President's Note

Dear Neighbors,

During our September board meeting, we heard from a senior manager at PG&E whom we invited to attend as a result of a number of recent power outages in Kent Woodlands. Thank you to the many members who attended either via Zoom and in person.

We learned there were several reasons for these outages. The most recent was due to equipment issues with the underground lines in two different locations in the flats of Kent Woodlands. We learned that underground line failures are more troublesome to diagnose and quickly repair, although there is a benefit to undergrounding lines as it relates to the mitigation of fire risk. PG&E has no plans to underground more lines in Kent Woodlands (in fact, they're only planning on undergrounding one mile of lines in all of Marin County in the near future) while they focus on undergrounding thousands of miles of lines elsewhere in the state where they have deemed there to be a greater fire risk. Additional reasons for recent outages have included objects like birds or branches hitting the power lines, and new PG&E technology, which is designed to immediately shut off the power when the lines are hit, that has created additional outages (but have lowered the risk of fire). 

We certainly gave this PG&E representative an earful at our meeting; we specifically asked for quicker responses to get our power back on as quickly as possible and demanded better communication. Our board will also be writing a letter to the Public Utilities Commission (PG&E's regulatory oversight board) to go on record that we find the amount of outages and lack of communication from PG&E in 2023 unacceptable. 

Please make sure you're signed up for PG&E alerts (visit PGE.com and sign up under Profile & Alerts in your online account) and confirm that your account information is up to date with your mobile number.

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On the subject of fire safety Kent Woodlands is a certified FireWise USA community given the efforts of the KWPOA. We encourage you to check with your homeowners insurance carrier to determine if they offer a FireWise discount. If so, feel free to contact us at info@kwpoa.com for a link you can provide them to confirm our status. 

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And on a final note: In future newsletters I'll be providing an update — and asking for feedback — as the board continues to work on our Acorn Lot Entrance Beautification Project. 

Sincerely,

Jeff Leh, President

Tuesday, October 31st

at 5:00pm

Join your neighbors for the annual Kent Woodlands Halloween Parade! Gather just past the intersection of Woodland Road and Rancheria/Goodhill, where the parade will begin at 5:00pm sharp. Trick-or-treat tables will be set up along the parade route. Afterwards, continue the celebration with food and beverages for kids and adults outside at the home of the Ryan family at 125 Woodland Road.

As usual, Woodland Road will be CLOSED between Rancheria/Goodhill and North/South Ridgewood from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Alternate routes are available.

Interested in hosting a treat table along the parade route? Let us know at info@kwpoa.com!

Emergency Warning Siren Test

On October 7th at noon, the Kentfield Fire District will test our Emergency Warning Siren, located on top of the Kentfield Fire Station at 1004 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. 

In the event of an actual emergency such as wildland fire or natural disasters such as earthquake, flood, and mudslide the siren may be activated to alert residents. When the Emergency Warning Siren is activated, tune into local radio, television, phone, cell or VOIP alert notifications for emergency information and instructions (this is not necessary during the tests conducted each first Saturday of the month at noon). 

Portable Generator Usage During Power Outages

The recent power outages resulted in the emergency use of a number of portable generators throughout the neighborhood. If you use such a generator during a power outage, we ask that you be considerate of your neighbors by keeping it off between the hours of 11:00pm and 6:00am (except in cases of medical necessity or safety reasons). Our CC&Rs prohibit noise that constitutes an unreasonable annoyance to other property owners, and we will take enforcement action against members whose portable generators pose an ongoing nuisance.

It’s worth noting that there have been some improvements in quieter yet long-lasting portable generators and the project costs it takes to hook up key appliances and lights to them in case of an outage. A couple of our residents, the Wilcoxes, have done some extensive research and would be happy to share what they’ve found. They can be reached at michellerwilcox@gmail.com.

2024 Board Election Information

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION AND NOMINATION DEADLINE:

Four of the seven KWPOA board seats are up for election in January 2024, and we encourage any interested and qualified member to consider serving our community by volunteering as a director. Nominations for candidates must be received by 5:00pm on October 31, 2023 and may be submitted in the following ways:

• Mail to KWPOA Election, PO Box 404, Kentfield, CA 94914
• Email to info@kwpoa.com
• In person at the KWPOA Board Meeting on October 23rd at 6:00pm 

If, at the close of the time period for making nominations, there are the same number or fewer qualified candidates as there are board positions to be filled, then the board of directors may, after voting to do so, seat the qualified candidates by acclamation without balloting.

Candidate/Director Qualifications: A candidate must be a natural person and a Member (owner in chain of title) of the Association. If title is held by a Trust, the Trustee(s) named on title is the Member(s) for purposes of candidacy (and voting).

For more information about the nomination or election process, please contact us at 415-721-7429 or by email at info@kwpoa.com. The rules governing KWPOA’s elections may be found on our web site at www.kwpoa.com/voting-policy.

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of you who joined us for our first annual EV car show! We hope that this event has inspired each one of you to explore the benefits of driving an electric vehicle (EV), from saving on fuel costs to eliminating carbon emissions.

We'd also like to extend a special thank you to the entire CNKW Task Force, specifically Pete Johnson for graciously hosting the event. His dedication to promoting EV’s for our community are appreciated! Special thanks to Lucid Motors, VinFast, Polestar and Cartelligent for being such great partners to Kent Woodlands.

Visit us at CarbonNeutralKW.com! And for the trailblazers out there, ask us for a Carbon Neutral Kent Woodlands bumper sticker:

Preparation is essential: Evacuations, shelter-in-place, or other emergency orders may be necessary to protect residents during wildfire, flooding, and other emergencies. Besides the fire department’s emergency siren drill on October 7^th at noon, FEMA is conducting an emergency alert test at 11:20am on October 4^th. If you haven’t already, NOW is the time to sign up for Marin County Emergency Alerts at AlertMarin.org.

Please check out emergency.marincounty.org/pages/evacuation for a list of helpful links for emergency preparation such as Alert Marin, Nixle, PG&E and the latest, Zone Haven (see more below). If you are a person with a disability and require an accommodation to participate in a county program, service, or activity, requests may be made by calling 415-473-4381 or 711 for CA Relay.

Zone Haven is the latest safety tool be aware of. As part of Marin’s public safety agencies’ evacuation plan, the entire county has been divided into individual evacuation zones. Pre-established evacuation zones help first responders and emergency service agencies prepare before an emergency strikes and helps streamline the evacuation process to reduce confusion and help residents evacuate quickly. Do you know your zone? Download the “Genasys Protect” mobile app, follow a zone, or turn on your location to get notified about danger wherever you are.

Heather Hill, Hazard Mitigation Specialist

Sunday, December 3, 2023 from 5:00 − 8:00pm at Guesthouse on College Avenue. All Kent Woodlands residents welcome! Watch your email / mailbox for your invitation.

Please direct any Architectural Committee inquiries to the Kristin Tiernan at AC@kwpoa.com.

Important information from Marin County Dept. of Public Works Regarding Private Property Access and Driveway Culvert Clearing

Dear Property Owner in Unincorporated Marin County,

Did you know that it is the responsibility of property owners to maintain drainage infrastructure constructed for private property access (e.g., driveway culverts and inlets)? Not clearing could result in property damage that property owners may be responsible for. [See Marin County Code section 13.14 Driveways and Driveway Culverts and section 24.04.295 Driveway Culverts regarding this requirement.]

Pavement damage, soil erosion and mudslides are often caused by blockage of stormwater flow under (culvert) or across driveways. If leaves or other waste block the flow of water, the water is redirected and can cause damages. In addition to routinely inspecting and clearing your driveway culvert, please help reduce the amount of debris that reaches the street in the first place. To do this, please clear the drains around your home; including roof gutters, drain inlets, downspouts, pipes, and drainage ditches. Compost yard waste on your property or by putting it in your green bin. This will also help reduce debris and waste from washing through the drainage system and causing flooding and environmental damage to our creeks and the San Francisco Bay.

If you have questions, please contact Marin County Public Works at (415) 473-3755 or publicworks.marincounty.org/land-development-division-contact/. Thank you for maintaining private driveway culverts, assisting to keep public drainage infrastructure clear of debris, and for supporting the preservation of Marin’s unsurpassed beauty.

Sincerely,

Stuart Hayre, Principal Civil Engineer

Marin County Department of Public Works