Rentals and Leases at Ponte Vista

Bob Bisno, with his current plans and I suspect with his new plan, will continue to call for the construction of "owner-occupied" condominiums and town houses. While this is a loft goal on Bob's part, it simply will not be in the future for all of Ponte Vista.

Owner-occupied condominium developments bring renters and leases into the picture as a matter of fact. If you don't believe me, please check out all of the local condominium developments that had in their particular CC&Rs' restrictions limiting rentals and leases. Count on how many of those developments and their management companies actually enforce the rules. If you find one such development, you would be fortunate. Don't expect to find much more than five in a 20-25 complex search.

Rentals and leases bring increased traffic and lowered values of housing within the complex and in nearby neighborhoods. This is also a fact.

Having rentals and leases in a complex developed as exclusively owner-occupied housing, means that there is little control of how many people and cars might be at these complexes.

The DEIR for the current Ponte Vista at San Pedro plans were constructed for owner-occupied dwellings throughout the entire development. Since there will be rentals and leases at Ponte Vista, and Bob Bisno cannot guarantee that there won't be, it would be more prudent to write many of the predictions for whatever is going to be in the new plan as if the development was an apartment complex of similar size. That way, the worst case scenarios would be published and mitigated and if those numbers never are reached, it looks like we all may win.

Of course the way to make sure we all win, it to keep the current zoning as it is, no matter what Bob's new plans include. This does not mean I am abandoning my wish for some Senior Housing section, but my proposal/wish is for the least amount of specific type condominiums for the most mitigation from Bob and his company.

We won't know until it is far too late to see what management company is finally chosen to run Ponte Vista, I think. If we knew there was going to be a contract written before approval of any ordinances concerning Ponte Vista, which management company is chosen, then we have the chance to look carefully at that management company and the complexes they manage. If we find out that the management company has little control of rentals and leases in the complexes it manages, then we have another opportunity to really question whether the site must remain with its current zoning.

I would suggest to Ms. Hahn and Mr. Bisno, that they both consider the reliability of the management company chosen to run Ponte Vista and make sure that company meets the highest standards and has the lowest number of complexes with renters and leases.

On Tom Field's blog we learn that he invested in condominiums. He lived in one of them and when he moved out, he continued to own it and either rented it out, or leased it out. Tom has every right to do that, even if it appears to go against the CC&R's of the developments he purchased units at. But if Tom can do that, just think of how many investors my want to do the same at Ponte Vista.

When dealing with issues, it is best, in my opinion to go with the worst cases that may happen, and be fortunate if those cases never happen.