PVE Community Newsletter

Serving Lunada Bay, Malaga Cove, Montemalaga and Valmonte

Dear Neighbors,

Our families, homes, and natural environment are the heart of Palos Verdes Estates. Sadly, even after the huge Pacific Palisade fires which destroyed entire neighborhoods, our city’s inaction on fire safety puts all of this at risk. 

Here’s what every resident needs to know, and what the City isn’t telling us.

PVE: A Very High Fire Zone

• California ranked PVE as a Very High Fire Hazard Zone.

• Lessons from disaster: In the Palisades, poor fire safety led to catastrophic losses. Burned properties there can't be rebuilt, homeowners are going bankrupt and their empty lots are being sold to investors at discount rates.

Critical Problems Ignored by Council

• Hydrants in PVE haven’t been flow/pressure tested in 15 years. The Council was notified 5 years ago and chose NOT to take action. Cyclical Flow/Pressure testing is a required standard for maintaining PVE’s wet barrel hydrants.

• Empty Reservoirs: Both the PVE and Palos Verdes reservoirs, which would provide local access to drinking and hydrant water, are empty.

• Inadequate Fire Abatement Trimming: The City only provides a 20 foot defensible barrier of Parkland bordering homes. But County Fire requires a 200 foot barrier.

Why Does This Matter?

• A Recipe for Disaster: Hydrants Failed in Palisades, Altadena and Maui Fires. Malfunctioning hydrants put firefighters, and our entire neighborhood, at risk.

• PVE’s reservoir, now empty, could provide emergency drinking water in a fire or earthquake.

• Other cities have solved these problems with grant-funded improvements, like burying power lines to prevent fires. PVE hasn’t even applied for these funds.

Council’s Priorities: Development Over Safety

• Council’s own survey shows residents overwhelmingly want adequate Fire Protection, and residents rejected Council’s new Fire and Police stations, because it does not make us safer.

• Yet, Council pursues their agendas instead: Council is actively pursing their new stations and neglecting fundamental fire safety mitigation

Impact on Residents

• Fire  insurance costs are soaring, without nearly enough coverage to rebuild.

• CA’s SB549 law will empower LA County to seize fire-damaged private land and turn it over to selected DEVELOPERS to redevelop into density housing.

Strong Community Action Needed

• Fire safety isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity

• Residents’ recent survey reflects critical fire mitigation actions are our #1 priority.

What We Need to Safeguard our Families, Property and Community

1. FIRE HYDRANT TESTING -Immediate, documented flow/pressure testing and maintenance of all fire hydrants.  Fill Reservoirs and conduct live testing to ensure all back up generators for pumps and communications are in working order for an extended period of time.

2. FIRE TRIMMING - Full compliance with LA County’s 200-foot fire trimming standard next to homes, using available grant money and county funds.

3. PRIORITIZE SAFETY, NOT USELESS DEVELOPMENT - Transparency and accountability from our Council. Our lives and homes depend on it.

Let’s make our voices heard, before we become the next cautionary tale. We are vulnerable to fire. The well-being of every family in PVE depends on action.

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Full Newsletter with details and supporting documents LINK

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Correction to last issue: 1920 CC&Rs state:

“Over a quarter of the City’s 3,038 acres is permanently protected as parkland and maintained in its natural state to preserve the rural atmosphere”.

CA rates PVE a “Very High Fire Zone”

Residents’ #1 Priority: Fire Safety

Residents’ 2025 survey results LINK:

PV Reservoirs are Empty

Local control of water provides safety for emergency access to water for fires and earthquakes

Full Newsletter with details and supporting documents LINK