Dear Residents,

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes continues to monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus in Los Angeles County and would like to share the following updates with the community:

The Latest

RPV Beaches, Parks and Trails to Reopen Tomorrow

In accordance with guidance from the County of Los Angeles, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes will re-open beaches, parks and trails, including the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve, this Wednesday, May 13, with physical distancing required.
 
The City encourages residents to participate in recreational outdoor activity in their neighborhoods. If you visit these areas, please do so responsibly, be mindful of your interactions and wear a face covering. All visitors MUST practice physical distancing, staying 6 feet away from others not in their household. Face coverings are mandatory at beaches when out of the water and around others. Face coverings are required at trailheads, parking areas, and on any trails where there are other groups of people nearby. Children under age 2 and anyone who has trouble breathing should not wear face coverings.
 
City Staff, Park Rangers and law enforcement are monitoring these areas to ensure compliance with public health directives, and parking restrictions will be enforced. Pursuant to the City Council’s March 17 local emergency proclamation, the City may close these areas if rules are not observed by the public and conditions become unsafe.
 
Please note that some trails may remain closed, and some trails may have designated directions of travel to encourage physical distancing. Please check trails.rpvca.gov for up-to-date information on temporary trail closures and trail circulation plans.

All park programming remains canceled until further notice. This includes all recreational activities, indoor and outdoor sports leagues, instructional courses, and group sessions/private events. 

(New) The Eastview Dog Park and the Rancho Caninos Dog Park will be open. The tennis court at Upper Point Vicente Park and the paddle tennis courts will be open. Both amenities will have restrictions to comply with physical distancing and safety.

(Updated) STILL CLOSED

• Playgrounds, basketball courts, baseball and soccer fields, park buildings (exterior park restrooms will be open)

• Check the status of trails before you visit at trails.rpvca.gov.
• Follow all Preserve rules, regulations and posted access restrictions.
• Stay at least six 6 feet from others who are not members of your household at all times.
• Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• Pack out all trash. 

• Don’t use trails that you know are crowded.
• Don’t leave your home if you are sick with a fever or respiratory symptoms or are currently under isolation or quarantine.
• Don’t gather in groups or linger at any one location except as needed for brief rests.
• Don’t share food or water while out on the trails.

L.A. County Beaches to Reopen Tomorrow

Today, officials announced plans to reopen L.A. County beaches on May 13 with restrictions (these restrictions will also apply to RPV beaches). The county has provided an overview of what will likely be L.A. County's "Beach Rules" in Phase I:

1. Only individual or family exercises and activities will be allowed, such as walking, running, swimming or surfing.
2. Face coverings will be required out of the water and around others.
3. Six feet (or more) of physical distancing will be required between individuals outside of the same household.
4. NO: sunbathing, chairs, canopies, coolers, picnicking, sitting or lying on the sand.
5. NO biking: bike paths, piers and boardwalks remain closed.
6. NO: group sports (such as volleyball), gatherings or events.
7. If you or people you live with are sick, stay home!
8. Those violating beach rules may be fined or penalized.

While L.A. County's beaches remain closed, officials do want to make sure you know just what to do when the time comes for them to reopen!
 
To stay on top of all beach closures and reopening updates, visit beaches.lacounty.gov.

L.A. County Public Health Director Clarifies Remarks at Today's Board of Supervisors Meeting Related to Extension of Health Officer Orders

Today, L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, issued the following statement clarifying remarks she made at today’s Board of Supervisors Meeting regarding the extension of the Health Officer Orders:
 
"L.A. County is continuing its progress on the road to recovery, with planned reopening of beaches for active recreation and an expansion of permitted retail activities coming tomorrow. While the Safer at Home orders will remain in place over the next few months, restrictions will be gradually relaxed under our 5-stage Roadmap to Recovery, while making sure we are keeping our communities as safe as possible during this pandemic,” Dr. Ferrer said. “We are being guided by science and data that will safely move us forward along the road to recovery in a measured way—one that allows us to ensure that effective distancing and infection control measures are in place. We’re counting on the public’s continued compliance with the orders to enable us to relax restrictions, and we are committed to making sure that L.A. County is in the best position to provide its 10 million residents with the highest level of wellness possible as we progressively get back to normal.”

Upcoming Small Business Grant Opportunity

Are you a business with five or fewer employees located within Los Angeles County’s 4th District? You may be eligible for the COVID-19 Business Relief Grant.

Online applications for the program will be accepted from Wednesday, May 13 at noon until Thursday, May 14 at noon. Learn more at grants.lacda.org.

SCE’s High Usage Charge for Residential Customers is Being Reduced Through at Least Oct. 31

Beginning June 1, Southern California Edison will launch a targeted rate reduction that can help residential customers whose households are using a large amount of energy during the COVID-19 emergency.
 
The High Usage Charge is being reduced through at least Oct. 31. Customers who incur this charge will see it decrease by 30%, and their total bill decreased by an average of 13%, or about $100 on an average High Usage Charge summer bill. The actual total bill reduction for each High Usage Charge customer will vary based on their household monthly usage.
 
The reduction can help households that are increasing their energy use because more members are at home due to COVID-19-related safety precautions or other impacts.

Learn more at: https://energized.edison.com/stories/bill-help-for-customers-using-more-energy-at-home-during-covid-19

Be Part of RPVtv’s #RPVTogether PSA

The City invites residents to join us in thanking all of our frontline workers, as well as community members who have stepped up to help our neighbors in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Share your photo, video or message of gratitude on social media with the hashtag #RPVTogether to be included in a special community public service announcement that will air on RPVtv. Submissions may also be emailed to mbarnes@rpvca.gov.
 
We are all in this together, RPV.

Cases

As of May 12, there are 33,180 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Los Angeles County, including the South Bay, so the public should not think one location is safer than another and everyone should be aware and practice physical distancing. The total includes 75 cases in Rancho Palos Verdes, 40 in Palos Verdes Estates, 13 in Rolling Hills Estates and two in Rolling Hills. Countywide, 1,613 people have died.

According to the Department of Public Health, 10 deaths have been reported in Rancho Palos Verdes. The City extends its deepest condolences to the families of these residents.

For a list of cases broken down by city, demographic characteristics, and settings, visit: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/locations.htm

For an interactive dashboard with maps and graphs showing testing, cases and death data by community, poverty level, age, sex and race/ethnicity visit: http://dashboard.publichealth.lacounty.gov/covid19_surveillance_dashboard/

An interactive dashboard of COVID-19 cases in the South Bay maintained by the City of Torrance is available at bit.ly/2XB1fv1. The dashboard reflects information sourced by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Census Response Rate Challenge

Have you completed your 2020 Census? Responses to the census shape decisions about how billions of dollars in federal funds flow into communities each year for the next 10 years for critical services, including health care, emergency response, schools and education programs, and roads and bridges. The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of census data and census participation.

As of May 11, Rancho Palos Verdes has a 72.5% self-response rate, 12.7% higher than the state’s average self-response rate and 13.8% higher than the national average. RPV has the second-highest response rate of the Peninsula cities behind Palos Verdes Estates.

Help us become the first city in the state to reach a 100% self-response rate! See the response rate for yourself at tabsoft.co/3ajQCPR

Complete your census today by mail, by phone at 844-330-2020 or online at 2020census.gov

Closure Information

For a list of school, library, transit and other local closures, visit the Closure Information page on the City’s coronavirus webpage.

Open for Business

Need a list of Peninsula restaurants that are serving takeout and delivery? Or updated grocery store hours? Check out the Open for Business tab on the City’s coronavirus webpage. If you would like to add your business to this page or provide updated information, please email slee@rpvca.gov.

City Hall Closed

As a reminder, to reduce the risk of community spread of COVID-19, through at least May 15, City Hall and park buildings are closed to the public, and all recreational activities, classes and events at City facilities have been canceled. The City will primarily be providing essential city services that are necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our community and City employees. To facilitate these measures, all non-essential staff will be working remotely. Inquiries will be reviewed daily and will be responded to on a case-by-case basis. Please note that our response to your inquiry could be delayed.

Community Development Department applications and permit requests may be submitted to planning@rpvca.gov. 

Non-emergency service requests may be submitted at http://www.rpvca.gov/FormCenter/NonEmergency-Customer-Service-Requests-3/NonEmergency-Customer-Service-Requests-43. 

Public Works service requests may be submitted at https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/6d13530e7ca84edbb5c4e022bdc54da8. 
 
Please visit the appropriate department page on the City website for a list of phone numbers and email addresses to accommodate your needs:
 
City Manager
City Clerk
Community Development
Finance
Human Resources
Public Works
Recreation, Parks & Open Space
RPVtv
 
Overall Staff Directory

Resources

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about the novel coronavirus.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus
California Department of Public Health: cdph.ca.gov/covid19 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): cdc.gov/COVID19
World Health Organization: who.int/coronavirus
California Governor’s Office: covid19.ca.gov
County of Los Angeles: lacounty.gov/covid19
L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1
FEMA Coronavirus Rumor Control: https://www.fema.gov/Coronavirus-Rumor-Control
 
Sign up for “Notify Me” city listervs at rpvca.gov/notify

Be sure to also follow the City on Nextdoor, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 
 
Sign up for emergency alerts from Alert SouthBay by:

• Texting “alertsb” to 888-777, which returns a link to register for Everbridge (for COVID-19-related alerts, text the keyword "cv19rpv")
• Registering online at alertsouthbay.com
• Downloading the free Everbridge app on an iOS or Android device from the App Store or Google Play. Select “Find an organization or subscription” and search “alertsb”

Sign up for emergency alerts from Alert LA County at https://lacounty.gov/emergency/alert-la/ 

The City Council is committed to keeping you informed on this ever-changing situation, and thanks you for your cooperation and support. The City reminds all residents that closures and cancellations announced by the City and other agencies and institutions are being implemented because public health officials advise that physical distancing is the best and most effective tool to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.