The CAC Report is Final, What's Next?

The title of this post says it all.

For all of us interested in R Neighborhoods Are 1, everything else is next. We all need to keep focused on what the movement is calling for as we await what the L.A. City Planning Department will report as their recommendations for the density of the Ponte Vista at San Pedro project.

Not only is our movement not ending, slowing down, or going onto any "back burner" we are going, growing, and becoming included in the real movement that has definitely begun demanding a better look at over development in the entire L.A. area.

Newspaper articles, opinion pieces, postings in various blogs and other information sources have indicated that the greater L.A. area is finding more activists who are willing to push forward ideas that state that a very large number of residents are fed up with "weapons of mass development" and are willing to become active in trying to slow down that "machine" that is big developments by greedy developers.

In the City of Los Angeles, Neighborhood Councils are becoming much more active in questioning whether they truly represent the folks in their Council areas who are demanding at least a slow down to all the development currently going on in the City. For stakeholders and others, the Neighborhood Council system, working alongside Homeowner Associations and other groups will become the forefront that will help regular residents have a much stronger voice in City government, if they support those organizations.

Since the recent election at Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council, I am growing more pleased to see that San Pedro may have three strong Neighborhood Councils that together, will help OUR community join growing efforts to challenge big developments.

We will probably see, sometime in September, that what I wrote about, will finally come true.
Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council passed a resolution supporting a multi-family development in northwest San Pedro, but it did not, as their President claimed, endorsed Bob Bisno's Ponte Vista at San Pedro. The resolution passed was not an endorsement of Ponte Vista and that Ponte Vista at San Pedro will need to stop claiming that one Neighborhood Council in San Pedro "endorses Ponte Vista".

It is little issues like that which adds information and resources to the battles many of us are having with over development. When taken individually, they probably don't mean much. Adding the little "beans" together does create a hill that will demonstrate that OUR community, along with other communities, can have an influence on what may happen in the greater L.A. area.

R Neighborhoods Are 1 will continue to seek and welcome signatures on R1 petitions. There is absolutely no need to curtail efforts in gathering signatures. In fact, the more signatures that are collected not only demonstrates to local leaders that keeping Ponte Vista with its current zoning density is important, it also is a great tool that can be exported to other communities faced with over development, to provide them with the incentive that they are not alone in their battles and there are other communities that are willing to take a stand, demonstrate a will, and "just say no!" to too many units in too small an area.

As R Neighborhoods Are 1 moves forward and outward, the movement will continue to need all of your support. There will come a time when we will ask volunteers to attend meetings of various City Departments and Commissions, and we will need funds to hire buses to move the volunteers. Everyone is welcome to join in attending Planning Department and Planning Commission meetings and it is important that you attend and voice your opinions to the bureaucrats who have our futures in their hands.

There will probably come a time when many buses will need to be hired to convey volunteers to L.A. City Hall when the City Council deliberates and votes on motions concerning Ponte Vista and possibly other mass development issues. Hiring buses takes money and your contributions are greatly appreciated.

If an when any decision is made that requires the hiring of lawyers to benefit our movement, that is really going to take a huge effort to fund the folks who are hired to protect us.

But volunteering funds is only part of what our members can do. We can all talk, write, and create an environment where we share our experiences and wishes with others throughout this large area we call "Los Angeles". If you only have friends in OUR community, you can always converse with them about Ponte Vista and other over development issues.

If you have friends and family living on the west side of L.A., you probably have already heard from them the horror stories about over development in their area. Finding common voices in many areas means that we can learn to share ideas and join ever-growing efforts to slow down or stop developments which lower our quality of life.

The CAC report is final. Three recommendations have been put forward. The first motion was to completely rebuke Bob Bisno's current plans for the 61.53 acres of land in northwest San Pedro. The second recommendation calls for allowing for a density equal to the density of R1 housing. The third recommendation, made by a minority of the CAC membership, we for a mixed-use, multi-family development at Ponte Vista where the MAJORITY of the units were for senior housing.

Nothing coming from the members of the CAC came anywhere near what Bob Bisno has been steadfastly proclaiming, and the CAC represented us, in OUR community.

For R Neighborhoods Are 1, the work will not end. Now that we have demonstrated that we are a movement that must be dealt with, it also means that we must move forward, with renewed energy and purpose, and join with others to form an even larger movement to question over development, slow down the developers, and make clear to everyone that we will not allow greedy developers to have their wishes come true at our expense.