Residents Revolt Against Increased Density at 25th, Western Main Thrust of SP Community Plan Draws Few Comments By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
neighborhood—weighed in with a statement read into the record by an aid, Mike Aguilera. This was buttressed on the policy level by South Shores Homeowners Association, Jerry Gaines, who summarized a Nov. 30 letter detailing the home owners group’s 5-point objection to the plan (visit www.randomlengthsnews.com). “The proposed zoning change is unnecessary, unjustified, and will have a negative impact on the surrounding communities,” Hahn’s statement read, in part. “New buildings up to 75 feet or six stories intruding on the existing single-story building, single-family homes would result in serious disruption... This proposed change would neither benefit the neighborhood nor will it serve the goals of the development plan. I oppose the proposed zoning change because it does not keep with the character of the neighborhood.” The South Shores Homeowners’ objections summarized by Gaines included lack of compatibility with the coastal plan, which calls for preservation of ocean views, the impact of increased traffic flows, the lack of local commercial demand (there’s no significant land for future residential development), and potential negative impacts on existing businesses. Gaines also briefly shared some of his relevant background. Not least, he’s a former member of the Harbor Area Planning Commission, which will review the Community Plan in March, before it goes to Los Angeles City Council. But the multiple points he made had a simple conclusion: “We just don’t see a logic in planning to increase density,” Gaines said. Similarly to Nave, Gaines praised the plan as a whole. “There’s a lot of nice work, you’ve done very well, with a lot of good thinking,” He said, but Density Increase Proposed/to p. 4
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With one notable exception—the upzoning of subarea 260 around 25th Street and Western Avenue—the San Pedro community appears to be quite pleased with the overall thrust of the San Pedro Community Plan, which was presented for public comment, Dec. 12, during a meeting at the Boys and Girls Club. Even Northwest Neighborhood Council President Diana Nave, which has generated the broadest, most systemic criticisms, primarily involving assumptions of growth estimates, said, “it’s got a great vision.” And for good reason. The community plan includes a brief, specifically articulated vision that helps guide the plan as a whole, and a variety of points specifying the ways in which the plan “provides a high quality of life for its residents, while retaining the community’s small town feel for multiple generations of San Pedrans.” Points articulated deal with everything from cultural heritage and open space to “clean industrial development.” It also has a diverse range of housing options, “a distinctive downtown,” “a synergistic connection to the waterfront...,” and “an identity as a destination place [for] home residents and visitors alike.” What’s more, the planning department has been working with community members since 2006 on developing the plan. So there’s a great deal of specific detail fleshing out that vision. However, the meeting was dominated by a single issue—the proposed upzoning of “subarea 260,” the commercial district centered at 25th Street and Western Avenue. The upzoning will allow significantly denser and higher development. This feature of the plan drew the vast majority of critical comments at the meeting. At the heavy-duty political end, Rep. Janice Hahn—a resident of the local South Shores
December 28, 2012 - January 10, 2013
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