Life on the Hill, told in full.
Twenty-six square miles of marine terraces rising nearly 1,500 feet out of the Pacific — four cities, fifteen miles of coastline, and some of the most storied neighborhoods in Southern California. This is the resident's guide to all of it: the news that matters, the schools, the trails, the history, and the homes.
What residents are watching
Peninsula Center's next chapter: 500+ homes in the pipeline, and new life at the Promenade
Rolling Hills Estates is processing a 454-unit mixed-use project on Deep Valley Drive and has approved 90 homes at the Peninsula Shopping Center, while the Promenade itself leans into entertainment tenants. The Hill's real housing pipeline runs through Peninsula Center. The full docket →
Two cities, two budget stories: RPV's $5 million and two November tax measures
Rancho Palos Verdes landed $5 million in state landslide funding after spending about $12.9 million on the slide last fiscal year, by its draft year-end figures; on November 3, RPV voters decide Measure RS (hotel tax from 10% to 13%, about $2.2M a year, paid only by hotel guests) along with three open council seats, and Palos Verdes Estates voters decide Measure PVE (a renewed police parcel tax that adds $683 per parcel per year, needing two-thirds). And Miraleste Intermediate landed $2 million in federal funds for its failing electrical, fire-alarm, sewage and related utility systems; the campus also houses the district's central kitchen. The details →
PVPUSD navigates falling enrollment — what it means for programs and campuses
Like districts across California, Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified is planning around declining enrollment (10,179 students in 2025–26, 9,867 projected for 2026–27) and tighter budgets. Our schools guide, with boundary maps →
For those tracking Portuguese Bend: average movement across the slide complex edged back above an inch a week in early October, still about 30% slower than a year ago
Rancho Palos Verdes says its survey through October 6 put average movement in the still-active parts of the landslide complex at 1.05 inches per week, up 7.6% from early August, when it had dipped under an inch for the first time since October 2023. The city geologist attributes the rise largely to waves eroding the toe of the complex during an unusually active Pacific hurricane season. Abalone Cove averaged 1.36 inches a week and the Portuguese Bend slide itself 0.88, and the deep wells had pumped about 589 million gallons since September 2024 as of the city's October 28 report. SCE has restored power to 84 homes in Seaview and the Portuguese Bend Beach Club, and in an October 13 letter it told the city it will keep its one-inch-a-week safety threshold for the Portuguese Bend Community Association area, which still has no SCE power or gas service (staff report); city staff had a meeting with SCE's chief operating officer scheduled for October 30, and as of November 1 neither side had posted an account of it. On Wednesday, November 4, the council is asked to formally accept about $54 million in FEMA buyout money for 27 homes and $1.9 million to bring permanent power to five of the dewatering wells. Read our land-movement explainer; pvlandslide.com has background, with figures through the city's Oct 28 update.
The Hill's housing market: low inventory, patient sellers, and the view premium
Peninsula homes trade on ocean view, lot, and school boundary more than square footage. See what's for sale and what just closed — 208 homes for sale in the 90274 and 90275 ZIP codes on November 1 (Redfin's count), and August's Peninsula-record $24.26 million sale on Rocky Point — on our Real Estate page, with data powered by Properkey.
Week of November 2, 2026 · updated Nov 2
- Ocean & tidesLA County Public Health extended its rain advisory for all county beaches on Monday; it now runs at least until 10 am Wednesday, Nov 4: stay out of the ocean, especially near storm drains · An NWS Beach Hazards Statement runs until 6 pm Monday, Nov 2, for dangerous rip currents and breaking waves, with minor flooding possible at high tide · The NWS surf forecast issued Monday afternoon calls for a high rip-current risk through Wednesday, Nov 4 · As of Sunday, Nov 1, the NWS expected more tidal flooding into the weekend of Nov 7–8, with tides reaching 7 ft as early as Friday, Nov 6, and 7.0 to 7.8 ft over that weekend into early the week of Nov 9; it had issued no coastal flood advisory for those days as of Monday evening · details
- After the rainPreliminary county gauge readings relayed by the NWS show about 0.73 in at Rolling Hills and 0.85 in at Point Vicente from Saturday evening into Sunday morning (before and after the storm); LAX had 0.66 in (NWS) · The Nature Preserve and Abalone Cove Park reopened Monday, Nov 2 (RPV); some trails stay closed (trail status) · As of Monday afternoon, the NWS forecast for the hills was dry through Monday, Nov 9, with highs in the mid 60s to around 70 on Election Day and in the lower 80s Saturday and Sunday, when forecasters say coastal heat advisories may be needed (NWS discussion) · details
- MeetingsRHE Planning Commission, Mon Nov 2, 7 pm, City Hall: a hearing on zoning changes it would recommend to the council, among them a special use permit for roosters outside the H overlay district, standards in place of a beekeeping permit, and revised view-protection, temporary-building and appeal rules (agenda) · Of the five council, planning and school board meetings we followed last week, RPV's Planning Commission and the PVPUSD board (highlights posted Nov 2) had posted written outcomes as of Monday; RHE, PVE and Rolling Hills had not (where each stands) · RPV Infrastructure Management Advisory Committee, Fri Nov 6, 2 pm: a three-hour tour of city infrastructure projects from the City Hall Community Room, with no action planned (agenda) · Rolling Hills council Mon Nov 9, 7 pm · PVE council Tue Nov 10, 6:30 pm · RHE council and RPV Planning Commission Tue Nov 10 · next: RPV council Tue Nov 17 (after its Nov 4 meeting) · PVPUSD board Wed Nov 18
- Next RPV councilWednesday, Nov 4, 7 pm, Hesse Park and Zoom (Tuesday is Election Day). The agenda asks the council to accept $55.96 million in federal grants: about $54 million to buy 27 residential properties in the landslide area and cover program management costs, and $1.94 million for permanent power to five of the dewatering wells. It would also add $2.9 million to Geo-Logic Associates' contract for remediation design, from the city's capital fund, in place of Geosyntec's $6 million proposal, and extend the landslide emergency and the PV Drive South bike and motorcycle ban another 60 days (staff report). Also on the agenda: the Trails Network Plan and a report on Cal Water's infrastructure plan
- Preserve forumMon Nov 9, 6 pm: RPV's quarterly Palos Verdes Nature Preserve Public Forum, in the Fireside Room at Hesse Park and on Zoom (to join by Zoom or leave a recorded comment, use the form at rpvca.gov/participate). The city says the forums cover Preserve projects, maintenance, operations and public use, with time for public input · all events
- PV Drive SouthOpen to cars; the bike/motorcycle prohibition through the slide zone was extended another 60 days on Sep 15, and the council votes Nov 4 on 60 more · detail
- PV Drive South, east endFlaggers alternate traffic through one lane in the county sewer work zone between the San Pedro border and Schooner Dr, weekdays and Saturdays through February 2027 · detail
- Vincent Thomas BridgeCaltrans fully closes the bridge (SR 47, San Pedro to Terminal Island) at 12:01 am Saturday, Nov 7, for a 16-month deck replacementCaltrans scheduled a full closure of the bridge (SR 47, San Pedro to Terminal Island) from 12:01 am Nov 7 for a 16-month deck replacement; reopening is targeted for early March 2028, and the detour routes are mainly I-110, I-710, SR 103 and Harry Bridges Blvd · Caltrans · more
- Cross countryLeague finals end by Fri Nov 6; qualifiers from Palos Verdes (Division 3) and Peninsula (Division 2) run in the CIF-SS prelims at Mt. SAC on Sat Nov 14 (CIF-SS bulletin; divisions) · more
- Flag football finalsSat Nov 7 at Huntington Beach High School: Palos Verdes vs. Oxnard, 4:30 pm (CIF-SS Division 1), and Peninsula vs. Loma Linda Academy, 6:30 pm (Division 5) · D1 bracket · D5 bracket · more
- Nov 3 ballotElection Day is Tue Nov 3. On Oct 28 LA County warned that ballots mailed this late may not be postmarked by Election Day, which a mailed ballot needs to count, and urged voters to use drop boxes and vote centers. The registrar's Oct 30 release adds that anyone mailing a ballot this close to Election Day should ask for a postmark at a Post Office. The 24-hour drop boxes at the RPV, PVE and RHE city halls take ballots until 8 pm Nov 3, and every vote center takes them too. The Hill's six vote centers are open 7 am–8 pm on Election Day: Peninsula Center Library, Fred Hesse Community Park, Dodson Middle School, the Malaga Cove multipurpose room at PVPUSD's 300 Paseo Del Mar site, First Baptist Church of Palos Verdes and Rancho Del Mar High School. Eligible voters who missed the Oct 19 registration deadline can still vote at any of them. On Hill ballots: three open RPV council seats (six candidates, no incumbents), Measure RS (RPV hotel tax 10% → 13%, majority), Measure PVE (PVE police services and pension parcel tax, two-thirds needed) and three PVE council seats (three qualified candidates), three Rolling Hills council seats (four candidates), three PVPUSD board seats (five candidates), three PV Library District trustee seats (six candidates), and the open 66th Assembly District seat, where RPV Mayor Paul Seo faces PVPUSD board president Sara Deen; Rolling Hills Estates cancelled its council race · the whole ballot · what RPV's candidates said Oct 7 · LA County elections
- Nov 3 resultsThe county expects its first results about 8:30 pm Nov 3 (media kit). Counts for every Hill contest post at results.lavote.gov and update until the county certifies the results, which its calendar tentatively set for Nov 27 (calendar). After election night, the county schedules updates for 4–5 pm Wednesday, Nov 4; 9–10 am and 4–5 pm Nov 5 and 6 (plus 10–11 pm Nov 6); 4–5 pm daily Nov 7–13 and on Nov 17, 19 and 25; and noon Nov 27, the last scheduled update (county schedule) · our ballot guide
- SCE constructionTension-relief work in the Rolling Hills area runs until a holiday pause in late November, then resumes in January 2027 — expect planned outages with notice · SCE schedule
- Councils & school boardAgendas post before each meeting: RPV · PVE · RH · RHE · PVPUSD · when each meets
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The four bookmarks
Alerts
Alert SouthBay, evacuation zones, and the numbers for when it matters.
Who to call
Sheriff, PVE Police, fire, and all four city halls — verified numbers.
Trash & utilities
Pickup schedules by city, SCE, SoCalGas, and Cal Water.
Roads & trails
PV Drive South status, Preserve closures, and PV Transit.
The full switchboard lives on the Residents page.
Maps for the Hill's everyday questions
Schools map
Type an address to see the elementary and intermediate school PVPUSD's School Locator gives it (high school is your choice), then confirm with the district.
Campus maps
Offices, rooms, gyms, parking and drop-off routes on a searchable, north-up map.
Shopping center directories
Every open store at Golden Cove, Malaga Cove, Lunada Bay, Peninsula Center, the Promenade and on Western Avenue.
Every city on the Peninsula, in depth
Rancho Palos Verdes
The Peninsula's largest city holds about half of its coastline — the lighthouse at Point Vicente, Terranea, the Pelican Cove tide pools, the Nature Preserve, and more than two dozen distinct neighborhoods from Miraleste's pepper-tree lanes to the bluff-top streets of Seaview.
Palos Verdes Estates
The original "City of Dreams," master-planned by the Olmsted Brothers a century ago, where a quarter of the land is protected parkland forever. Four storied neighborhoods — Malaga Cove, Valmonte, Lunada Bay, and Montemalaga — each with its own character and its own plaza-era architecture.
Rolling Hills
Behind three gates at the crest of the Hill lies one of America's most private cities: white three-rail fences, ranch houses on acreage, bridle trails instead of sidewalks, and dark skies by design. A working equestrian community that has guarded its way of life since 1936.
Rolling Hills Estates
The crossroads of the Peninsula — home to its town center, its theater, its botanic garden, and its deepest equestrian traditions, with 25 miles of bridle trails threading between neighborhoods like The Ranch and Dapplegray Lanes. "A rural community in an urban setting" is official policy here.
Plus the unincorporated communities of Westfield and Academy Hill, and everything that binds the Hill together — covered on The Peninsula page.
One hill above the sea
Ten million years ago the Peninsula was an island. It still acts like one. Thirteen ancient marine terraces step down from San Pedro Hill to the surf, Catalina floats twenty miles off the bluff, and the marine layer burns off the coves an hour after it clears the mainland.
The Hill shares one school district (Eastview, inside Los Angeles Unified, may choose it too), a single library district, and a geography that shapes everything: where the fog sits, which streets have views, why the land moves at Portuguese Bend — and why people who grow up here spend the rest of their lives trying to get back.
Understand the Hill
Catalina from Point Vicente · Thampithangavelu, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
One district, sixteen campuses, and the boundary questions every family asks
Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified counts National Blue Ribbon and California Distinguished schools among its campuses — and school attendance areas quietly shape the Hill's real estate market. Which elementary serves which neighborhood? Which intermediate comes next? Can you choose between Palos Verdes High and Peninsula High? And how does Eastview's PVPUSD-or-LAUSD choice work?
Our schools guide answers all of it, and the schools map shows PVPUSD's School Locator answer for any address (checked Oct 3, 2026), with campus maps for PVHS and Peninsula High.
Schools & boundary map
Malaga Cove Library (1929) · Palos Verdes Library District, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Peninsula's market, on one page
On the market now
Notable listings and recent sales across all four cities — with the medians, the map, and the market notes, updated as the Hill moves.
The market, explained
How Hill real estate actually works — the view premium, geology, school lines, and the rulebooks that keep the Peninsula looking like itself.
Powered by Properkey
The engine behind our data: listings, neighborhood-level valuations, lending, and insurance for the Hill, at properkey.us.
Real estate information provided by Properkey (CA DRE #01979718), which is not the listing broker unless stated · Equal Housing Opportunity
The Hill, on foot, hoof, and board
Eat & shop the villages
Every restaurant, café, market, and store on the Hill — Malaga Cove to the Terraces — with maps and, where we've verified them, websites.
Events & traditions
Whale of a Day, the Portuguese Bend Horse Show, Dogtoberfest at the garden — the Hill's year, season by season.
Trails & preserve
About 1,500 acres of coastal-sage preserve, the Del Cerro overlook, and 30+ miles of trail.
Coast & tide pools
Pelican Cove, Bluff Cove, the surf lineups of Lunada Bay and Haggerty's, whale season at Point Vicente.
Golf
From the Olmsted-era Palos Verdes Golf Club to the ocean-cliff holes of Trump National and Los Verdes.
Equestrian life
The bridle-trail network, Empty Saddle Club, Ernie Howlett Park, and the horse-keeping tradition.
The Hill, in your inbox
An occasional letter for Peninsula residents — city decisions that matter, school news, what's coming to market, and land-movement updates. No noise, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.