Palos Verdes Peninsula News
Thursday, May 15, 2008
by Chris Boyd 

Debate centers on merits of Village project

Plans submitted three years ago finally come to council level.

    RHE — City Council members and residents spent nearly four hours debating the proposed Mediterranean Village project and its impacts on Rolling Hills Estates during Tuesday’s meeting.

    When the dust settled, council continued the item to its Tuesday, May 27 session.

    Peninsula resident Ted Wynne and his development team plan to build a 75-unit condominium complex at 927 Deep Valley Drive, a current medical building located on the south side of the street to the rear of Bristol Farms. Wynne scaled back the number of units from 120 to 75, and staff said the project is in compliance with the city’s general plan, but there is still intense opposition from some residents and council members.

    “It was not intended to be a residential area,” Councilman Steve Zuckerman said of RHE’s downtown located on Silver Spur Road and Deep Valley between Hawthorne and Crenshaw boulevards. “Who does this benefit? It will benefit the people who are fortunate enough to live there, but it won’t benefit people who already live here … These kinds of projects are going to steamroll this community.”

    Zuckerman argued that Mediterranean Village will create additional peak-hour traffic in the morning and evening hours, and said the idea of building residential units to attract shoppers to local businesses is false — indeed, he said residential use would destroy retail. He pointed to the success of Riviera Village, an area in south Redondo Beach that is surrounded by apartments, condos and homes but features strictly offices, merchants and restaurants. “This area [downtown RHE] has been called the living room of our community,” Zuckerman said. “It’s quickly becoming the bedroom of our community.”

Councilman John Addleman agreed. “Residential drives out retail any day of the week,” he said.

‘Exceeds requirements’
    But Wynne said his project would replace an outdated building and actually ease traffic woes. “It’s been a tough process, but we’ve worked on several alternatives. The project meets and most often exceeds all city requirements,” Wynne said. “We worked hard to create a design that’s befitting to the Rolling Hills Estates downtown. The development reduces traffic compared to the current use.”

    According to RHE traffic engineer Erik Zandvliet, a consultant conducted a study on May 6, 7 and 8, only to discover that conditions at intersections citywide are the same as they were in 2006. “This project does not significantly impact any intersection in the city,” Zandvliet said.

    However, the project will require the export of just under 35,000 cubic yards of material during 85 working days, according to civil engineer Dan Bolton.

    Many in attendance Tuesday spoke in favor of the project. “The area in question is not part of the rural character of Rolling Hills Estates,” said Rancho Palos Verdes resident Dennis Branconier. “It clearly is a beautifying structure that will benefit the entire community.”

    RHE resident Craig Knickerbocker, who owns a medical office building behind Bristol Farms, said he and his tenants initially were worried about construction of the complex. “They’ve just done a wonderful job of executing construction,” he said.

    As for traffic, Knickerbocker added, “I suspect it’s probably a pretty even tradeoff between the medical building and the residential.”

    Lisa Counts, an RPV resident and urban planner who lives on Silver Arrow Drive, which connects to Silver Spur in RHE, threw her support behind the project. “A good land-use plan will ensure there is a balance of land uses … What we can do is make sure there is a wide range of choices for people to make,” Counts said. “Many residents will choose to walk rather than drive to do their daily errands.”

    “We are in favor of the city’s vision of a revitalized business district,” said Liz Griggs, general manager of the Promenade on the Peninsula.

‘No turning back’
    Despite what looked like an initial groundswell of support, other residents opposed Mediterranean Village.

    “There’s got to be, logically, some traffic problems,” said RPV resident Jan Hallett, who lives in the neighborhood above RHE’s downtown. “Is this the last one that’s going to be developed? Because in the long run, we’re obviously going to have traffic problems.”

    Maude Landon, who lives off Crenshaw Boulevard above the proposed development, pointed out that a city-sanctioned study showed the addition of some 500 residential units would not improve business downtown. “I moved here primarily to escape an area that had become overdeveloped,” Landon said. “What attracted and impressed us most about the Palos Verdes Peninsula was the pride that its residents place on their quality of life here.”

    Landon said downtown is not a regional center. “There is little or no public transportation here, and large shopping centers are available elsewhere in the South Bay,” she added. “Virtually no child in the commercial area will walk to school. The area is very hilly.”

    In addition, Landon recommended that the city conduct a new traffic study and require a full environmental impact report for the development. “Once the character of this community is changed, there will be no turning back,” she said.

    Richard Conway, a resident of RHE’s Marloma Drive, expressed concern about the value of his and others’ homes. “If we turn traffic on this Peninsula into a parking lot, my property values plummet,” Conway said. “In our guts, I think homeowners are a little suspicious.

    “The issue really is density,” he added, suggesting that council put the proposal to a vote of RHE residents. “I don’t agree that we should rush and put up buildings.”

    RPV resident Ruth Hattersley accused the city of having generous building codes for developers. “I know it’s going to be approved because you always turn a deaf ear [to residents],” she said. “What you have is an environment that encourages overbuilding.”

It’s the law
    RHE Mayor Frank Zerunyan noted that California law directs cities to meet the state’s housing requirements with developments like those already approved and proposed downtown. “It is time for us to amend the [city’s] general plan,” Zerunyan said. “In doing so, we must deal with the issue of the housing element.”

    Councilwoman Judy Mitchell assured residents that the city isn’t speeding the development process along, as some have indicated. “We won’t be going that fast simply because of market conditions,” she said. “In fact there is a slow process going on. It isn’t just happening overnight.”

    Of the old buildings downtown, Mitchell said, “We can do better.”

    Mitchell said Mediterranean Village is a beautiful project. “There’s no doubt in my mind that it will be an improvement to the commercial center,” she said. “It meets all of the requirements that the city imposes on it.”

    Not one tenant in the 927 Deep Valley building has said the project is a bad idea, according to Councilwoman Susan Seamans. “Every once in a while council has to stand up and take a risk,” she said. “We have developers here who are members of our community.”
 
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