111 feet in 3 miles isn't even a hill. It's less than 1%- a false flat. Without a GPS you woudn't know it was up hill. 110 feet in 1.2 miles is 1.7%- another false flat. You might be able to detect that without a GPS, barely.

You have plenty of nice climbs in the LA area. Try Decker or Onyx Summit or the climbs on Mulholland and see if you still want a 42t small ring. I've ridden all of those (as part of long events) and the 34t is handy even if you're a reasonably strong climber.

Of course, if you don't do those sorts of climbs and stick to the flats a 42t ring would be appropriate.