More Thoughts and Ideas

If San Pedro is ever going to be able to accommodate new large residential developments, it desperately needs to have sources of revenue generation brought into the San Pedro/L.A. community.

If and when all the new developments under construction or proposed are built, the entire San Pedro area will be beholden to other parts of the City of L.A. to finance the needed goods and services that San Pedro can't pay for already.

In reading about the new proposals for what to do with the port area, there was a suggestion that a 750,000 square foot meeting center be built near Ports-O-Call. What San Pedro really needs is a Costco. San Pedro needs businesses that will bring into it a greater Sales Tax revenue generation stream.

Why does the port need two cruise ship terminals when dredging the main channel will allow the largest cruise ships to dock at the World Center? Perhaps the area in the outer harbor where some folks want to build a new cruise ship terminal could be used for more amusement facilities that bring in more dollars into San Pedro. Having a second cruise ship terminal in the outer harbor means more traffic for Gaffey and Pacific and it looks like there is going to be a 1,210-seat senior high school at about the end of Gaffey.

Ideas. We need ideas for the growth of businesses in San Pedro and in the five-mile radius of new developments within the City of Los Angeles.

I think there is also going to be a great need for a large supermarket near Vue, 7th. Street and the new lofts and condos being built or planned in that area of San Pedro. Having Vons at 13th. and Gaffey will make driving in downtown worse than Western, perhaps. Food stores do not provide good sales tax generation for their size, but other businesses in a shopping area anchored by a major market would help.

It seems as we view all the construction and plans for residential units, we should be viewing construction and plans for more commercial businesses to deal with the added influx of residents, it seems. Where is that construction and where are the plans?

When my mother-in-law and father-in-law sold their home on Barrywood and bought a home in Moreno Valley, there was massive residential construction going on. Unfortunately the commercial and businesses to support all those new residents were not go in as fast as the residents moving in. Long wait times occurred for some time at restaurants, filling stations, supermarkets, and other businesses which were already there, but had to contend with a large influx of new residents.

Perhaps Domenic's should start their expansion sooner than later. Perhaps new restaurants should be considered all over San Pedro and R.P.V. A new car dealership in San Pedro would bring in one of the best sales tax generation businesses that can be found. We don't have the room, but San Pedro will need all the revenue it can get.

All of this development talk should also be looked at with all of our eyes focused on the economy and the lending industry. If Countrywide goes belly up, who knows what might happen to any and all the development in San Pedro?

OUR community is dealing with lots of issues, and development is just one issue. There are enough issues and programs to keep all of us active for a very long time.

Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council is going to reactivate their forum on their Web site. I am going to list just a few issues that folks may want to deal with on that forum. I think when you read what is happening around OUR community, you may understand more clearly the ancient Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times.

Please Consider;

Eastview Little League
Downtown condominium developments
Knoll Hill
Pacific Avenue Redevelopment Corridor
Ponte Vista
Possible TWO new LAUSD Senior High Schools in San Pedro
Whatever you wish to call the "Bridge to Breakwater" issues
Berths 97-109 China Shipping project.
Port pollution and truck traffic in San Pedro
Field of Dreams
20-year sanitation project and changes
Probable storm drain failures on Western Avenue (4 of 7 haven't been fixed yet)
Traffic throughout OUR community

These are just a few of the major issues confronting us. We can bury our heads in the sand and hope others take on the challenges of dealing with the issues, or we can work together on projects that will build OUR community and not continue to tear it apart.

"Sleepy old San Pedro" is not only not sleepy, but there are things around us that are not old at all. Some of the problems may have been around for some time, but when added to some newer issues, we all should consider that OUR community needs to work better together to come up with ideas, plans, and actions to make this the best place to live.