Two articles appeared in the Thursday edition of The Daily Breeze.
The first article is about the Mayor of Redondo Beach seeking a change of zoning moratorium.
For the next few days you can read it by going to the following site:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/7990827.html
The larger article concerns the City of Rolling Hills Estates ending their Peninsula Overlay Zone.
It can be viewed for the next several days at:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/7992107.html
This article talks about fears concerning traffic, even though the Overlay Project was designed to provide more pedestrian access between the residential developments and the business in the area of the shopping areas and condominium developments already approved of, or still in the planning stages.
It appears to me that both articles suggest what David Zanhiser was trying to get across in his long article in last week's L.A. Weekly. That article which can be read on posts below, is titled:
"What's Smart About Smart Growth?"
Mr. Zanhiser's article, the problems on the West side of Los Angeles in Jack Weiss' council district, Ponte Vista at San Pedro, the issue with the Rolling Hills Overlay Zone, and the possibility of a change of zoning moratorium in Redondo Beach, may be the first salvos in a larger battle between developers and folks already living in the greater who are saying, "enough is enough" as far as large developments go.
Interest rates are rising. Overall, CNN.com reports that housing sales have slowed down in many areas. Is this the start of a time of real questioning developers about building such large developments, and so many of them?
It is not necessarily that we don't need more housing in the area, many folks seem to not have been convinced about the real need, it could be that many more people are stating they don't want higher density housing developed anywhere near their homes.
Ponte Vista is just one development that can be seen as just another high density development being forced on the community by a developer. It certainly is not the only one, bordering on the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. The big condo developments Jack Weiss loves to see built on the West side of L.A. border some areas of Santa Monica. Cities seem to not put too much care into how their high density developments affect their bordering cities.
Perhaps it may not be solely traffic issues that have Mr. Bisno coming out with a new proposal on June 18. Traffic seems to be the biggest factor in Rolling Hills Estates, Redondo Beach, the West side, and other areas, but there are now some real infrastructure issues that more members of OUR community are concerned about.
The more we seem to read in the newspapers and on the Internet about population density, it looks like more individuals are interested in questioning whether high density developments are truly good to have in their own environment.
Bob Bisno called folks who demanded R1 be kept at Ponte Vista, "ranting elitists". Would it be fair if he used the same term for those concerned about over development in Rolling Hills Estates, Redondo Beach, and in many places on the West side of L.A.?
Let's all keep our eyes and ears open to find out what folks in other areas really think about having more higher density housing near their homes. It is perfectly true that the density of dwellings that Mr. Bisno wanted to build at Ponte Vista would fit into the city's category of "medium density". Knowing the "The Gardens" in San Pedro is about 13 dwellings per acre and Mr. Bisno's original plan called for 37 dwelling units per acre, gives all of us a real example of what the city calls "medium density" and what we can see for ourselves at "The Gardens".
Two good questions to create your own answers for:
Do we really need developments like Ponte Vista along Western Avenue, and higher density projects, because government agencies tell us there is a need?
Do we want developments like Ponte Vista along Western Avenue, and lower density projects that have less impact on all of us?
No comments:
Post a Comment