We're In The Interim

The "Interim Period" (I.P.) has begun.

I'm thinking it began when the report by the Planning Department was issued.

I'm thinking it will eventually end when the vote is taken by members of the Los Angeles City Council to authorize plans for whatever is going to be built at the site now called Ponte Vista at San Pedro.

I'm thinking that the I.P. may last at least two years or more.

So now what do we do during the I.P.?

We first need to deal with the mundane tasks of the City Council's votes to disapprove and deny the applications, agreements, vesting tentative tract map, and everything else associated with the application now on file.

It may be a good thing to also attempt to persuade everyone to call for the applicant to rescind all the documents and simply start over, from the beginning.

We will need to be vigilant in the near term to ensure that no side deals or other improper deals are even discussed between the applicant and the Planning Department on amending anything and then attempting to present amended items to the City Planning Commission and the City Council.

We need to make sure that as far as what will be considered for construction at the site begins again at square one and that nothing gets in the way of that.

Really though, the biggest thing we can do for OUR community is to create ideas, concepts, illustrations, plans, and thinking about what WE want to see built on that 61.53 acre site.

It has already been attempted that a developer/speculator would come into OUR community and tell us what we want.

It is now time to instruct any developers or speculators what WE will allow to be built in OUR community.

The former was attempted and failed miserably. The latter needs to be allowed to take over, for the benefit of everyone.

We also need to discuss and even debate the Guidelines set forth in the report by the Planning Department. Are those Guidelines really the ones we can support in OUR community?

It is also important to mention our appreciation to Bob Bisno for his continued efforts to allow law enforcement and others to use the Ponte Vista at San Pedro site for training purposes.

It is also important to mention appreciation to Mr. Bisno by those who support keeping a road open through his property from Western Avenue to the Mary Star campus.

For those of us who don't like that road being open, that is another matter.

Maybe we need to offer suggestions as to what the site could be used for during the I.P.

John laughed out loud when I suggested using the housing and the outdoor areas of the site for a television show I initially called "Desperate Military Housewives". If a production company came to town for a lengthy period of time, most of their equipment trucks would stay at the site, many of the production staff and cast might use restaurants and businesses in OUR community, and it would provide Bob some mitigating income because the producers would have to pay Bob to use his site and buildings.

Heck, several series could be filmed on the site and provide jobs and revenue to folks in OUR community, I feel.

The I.P. needs to include outreach to those of us who were on very opposite sides of the issues that are now relegated to history. Bob attempted to break OUR community by dividing too many of us and somehow we need to all come back together for the benefit of OUR community and to create a project at the site that truly is the best for OUR community.

The I.P. needs to continue to welcome our four-legged friends who chomp their way around the site and keep the weeds to the lowest levels possible.

The I.P. can finally allow all of us to step back and do the real studies necessary to consider what folks really want in OUR community. There is now time for real studies to be undertaken using a large number of folks to really find out if senior housing is important in OUR community and if so, how many units do we really need.

We need to pay very close attention to Western Avenue during the I.P. There will have to be new traffic studies undertaken after a new Initial Study and Draft Environmental Impact Report is called for because of a new application.

Western Avenue, its traffic patterns, and the number of vehicles on it every day has changed since the initial and subsequent counts were taken for the project.

Marshall's, Target, Mary Star, and the market on Western at P.V. Drive North have all opened since the DEIR was published and things are different whether any developer says something or not.

Money may need to be found to look at the remaining old storm drains under Western Avenue that we may now have time to really inspect and fix, if necessary. Now that pressure to start building something at the site has waned, we should make sure that Western Avenue has the best possibility of remaining intact for the long run.

During the I.P. would some folks wish to look into changing the rules so that new cemetery land can be provided in SAN PEDRO, rather that just in Rancho Palos Verdes?

The fight against the old plans are over. Now we have the opportunity to examine what went correctly, what went wrong, and what can be done to ensure the best results for OUR community.

There are no more "supporters" or "opponents" I feel. There is nothing left to support and there is no reason, after the City Council action, to oppose Bob's old plans.

We are all now members of OUR community, the same community and now it should be up to US to consider what is best for US and OUR community and that is going to take work and resolve.

The I.P. will not be an easy time for many of us and there is a great deal of hard work ahead for all of us. It will be worth it when we finally welcome residents to a new development we can ALL be proud of.

There will be more requirements for things to get done as the I.P. progresses and we need to be ready, willing, and able to meet those future requirements, too.