without which this problem property would still be with us.

Stop! Don’t change without LHA approval Don’t change/replace windows, doors, any exterior appearance without first checking with the LHA office (or information on our website) and then presenting your plans to the Neighborhood Preservation Commit-tee. I understand some members are shocked to learn that our Association has substantial input on modifica-tions of the exterior of their home and the ability to levy fines for modifications not first presented to the Committee or done in violation of its recommendation. However, the homeowner’s plans are generally bene-fitted by the insight and suggestions from a skilled architect, seasoned landscape designer, and veteran com-mittee members with an understanding of the architectural and landscaping history of our homes. You get suggestions of quality materials and appropriate style/design, in keeping with the neighborhood and your property. If one were to pay for this advice on the open market, the fee would surely be four figures. What a bargain! Take advantage of it.

Six Ways to Prevent Package Theft With the recent wave of “package pirates” – here are some tips for avoiding package theft:

1. Request a signature confirmation of delivery requiring either you or a neighbor to sign for your package. 2. Take advantage of delivery alerts so you’re notified as packages arrive at your home. 3. Leave specific instructions with the carrier where packages can be left, either out of sight or with a

nearby neighbor that’s home during the day. 4. Consider an alternate destination like a work address, an Amazon Locker or if purchasing from a large

retailer, choose to pick-up in the store. 5. Request a delivery company hold of your package at their location. FedEx, UPS and USPS shipments

can all be held for pickup at a local facility. 6. Get to know your carrier – you’ll typically see the same person delivering your route. Let them know of

any delivery considerations or concerns.

If your package is stolen? Report the theft online to OPD, the business you ordered from and your credit card company to find out about any purchase protection they may offer.

Claudia Retires Claudia Skapik, our dedicated Administrator for 26 years, retired June 1st. We owe her a huge debt of gratitude as she loves our neighborhood and worked with her heart as well as head. The Board momen-tarily panicked when faced with her retirement, but settled down to fill the position. We are enthusiastic about the hiring of Lisa Ray as LHA’s Administrator and know you will be, too.

Lakeshore Homes Association

907 Underhills Rd, Oakland, CA 94610 510.451.7160 fax 510.451.8640

www.lakeshorehomes.net office@lakeshorehomes.net

finance@lakeshorehomes.net Committees (meetings at LHA office 7:30 p.m.) Neighborhood Preservation 1st Wednesday Parks 2nd Wednesday Board of Directors 3rd Wednesday Membership 4th Wednesday

Board of Directors Board President Peter Turner Vice President Chris Metcalfe Vice President Jack Backus Secretary Ron Shapiro Treasurer Liz Sterns

Staff (office hours 10 – 1 M – F) Lisa Ray and Patty Montmorency

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ASSOCIATION UPDATES

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Join our Membership Committee. Its goals are to foster goodwill throughout the Association by or-ganizing events and encouraging neighbors to meet each other, promote resources available to our residents, modernize and simplify the forms and procedures process, and add new ways to communicate including social media. We meet the 4th Wednesday each month at 7:30 p.m. in the LHA office. Contact the office for more information.

Quiz How many parks / open spaces does your Association own and maintain? ______ Name them: _______________________________

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What Do LHA and its Board do? You may ask “what do the Board and LHA do.” Results of their efforts are visible day-to-day yet we often don’t know it was LHA and the volunteer Board that were responsible. In addition to being the custodian of our portals, LHA is responsible for the improvements and maintenance of five pocket parks and four open spaces -- the largest, Oak Grove, is well known in our part of the City as a pleasant walk in the woods. Through the efforts of our Parks and Neighborhood Preservation committees, our neighborhood continues to be one of the top places to live in all of Oakland. LHA cares for the beautiful street trees that surround much of our neighborhood and maintains approval rights for exterior improvement to members’ houses so that the look and feel we all want is continued. Topics such as no tall fences near the sidewalk, windows that don’t match the house’s style, and removing trees are considered.

The Board is responsible for planning the use of your annual assessments—all for the future of our neighborhood. The history of our neighborhood is also cared for and archiving is very important.

LHA is a central point in community safety. Cluster booklets and contacts keep communication lines open for our members for public safety, home security, and emergency service preparations and response through LHA and City programs, including LHA CARES, Home Alert and CORE training.

LHA serves as a valuable City of Oakland liaison. Decades of staying in contact with the City Council representative and various City service departments has proven to be very useful for both parties, such as filling of potholes, traffic safety and control, fixing street lights, and past undergrounding of utilities.

The Board operates through the guidance of the LHA By-laws and CC&Rs. Financial controls and public laws relating to HOAs also guide the actions of LHA and your Board. While the annual assessments remain very low in relation to the present value of being a part of this special neighborhood, LHA always will continue to balance the needs of its membership and the ordinances and restrictions that are placed on our lives.

LHA PARKS and OPEN SPACES