Palos Verdes Peninsula News
Thursday, June 7, 2007
From the Editorial Staff  

Officials must figure out downtown direction

    Rolling Hills Estates City Council members face a difficult decision on Tuesday, June 12, when they will consider placing a moratorium on development in the Peninsula Village area. For years, officials have wanted to inject more life into RHE's downtown. Some thought they found the answer in the Village Plan, which aims to turn parts of the commercial district on Deep Valley Drive and Silver Spur Road between Hawthorne and Crenshaw boulevards into a European-style village complete with high-density condominiums, apartments, offices and small businesses. But many residents are unhappy with plans for as many as 450 dwelling units downtown. While that's a major reduction from the 900 proposed last fall, it still doesn’t sit well with some.
    Residents aren't the only ones voicing concerns. Two RHE City Council members, John Addleman and Steve Zuckerman, say a moratorium is necessary while officials evaluate the impacts of current development. Council already has approved four mlxed-use developments and 133 units. "A moratorium provides an additional level of assurance to the public. Until we know what the project is, we need to advise [developers] that they're going to be entering a very uncertain outcome," Zuckerman said at the council's May 22 meeting. 'I think we need to take a timeout'"
    But officials must approach this issue with caution. Developers could argue that City Council members misled them into spending thousands of dollars on plans that now could go up in smoke. After all council did spend the last four years discussing the Village Plan, and it's only recently that a rift has formed among officials and community members. It's understandable that developers may feel they’ve been strung along in this process.
    At the same time, council's main responsibility is to the residents of RHE and neighboring Rancho Palos Verdes, which surrounds the downtown area. Because there is great concern among residents about traffic impacts and air quality, in addition to serious reservations expressed by officials like Addleman and Zuckerman, the Peninsula News recommends that RHE adopt a temporary moratorium that runs anywhere from 45 to 60 days. This will give council time to come up with what officials deem a reasonable number of dwelling units.
    Residents and city staff have ridden this roller coaster for too long. Council members risk losing the confidence of their constituents, staff and fellow officials, as well as local business owners, if they don’t come up with a compromise solution. Whether that solution is halting development until effects of the current projects are known or moving forward with a plan for 375 units (an alternative proposed by staff), it's time to make a decision. It appears that a well-intentioned project has gotten away from city officials, some of whom refuse to back down from their positions. The News hopes council members will stop arguing in circles and step up to determine the direction their city should take. Until then, all of us are left wondering how RHE will look in the coming years.

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