If you wait until after the war starts before you start to build your army, a
lot of important battles will be lost before you are even prepared to enter
the fight.

Please pardon the somewhat bellicose analogy, but there's some real truth
here, as our neighborhood association found out the hard way in the past year.

Years ago our San Pedro Hills neighborhood had a large and active
neighborhood association. But over a period of time, the association shrank,
withered, and finally ceased to exist.

Last year we found ourselves confronted with a development project in the
heart of our neighborhood that many believed would cause traffic congestion
and be detrimental to property values, the ecology of Lorence Creek, and the
quality of life in the neighborhood. While we attempted to rapidly marshal
an organized opposition to this project, we simply learned of the threat too
late and responded too slowly. It took time to organize and to educate our
membership and plan a response-and the outcome was certainly less favorable
than many of us would have preferred. Had a healthy, vibrant neighborhood
association been in place, we might have seen a completely different
resolution.

Many of you joined LCPA when the call went out for help. But now that this
one battle is nearing its end, some members have failed to renew their
memberships. If you are one of these, please reconsider that decision. The
strength of our neighborhood association is built on the numbers of people
who are committed to the association and its goals of protecting and
preserving the quality of our neighborhood.

We cannot foresee what new challenges may arise in the coming years, but it
is certain that we will be better equipped to confront them with a strong and
involved neighborhood association.

Please, renew your family's membership in your neighborhood association today.