R1 Petitions

Recently, 3,090 signed petitions that support keeping the current R1 zoning for the Ponte Vista at San Pedro site were handed over to Councilwoman Janice Hahn.

Currently, more petitions have yet to be counted and there is still a strong commitment to gather more signatures.

The delivery of the petitions to Ms. Hahn's office also signals the real roll out of a new group.

R Neighborhoods Are 1 is a grass roots organization of all volunteer members who are against Bob Bisno's plans to build 2,300 homes at Ponte Vista. At this point the vast majority of organizers of this new group support the concept of keeping the site with its current zoning and do not believe that changing the current zoning, established by the Los Angeles City Council, would be beneficial to the community, the families, and the individuals who currently live in San Pedro, eastern Rancho Palos Verdes, Lomita, Harbor City, and other surrounding areas.

Buttons and lawn signs are being produced for this new organization and there is Web site that will be published on the Internet in the next day or so.

This is a photo of the first button for the new organization. Different buttons will be created and available soon, so you can build a collection. "Ranting Elitist" buttons will continue to be available.

Please visit: www.rneighborhoodsare1.org in the next couple of days, to learn more about this new group and find ways to join the organization and help support it.

Since this is my blog, I am now going to move to a more opinion type area.

Bob Bisno and your organization and your supporters, you had fair warning about

R Neighborhoods Are 1. Many folks like me and even some of your supporters have called for compromise. Some of us, including folks who are on your community Board of Directors have called for compromise. I talked to Joe, one of the supporters who regularly speaks at the CAC meetings, and even he feels there should compromise.

But you waited too long, IMHO. I wasn't kidding when I told you and others that an organized group of community members was forming to object to your current plans for such a massive development in OUR community. You had every chance to publicly call for a reassessment of the numbers, but you continue to hold on to what I feel is the unreasonable, irresponsible, unrealistic, and disrespectful idea that 2,300 homes on 61.53 acres in northwest San Pedro is good for our community.

If you have problems with R Neighborhoods Are 1 Bob, then you only have to look into the mirror to see the person who necessitated its creation, I think. You have been asked by folks to come up with total dwelling counts that are fewer than 2,300. When you changed from 4-6 story buildings down to 3-4 story buildings, still you want 2,300 homes on the site.

Robert Bisno and his organization have brought more divisiveness into our community than any other project of plan, according to many community members. I believe had you openly discussed some total count with fewer units than 2,300, this post would not have been written, I feel. You probably should have realized by the time your survey was published that you could have avoided all this by entering into open discussions with many of us in the community to try to find a compromise.

If you witness rallys, see buttons and lawn signs, find out that more folks sign the R1 petitions, and understand you probably don't vote in the 15th Council District, you know that any more divisiveness in our community is on your shoulders, I feel.

Some part of me feels very sad that R Neighborhoods Are 1 needed to be formed. I am one of the growing number of community residents who call for compromise. But I am still troubled by Mr. Bisno's continued call for 2,300 units. Even though there is an article stating that he may be ready to talk real numbers, I feel he waited to long and there is still a trust issue I have with him.

I am one of the original "ranting elitists" Bob Bisno referred to in his piece in More San Pedro.

I believed then that keeping Ponte Vista with R1 zoning was the best for the entire community.

Compromise entered my vocabulary and I struggled with concepts dealing with finding the best number of units for our community, other than 429 and 2,300. Folks who call for compromise still seem to be unheard on all sides of the issue. That is fair and I do not begrudge anyone from having a strong opinion to keep Ponte Vista R1.

I am also a bit angry with Bob. (There, I wrote it for the first time). I wish we could have come together just after the Draft EIR was published and looked realistically at finding a number of units that best fits into the community at large.

I will continue, for the time being, to call for compromise. I will also actively support

R Neighborhoods Are 1 as it grows and changes. Our community if filled with rational, reasonable, responsible, realistic, and respectful folks who are looking at developments that mirrors their beliefs. In supporting the idea of keeping Ponte Vista R1, community members have the right to voice their feelings and those feelings should be taken seriously by developers, elected officials, volunteers, and others.

I would be remiss, I feel, if I didn't repeat what I believe. I think it will be more difficult keeping Ponte Vista R1 than it would be for 2,300 units to be approved. Is it worth the fight? Yes, I believe that if enough community members feel as strongly as they apparently do, then the area should remain R1. Will it be one heck of a fight. Yes, I think. But it may be worth it to ourselves, our families, our community, now and in the future.