Palos Verdes Peninsula News
Thursday, July 24, 2008
by Chris Boyd 

Officials thinking deep about modifying drive

    RHE — City Council members on Tuesday inched closer to approving plans for beautifying Deep Valley Drive in Rolling Hills Estates’ commercial district between Hawthorne and Crenshaw boulevards.
    For several years, council members have discussed a project that would make the Deep Valley corridor more pleasing to the eyes while ensuring it’s also pedestrian friendly.
    “We need to get it done. We need to move on this,” said Mayor Frank Zerunyan. “We’ve been looking at this for a long time.
    “It needs to become our city,” he added. “It really isn’t.”
    During Tuesday’s meeting, council adopted a conceptual plan that developers can use as a template in preparing landscape projects in the public right of way near their developments. Officials also requested that RRM Design Group prepare final plans and bid specifications for the portion of the project funded by the city: the north side of Deep Valley between Roxcove Drive and Peninsula Center Library.
    “What we really need now for the [developers’] projects that are under way is a definite plan, a template for what’s going to happen in this area,” said Councilwoman Susan Seamans.
    Councilman Steve Zuckerman asked Brian Hannegan, project manager for RRM Design, whether there were any conflicts between property owners and the plan envisioned by RRM.
    “I didn’t see any primary issues, really,” Hannegan said. “We are close. We’ve come this far and we’re fine-tuning it.”
    In addition to trees and shrubs, the proposal includes plans for environmentally friendly water-runoff collection and a safer pedestrian environment.
     “The issue that we really need to be concerned about in this whole area is traffic calming,” Seamans said.
    “[The plan] is still going to morph with comments … Things are going to change, and we’re going to adjust it as those comments come in,” Hannegan said.
    Among the proposed tree species that crews would plant are crape myrtle, California sycamore and evergreen pear.
    “We would put in flowering shrubs, nice paving, places to sit … You’ll get a broad canopy and that’s all right, as long as you maintain it for trucks to go underneath,” Hannegan said, referring to a row of trees as a “living gateway.” “It’s almost like a mountain community being up here on the Peninsula.”
    “The last thing we want is to have huge trees,” Zerunyan said. “Maintenance is also going to be an issue.”
    Benches made with recycled plastic, custom-designed news racks, trashcans, planters and pole-mounted streetlights are some of the furnishings that RRM recommends.
    “It would seem to me that what you want on Deep Valley is a continuum,” Seamans said. “We don’t want to be using too much light here, too much energy.”
    “I have talked to Edison representatives about LED (light-emitting diodes) for streetlights, and they’re working on it,” said Councilwoman Judy Mitchell. “They’re not quite there yet.”
    Designers also can incorporate public art on sidewalks and in other areas, Hannegan said. “There are just great opportunities like murals — those little places where art can go,” he added.
    “We have a very strong art community up here, and we may be able to incorporate them in this plan,” Mitchell said.
    Councilman John Addleman suggested the city explore installing solar-powered lighting similar to the kind he saw in Chicago. “We can look into it,” he said. “We don’t have it on any projects that I’m aware of.”
    “We’d like input because ultimately it’s your city, your town,” Hannegan said.
    Mitchell suggested incorporating three-rail fencing in certain areas. “It might be at the entry points,” Hannegan said. “There might be room for doing that.”
    Council will receive a final proposal at an upcoming meeting.

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