Saturday, March 10, 2007

A Little Step Towards Unity

There could be a tiny move towards uniting supporters of Mr. Bisno's plan to build a large development in northwest San Pedro, and folks opposed to having a 2,300 home development on the site.

I think we may be able to all create some nice talk on the subject of the amount of Senior Housing that may come to pass at Ponte Vista in San Pedro.

Information is filtering out from all sides that, perhaps there should be more than 575 designated units for buyers "55 years of age or better". There is talk about placing the amount of Senior Housing as high as 920 units.

Mr. Bisno himself, and some of his followers have used the term "40%" as being the ratio of Senior Housing to non-age restricted housing. The number of 920 units would be 40% of the 2,300 home plan still being considered by the developer.

I think as a raw number, 920 Senior Housing units may be acceptable to folks who want the best for the area, but the 920 units should not be part of a total package ending up with 2,300 units. I think Mr. Bisno would find less opposition if he were to stick to a number of units count and move away from a percentage based count.

No matter how many Senior Housing units are considered, the total number of units finally planned for Ponte Vista should be no where near 2,300 units. One could even consider having 920 Senior Housing units built on 40% of the available 61.53 acres and the rest of the buildable land be set for single-family detached homes with R1 zoning.

It is entirely reasonable, IMHO to suggest that there could be 920 Senior Housing units built at Ponte Vista and still have plenty of room and amenities to build up to 180 single-family, detached homes on R1 lots.

920 Senior Units plus 180 single-family, detached homes on R1 lots equals a total of 1,100 homes. That total may be the best total for everyone in our community and still allow for seniors to have what they have demonstrated they want, and still limit the total number of homes to a reasonable, responsible, realistic, and respectful number.

What do you think about that?

Now about "elitists".

Mr. Bisno claims that only 2% of the people in our area would be able to afford to buy a single- family, detached home on an R1 lot at Ponte Vista. He continues to call folks who wish for R1 zoning, "elitists" because only 2% of the population would be able to afford a home of that type at Ponte Vista, and Mr. Bisno says that R1 supporters are elitists for limiting who could buy a home at Ponte Vista.

There was a developer who created a development in the City of Los Angeles, just to the north of the City of Beverly Hills, where only a small fraction of 1% of the residents of the City of Los Angeles could to afford a home in....Beverly Park. If you have a chance to look at the giant homes in that development and see that almost every single site has a home on it, then you will realize that even though only a tiny fraction of 1% percent of citizens can afford something at that development, the sites are practically sold out and the developer made a mint.

If only a tiny fraction of 1% of a population can allow for a successful development, then why couldn't just 2% of the population make for a successful development in San Pedro?

7 comments:

Unknown said...

MW--How about a comment on the anti-Ponte Vista letters in the Breeze this past week. Winnie Verner and Peter Warren. There was also one from someone in Lomita.

Anonymous said...

if there's a possibility that bisno signs onto 1,100 units -- i'd support that.

M Richards said...

Mellonhead, I was very pleased to see two letters that acknowledged and confirmed to many folks that the building I have dubbed "that MONSTER" is not part of the Ponte Vista development at all.

Folks really need to know a few things and I think those letters helped inform people who had thought the Sea Port Condominium building (that MONSTER) was on Ponte Vista land. It is not.

But one thing that MONSTER does illustrate is that Mr. Bisno has plans currently under review to build NINE buildings on his site LARGER than that MONSTER! If you have some problems looking at that MONSTER and see how out of proportion it is with even the buildings on either side of it, think about nine more buildings even larger than that one, in terms of number of units per building.

That MONSTER was approved for up to 136 units. There is a building on the Ponte Vista site drawings and plans that is listed to have 187 units, or 51 more units than that MONSTER.

There have been at least four great letters in both the Breeze and More San Pedro, recently in opposition to Mr. Bisno's plans.

I am also encouraged that there are now two prominent members of the Ponte Vista Board of Advisors who have publically used the word, compromise.

There are many things that still distrub me about some of the things I get to hear coming from the Bisno organization, but with information now being revealed that Mr. Bisno may want to significantly increase the number of senior housing units, I think we may be able to find a reasonable formula that will allow for many types of senior housing and still have enough room to build up to 180 single-family detached homes on R1 lots.

It is unfortunately true that dreams of owning a starter condo at Ponte Vista may have to take a back seat to the overall outcome to the entire community.

Bob Bisno can actually build homes on R1 lots that shouldn't be much over $1.25 Million Dollars, which is may be the price he is looking for with four-bedroom condo units.

I'd like to feel we can find a win-win situation for the majority of the members of the overall community and lessen the amount of tension we have throughout our area.

Let's keep talking and thinking and finding the best for everyone!
MW

M Richards said...

Mellonhead, I was very pleased to see two letters that acknowledged and confirmed to many folks that the building I have dubbed "that MONSTER" is not part of the Ponte Vista development at all.

Folks really need to know a few things and I think those letters helped inform people who had thought the Sea Port Condominium building (that MONSTER) was on Ponte Vista land. It is not.

But one thing that MONSTER does illustrate is that Mr. Bisno has plans currently under review to build NINE buildings on his site LARGER than that MONSTER! If you have some problems looking at that MONSTER and see how out of proportion it is with even the buildings on either side of it, think about nine more buildings even larger than that one, in terms of number of units per building.

That MONSTER was approved for up to 136 units. There is a building on the Ponte Vista site drawings and plans that is listed to have 187 units, or 51 more units than that MONSTER.

There have been at least four great letters in both the Breeze and More San Pedro, recently in opposition to Mr. Bisno's plans.

I am also encouraged that there are now two prominent members of the Ponte Vista Board of Advisors who have publically used the word, compromise.

There are many things that still distrub me about some of the things I get to hear coming from the Bisno organization, but with information now being revealed that Mr. Bisno may want to significantly increase the number of senior housing units, I think we may be able to find a reasonable formula that will allow for many types of senior housing and still have enough room to build up to 180 single-family detached homes on R1 lots.

It is unfortunately true that dreams of owning a starter condo at Ponte Vista may have to take a back seat to the overall outcome to the entire community.

Bob Bisno can actually build homes on R1 lots that shouldn't be much over $1.25 Million Dollars, which is may be the price he is looking for with four-bedroom condo units.

I'd like to feel we can find a win-win situation for the majority of the members of the overall community and lessen the amount of tension we have throughout our area.

Let's keep talking and thinking and finding the best for everyone!
MW

M Richards said...

Thank you Anonymous 4:13 PM

I have a question for you. Would you consider yourself a supporter of Mr. Bisno's development or and opponent to his plans to build 2,300 homes at Ponte Vista?

You may be one of the most important people in this whole debate no matter what side you are on because you can find compromise even though you may lean heavily towards one side or the other.

If a compromise can be found that one person can live with, then perhaps two people can live with it, then three, four, so on, and so on, until we all find that we can be comfortable with something in the middle.

It may even prove out to be a 40,40,20 plan. 40% of the land would be for senior housing, 40% of the land would be for R1 lots and single-family detached housing, and the remaining 20% of the land for Public Park, Open space, Retail, and and public roadways.

This needs lots of thinking and talking about, and maybe both sides won't like it. But we need to start coming up with compromise ideas and sharing them with everyone.
MW

Anonymous said...

mw:

i'm vociferously opposed to the current plan of 2,300 units. but i recognize that it will not stay R1. so while the current traffic situation is barely bearable, 1,100 is acceptable. any higher though, and i'd be willing scream bloody murder.

Anonymous said...

Saturday's PV News cartoon took on the Ponte Vista issue:

"Our representative who will be addressing any concerns regarding the impact our proposed development may have on future traffic conditions on western avenue will be here shortly, but he's presently stuck in traffic on western avenue."