This post was literally inspired by a dream I had last night, several hours after the CAC meeting ended.
There I was, in my colorized dream, with Bob Bisno, Alan Abshez, and several other folks, discussing what most of us thought should be included at Ponte Vista.
In my dream, folks took turns suggesting what they felt should be at Ponte Vista and Bob Bisno and Alan Abshez would respond why each particular suggestion couldn't be done, in their opinion. It was a lively dream but the noise of the wind and the downpour woke me up, but I can still remember that dream quite well.
I agree with Doug Epperhart in that there should be more members of the community who have input on what should be included at Ponte Vista. Doug likes focus groups and that got me thinking.
What is we had a very unscientific focus group right on this blog? Folks didn't seem to willing to draw their dream of what they feel should be at Ponte Vista, so why don't we try writing our dreams down via this post and this blog.
The rules are quite simple, just write, in your own opinion, just what should be built at Ponte Vista. Please include thinking about the following four word when considering what you would like to see built on the 61.53 acres: Responsible, Reasonable, Realistic, and Respectful.
Your dreams can be whatever they are, nothing is correct, nothing is wrong.
Members of the CAC listed some of the following concepts last night you may want to consider including in your written dream, but none of them are mandatory:
Senior Housing
R1
Clear and great road between Western Avenue and Mary Star H.S.
Road between Western Avenue and Gaffey Street.
Types of buildings
Density of housing
Sizes of buildings
Numbers of buildings
Open Spaces
Park lands
Public roads in non-age restricted development
Types of roadways
Pathways
Walking distances
3 schools within 1-mile of site and possibly a school on the site
On site retail uses
These are just a few things to consider in your dreams of what you really feel should be at Ponte Vista.
I think I will use my good friend Sven who will post the dream I had last night. It was incomplete, but I thought about what Sven may write earlier today and it may give you some ideas about how you might write your own dream.
If you wish to remain anonymous, that is fine with me. If you wish to dream the same vision Bob Bisno has, that is quite fine with me, too. If you wish to dream a demand for a specific zone type or dream a demand for a specific housing type, go for it.
My idea here is to see if we can't discuss what should be at Ponte Vista by looking at what folks really want on the site. I think this is a type of focus group because your written comments will be focused on your thoughts. Your opinion is just a valid and valued as mine and anyone else's, including Mr. Bisno's, IMHO.
If you want to be challenged even more, write a dream that could be included in an elevation to post status. You certainly do not have to agree with anything I write, just be interesting and think outside the box.
As of 8:20 PM on Wednesday Feb 28, 2007 there have been 4,498 visits to this blog.
I hope we can have at least 100 brave visitors willing to share their dream concerning what should be built at Ponte Vista. I won't count Sven or Gus, because I know them too well.
Thank you to all the future members of the Write your dreams focus group.
2 comments:
Sven Ludvquist O'Brien here with my dream.
There should be Senior Housing in a guarded and gated area on the south side of the property. This type of housing should have the largest buildings and be tall enough and good-looking enough to block all views of that MONSTER at 28000 Western Avenue.
I want the Senior Housing closest to the shopping area and restaurants on Westmount and Western so the older members of the community have the least amount of walking to do to get to the stores.
I would like all underground parking for the Senior Housing and have small roadways, bikeways, and pathways throughout that area so few cars would travel between the buildings. I would like to see stenciled pathways and roadways there to keep the skateboarders out of that area.
I dream of work-force housing being constructed as smaller buildings with about 14 units per building. I think these should be two and three bedroom homes where first-time buyers can find a place to live. I don't know how many buildings should be built with this density, and I hope some of these homes could be Controlled Price Units for teachers and Police and Fire fighters, as well as folks in the medical field.
I really think there should be single-family detached homes on the site. These homes would be expensive and they would be bought by people with the means to buy them. I can see them on the north side of the property where they may have the best views because they will be the most expensive.
Between the Senior Housing and that MONSTER, I think the old stream bed/storm drainage area should be turned into a park-like narrow area with a "bio swale" stream running the length of the property. That way folks can have a nice walk by a stream that looks nice and helps the environment by cleaning up some of the storm water that already flows through the site.
If there has to be a school on the site, I think whatever is planned by Bisno Development for the land L.A.U.S.D. may try to build on, should be the last phase of the project to be built. I think that would be those single-family detached homes on the north side of the property. I know that those homes probably won't be R1 density, but I think they could be built as high as 14 units per acre just like The Gardens currently are.
I feel, other than the Senior Housing area, there is absolutely no reason for higher density in Ponte Vista than there already is at The Gardens.
I would like to have an Ice Cream Cone in my new dream flavor-DiRocco Road. There should be a real safe and wide road between Western Avenue and the Mary Star H.S. Parking lot.
I know the guy who drew the road from Western Avenue, through Gaffey Street, and up to ramps on the Harbor Freeway. He is a genius, IMHO and I know we MUST have a road between Western Avenue and Gaffey and that road should continue up the hill to ramps for the 110.
Parklands. We need lots of that at Ponte Vista.
I dreamed two off-leash dog parks. One near the Senior Housing and the other one on the northeast side of the site.
Near the northeast dog park, a skateboard park, open to the public would be nice for all the kids and the kid-at-hearts that would use it.
I would like to see a public senior center connected to the Senior Housing at Ponte Vista.
Pools, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball diamonds, climb-on recreational units should all be included in a central park, near the retail space where a 7-11 type of store WITH a pharmacy and a dry cleaning store should be in the second phase of building.
Along with the central parkland, I do like the idea of a water-pathways-community area. I think bar-b-que pits can be included.
I would like to see no more than 600 Senior Housing units and the remainder of the site at up to, but no more than the same dwelling density as The Gardens.
This is just my dream, Sven's dream. Heck, we can all dream.
Mr. Bisno has already written that he would fund a traffic signal at Peninsula Verde Drive and Western Avenue, so he (Thank you very much, Bob Bisno) has made one of my dreams a reality.
Hi,
Focus groups are a group of people hired by the company to get an honest feedback regarding their product. This is usually done by the market research companies. These research groups contribute to get a proper feedback about the product of the company. The focus groups are also online. People from various parts of the globe sign in and take part in the survey. Thanks...
Online Focus Group
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