RPV 50th Anniversary

Within the 27.3-square-mile region of rolling hills, canyons, steep cliffs, rocky shorelines and wooded glens of the Palos Verdes Peninsula lie four distinct cities. Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes. The city of Palos Verdes Estates was incorporated in 1939 and both Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates followed suit in 1957. It took 16 years for RPV to incorporate, officially joining the other cities in 1973.

Today residents and city officials in RPV are gearing up to celebrate a half-century of existence. Along with the city’s 50th anniversary planned monthly events beginning in September that celebrate RPV’s civic history, PV Magazine will commemorate the occasion in upcoming issues with an inside look at some things that make RPV extraordinary.

We begin our coverage with Mr. Ken Dyda. Remarkably, Dyda, who is a current city council member, was also one of the city’s founding fathers. He will be recognized for his lifetime of service when the city’s new civic center is officially named the Ken Dyda Civic Center. Rancho Palos Verdes will rename Upper Point Vicente Park in honor of Dyda and the city will also unveil a new Ken Dyda Way street sign. Dyda was born and raised in New Jersey and came to California in 1952 after getting a degree in aeronautics and marrying his wife Lorraine. He had a long career with North American Aviation and moved to PV in 1961. He was gracious enough to answer some questions recently.

How did you make your way to city government?
I organized our local homes association and the Peninsula Advisory Council which included most of the homes associations in what was the unincorporated part of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. This led to Save Our Coastline in 1970, an effort to get local control. I was one of five on the Board of Directors (inner circle). Three from Rolling Hills (Fred Hesse, Dorothy LeConte, Alice Savage) and myself and Gordon Curtiss from the unincorporated peninsula. I was elected to the first city council and served three terms. I followed that with service and chairman for various committees and commissions. I was appointed to fill the vacancy created by Peter Gardiner and then was elected in 2015 for my fifth term. I was reelected to my sixth term and will term out in 2022 due to term limits. Before you know it, 50-plus years have passed by. What do you want for the future of Rancho Palos Verdes? RPV is great because of the involvement of the residents. It began with over 200 people preparing the city’s goal report. It spelled out the composite desires of the residents as to what their city should be. That involvement continues to this day.

My dream is to follow the precepts embodied in the Goals Report of 1975. Unlike many cities in California, we are financially sound with a healthy reserve. Our residents work diligently to follow the General Plan and the goals of the residents. Once we control the Portuguese Bend Land Flow and complete our Civic Center, we can claim to be the crowning jewel of Palos Verdes. Dyda looks forward to celebrating his city’s 50th anniversary and hopes all the other cities on the Peninsula and all the residents who live here join the fun in celebrating the paradise that is Palos Verdes.

Did you know…
The Upper Point Vicente Park which is located on Hawthorne Blvd and adjacent to City Hall was formerly a Nike Missile Base, this park site surrounds the City’s Civic Center. Today, the park has a sand volleyball court, a tennis court, an open grassy area with barbeques and a dog park. There are spectacular views of the ocean and this is the site of the City’s annual July 4th Independence Day Celebration.