Hot News Flashes!
Click headlines for stories

L.A. City Council unanimously votes to support Q Condition request for former McCowans Market site
Council votes 12-0 on April 29th to restrict development to R-1

__________________________________________________________________

Advisory body against SP condo plan
Harbor Planning Commission votes unanimously to support Q Condition request



Public Meeting held March 18th on a City-initiated zone change for the McCowan's Market site
This will change the commercially zoned lots from C1-1XL to (Q) C1-1XL with a permanent qualified "Q" condition limiting residential use to 1 unit per 5,000 square feet of lot area.
Click on headline for more details.

________________________________________________________________

L.A. City Council rejects massive Las Lomas development
The decision reflects the heightened anxiety over growth and traffic
 felt by some of the city's elected officials.
_______________________________________________________________

Lomita backs RPV call on Ponte Vista EIR
________________________________________________________________

"Growth inevitable? Who says we have to make room
for people who want to move (to San Pedro)? I have a
new mantra for that: Don't build it, and they won't
come. At the very least, they won't be able to stay and
make a bigger traffic jam."
—In response to a Daily Breeze article  "1930S streets meet 2008 Traffic"
________________________________________________________________

McCowans Market site a new R-1 issue
Neighbors form a group to oppose proposed condo development.
Headway made in dealing with developer.



City on the Hill
At a proposed 80 units per acre, the Lomas Project in North San Fernando Valley
 takes overdevelopment to new heights
__________________________________________________________________

Are housing projects crowding Torrance?
Look no further than Torrance.
The future is here and near for our communities if Ponte Vista is built as proposed.
________________________________________________________________

Election results yield Ponte Vista concerns
Housing development seemed to weigh on RPV and Lomita voters.
________________________________________________________________

Lomita voters oust mayor
Results stun Waronek, who took fire for his ties to Ponte Vista
________________________________________________________________

Central San Pedro NC takes new vote on Ponte Vista
Board declines to support or endorse current plans for the site
________________________________________________________________

San Pedro condos to be leased rather than sold
Seaport Homes on Western Avenue will rent its 136 units for now.
________________________________________________________________

Lomita mayor severs his ties with Ponte Vista developer

Mark Waronek denies that he fears link could hurt his re-election bid.
Click here to make comments.

________________________________________________________

Los Angeles City asked to hold Ponte Vista meetings locally
Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council asked the city of Los Angeles to hold all future Ponte Vista meetings in the Harbor area for widest possible community involvement.
________________________________________________________

Advisory panel urges rejection of Ponte Vista housing project
________________________________________________________

Report snubs Ponte Vista, complains about flawed data

________________________________________________________

Harbor City Neighborhood Council
votes to oppose Ponte Vista...Again!
________________________________________________________

Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Congress Hears
Same Land Use Beef from Both Ends of LA:
‘Developers Don’t Get It’
Click headline for story and video

________________________________________________________

Panel favors fewer homes in Ponte Vista development

Committee advises against 1,950 units and suggests 535 for the project at former Navy housing site in San Pedro. .

________________________________________________________

Ponte Vista developer downplays SP panel's vote
Bob Bisno says the decision was "outside the process" and that he's still confident. Councilwoman Janice Hahn says she doubts the planning commission will be a pushover.

_________________________________________________

We have passed the 11,000 R-1 Support signature mark!
_________________________________________________


Yaroslavsky to Neighborhood Councils:
“Let’s Screw ‘em Back”

LA County Supervisor … and former LA City Councilmember … Zev Yaroslavsky told a gathering of neighborhood council leaders on Saturday that he smells another revolution brewing. “People want a stake in where they live,” His comments outlined that the city's planning department has long been dominated by developers that are used to getting their way. He suggests that it is up to neighborhood councils with the help of the current Planning Department Director, Gail Goldberg, to put a stop to this. See the text and video summary here.

Coastal and Northwest San Pedro Councils ask Neighborhood Councils city wide for help in preventing overdevelopment at Ponte Vista. See story here.

Sunland/Tujunga NC battles Home Depot development
City Council Votes 10-1 to declare it's a project
This fight may seem worlds away from San Pedro, but this is what we have to look forward to in our campaign for R-1 at Ponte Vista. A key component is to get Neighborhood Councils city wide to weigh in on our side. Check out the story here!
____________________________________________________________________________

Want to participate in the petition drive?
Click here to see how you can help.
______________________________________

Demonstration and Petition Gathering
click here for details and photos from previous demonstrations
______________________________________

Ponte Vista, Playa Vista?

There may be more in common than the projects' sizes and densities.

Check out the KNBC report on developer campaign contributions with regard to Playa Vista. It would seem that those campaign contributions play a part in what gets approved. The correlation to Ponte Vista with the cadre of lobbyists working for Bob Bisno seems fairly obvious.

_______________________________________

Thank you for signing the petition, but the following
will be the most important thing you can do at this time
in the fight to keep R-1 Zoning.
Contact Janice Hahn's office now! to register
your desire to keep R-1 Zoning at Ponte Vista - No Compromise
Phone: (310)-732-4515
Fax: (310)-732-4500

    We are still asking people wear the buttons, put the bumper sticker on their cars, display the yard signs, gather the the petitions and participate in the public planning meetings. Pressure still needs to be applied throughout the entire zoning process. We are now in  phase two and the Los Angeles City Planning Department is the target.
    You also need to email and write letters letting her know how you feel; R-1 No Compromise. We have two sets of letter samples (letters 1 and letters 2) you can use to copy and paste into your word processing software or an e-mail message. The contact list with names, addresses and phone numbers is available to view, download or print as well.
    Janice Hahn is on board with R-1 zoning density and we need to keep her there.

_______________________________________

R neighborhoods are1

"A coalition to preserve the character of our community"

Our group is comprised of residents of San Pedro and surrounding communities that oppose any change to the current R-1 (single family) zoning at the project site in San Pedro called Ponte Vista. Our position is supported by Coastal and Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Councils, Harbor City Neighborhood Council and an ever growing number of resident and homeowner associations and coalitions throughout San Pedro, Rancho Palos Verdes and Lomita.

Ponte Vista is a proposed 1950 unit development by the Bisno Development Corporation that is located on Western Avenue opposite the Green Hills Cemetery. It is the sheer size and density of this project that has brought us together to recommend keeping the current zoning in order to lessen the impact on traffic and infrastructure.

We stand for responsible, reasonable, realistic and respectful development in our communities that address the perceived needs of both current and future residents.

Currently, we are collecting signatures on petitions in support of R-1 zoning. The petition is available for download and printing from the R-1 Petition page. We need your help in collecting signatures, so please take the time to ask your friends, neighbors and co-workers to support this drive by signing the petition as well as passing it on to them to do the same. You can also email us immediately using the form on the same page.

As of July 10th, over 11,000 cards and signatures have been collected and over 8000 submitted, as of June 7th, to Los Angeles Council member Janice Hahn who will recommend to the Los Angeles City Council what the final specific plan will be. The Council's vote will determine if none, all or part of the project's zoning will be changed.

The more signatures we can submit and the more phone calls we make, the more influence we will have on the final zoning of Ponte Vista. Your participation will play a crucial role in help keeping the current R-1 zoning in place.

Buttons and Bumper Stickers are still available! Click here to see how to get your own and help make a difference in this fight for sane development.

___________________________________________________________________________

Bob Bisno floated his "not really that new" plan
 on June 18th.

Well, our crystal ball was correct. This new proposal does nothing more than throw out a chair and rearrange the furniture. It's still about density and the "new" project size does little to reduce it. It would seem that Bob Bisno is not seriously considering compromise and neither should we. So it's still R-1 No Compromise in our book!