September 21 Committee Meeting Minutes

Ponte Vista Meeting
September 21, 2006
Meeting Minutes


Present at the meeting were:
CAC Members present:
Rick Shulder, Arlene Zimmer, Creasie Adams, Leah Marinkovich, Mark Wells, Lucie Thorson, John Greenwood, Jack Baric, Albert DiRocco, Dan Dixon, Chuck Hart, Richard Brunner, Jerry Gaines, Sal Sotomayor

Staff and Developer present:
Bob Bisno, Frank Hong, David Olivo, Betsy Weisman, Victor Griego, Gordon Teuber, Tony Torres.

Minutes:

Group Procedures:
The meeting was called to order at approximately 6:00PM by CAC Chairman, John Greenwood. Mr. Greenwood requested that CAC members review and approve the meeting minutes of September 14. After a brief review, a motion was carried to approve the meeting minutes as presented.

The CAC reviewed a proposed meeting schedule submitted to the CAC. A discussion followed about the length of service for CAC members. A tentative agreement was reached that the CAC would meet at least 6 months but the process could be extended to 8-9 months if needed.

A discussion was held about the meeting topics and a possibility of combining meeting topics to reduce the number of meetings per month, as most CAC members felt that having more than one scheduled meeting per month might be too much. Victor Griego, John Greenwood, Council-member Hahn’s office and the Bisno team were charged with revising a new meeting schedule that would combine meeting topics and reduce the number of monthly meetings. The revised schedule would be available at the next CAC meeting.

Additional group procedures that were discussed included meeting length, which will continue to be between 2 and 3 hours, with meetings starting at 6PM and ending prior to 9PM. Dinner will be available at 5:30PM for each meeting.

CAC members also discussed the public hearings concept and agreed that attendance of CAC members at these meetings should be mandatory. A more detailed discussion about public hearings will follow at subsequent CAC meetings.

The Bisno team proposed a tour of similar housing projects in the area for CAC members, including a tour of the Playa Vista Development. Potential dates for the bus tour are October 14th or October 28th. CAC members will provide their preferential date for a bus tour to Victor Griego via email.

Bisno Team Project Presentation:
Alan Abshez, Attorney for Bisno Development, made a presentation regarding the proposed development project. Allan distributed a binder of information related to the project. Allan explained several large maps to CAC members. The first map contained the parcel groupings and property layout, including ingress and egress locations, and the type of housing units to be contained within the project. Allan reiterated that the current project contains a proposal for 2,300 housing units. A second map provided master grading, elevation, and a conceptual landscaping plan. Alan also described the contents of binder, which includes a detailed project description. Alan encouraged CAC members to spend time reviewing the material, as most of the information would be reviewed at future CAC meetings.

City Planning Presentation:
Betsy Weisman made a presentation regarding the City of Los Angeles’ role in reviewing the Bisno Development application. Betsy first explained that the development application is located in the Wilmington Community Plan area, but has impacts to the San Pedro and Rancho Palos Verdes. Betsy informed the CAC that the City of Los Angeles was drafting a EIR/S document that would take into account the various impacts the application would cause on the surrounding community. Betsy informed the group that the after release of the draft EIR/S, that CAC members would continue to have the opportunity to make recommendations to the City about the Bisno proposal. Betsy clarified the process for approval of a project and informed the CAC that the local area planning commission, the City Council Planning and Land Use Management Committee and the full body of the Los Angeles City Council would review the Bisno proposal prior to approval or denial or modification of any project.

David Olivo with City Planning also discussed the City’s role in reviewing the proposal in accordance with the exiting general plan guidelines, design standards, traffic regulations and other design criteria.

David also informed the CAC about the various density levels, including low, mid and high density benchmarks. Low density is 9 units per acre. Mid density can have up to 55 units per acre, and high density can have up to 100 units per acre. A high rise condominium complex is an example of high density per acre.

Public Comment (most speakers did not disclose their names)

What is medium density?

What type of housing does the Bisno plan contain?

Rod Hamilton from LAUSD asked about the EIR process being conducted in parallel with the specific plan?

Is the City of Los Angeles Planning Department considering a proposal that may include a new LAUSD high school on the Bisno property?

The meeting adjourned at 8:50PM.