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Palos Verdes Peninsula News
Saturday, March 24, 2007
From the Editorial StaffOfficials have tough task with Village Plan
It’s official. Interest in Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula Village Plan is at a fever pitch. That was evident Monday, when more than 200 people filled the Harlyne J. Norris Pavilion to air their comments about the proposal that calls for transforming Deep Valley Drive and portions of Silver Spur Road into a European- style village complete with high-density condominiums, apartments, offices and small businesses. It’s an ambitious plan, and one that could change the face of the Peninsula.
While city officials are quick to point out that no plan is finalized, they must admit that work has begun. Witness the three projects already approved: a 58-unit condo complex to replace the PV Car Wash on Deep Valley; Silver Spur Court, an 18-unit condo complex at the former McDonald's site at the comer of Crenshaw Boulevard and Silver Spur; and Peninsula Villas, a 41-unit complex for seniors on Deep Valley. Currently on the table is the Peninsula Village Overlay Zone, which proposes a maximum density of 40 residential units per acre, allowing for 900 total dwelling units in downtown RHE between Crenshaw and Hawthorne boulevards. It also would permit commercial development of 2.3 million square feet. Clearly, this is a better alternative to current zoning that permits development of 2,000-plus residences, but it still would increase the city’s population and traffic substantially.
Officials faced two distinct schools of thought Monday- those who are opposed to development on the scale of the overlay zone and those who favor new housing, especially if it’s for senior citizens. Both sides made strong points, but those who used the argument of keeping RHE rural must face the fact that downtown is not even close to rural. Leaders and residents years ago gave up on keeping that part of the city pastoral when they allowed development of a mall and shopping centers. They were willing to sacrifice open spaces and trails for convenience, and today's officials and residents are left to deal with the results.
So the obvious question for City Council becomes What to do with an urbanized area that struggles to attract business? Unfortunately for officials, there is no obvious answer. Sure, adding more people to the area will increase foot traffic and offer some help to struggling merchants, but it also augments negatives like pollution and the aforementioned traffic. And even a couple thousand more residents can’t save businesses that don’t offer what people want. Merchants can make it up here - look at success stories like Small Wonders and T.J. Maxx - but it’s a tricky market to say the least.
Officials are right to look for ways to inject more life into downtown RHE. Yes, it has the potential to put additional money in city coffers, but it also can fulfill a need for young buyers and seniors while beautifying the area and making it more inviting for pedestrians. City officials have a delicate balancing act before them. They must energize the commercial district without adding an intolerable amount of traffic and pollution to a Hill that is becoming increasingly congested. The Peninsula News believes they’re up to the task
Keep villages in Europe
To the Editor:
The idea of a European-style community with high-density condos above commercial property may be charming - in Europe.
The Rolling Hills Estates city fathers might be advised to observe beyond charm to the fact that the Europeans who actually live in this manner do not have cars.
Marge Schmit
Rolling Hills
City does 'about-face’
To the Editor:
I came away from the Rolling Hills Estates community meeting Wednesday night with the feeling that the attendees do not want any further approval of commercial or residential construction in the Peninsula Overlay Zone, beyond the 117 residential units already under construction or approved, until something is done to alleviate traffic conditions, particularly on Palos Verdes Drive North.
The ideal solution would be to widen PV Drive North to four lanes. The RHE council in the past has repeatedly vowed to keep Rolling Hills Estates “rural," but now they are considering allowing construction of up to 900 residential units and thousands of feet of commercial construction. What an about-face on their part.
To widen PV Drive North to four lanes would be prohibitively expensive, due to the need to fill several 200-foot plus deep canyons between Crenshaw and the reservoir for a fourth lane. However, the existing drive could be reconfigured to three lanes by removing the current center divider at a reasonable cost and making the center lane reversible morning and night
A major cause of the traffic congestion is the signal at Rolling Hills Road that allows as many as 10 or more cars at a time commuting from Redondo to San Pedro up Rolling Hills Road to turn left onto PV Drive North. A major improvement could be had if the signal was re-timed to allow only one car at a time to turn left. Then commuters would go a different way and PV Drive North traffic would flow faster both east and west
John Heath Jr.
Rolling Hills Estates
Density is unbelievable
To the Editor:
My wife and I have enjoyed living in the rural atmosphere of Rolling Hills Estates for 44 years. We are concerned about the 22 residences per acre now permitted in our Peninsula Center area. In the early days we worked to successfully elect a City Council in RHE that believed in low-density residential development of two units per acre.
My wife was on the Parks and Activities Commission of RHE to develop Howlett Park with tennis courts, an equestrian center and athletic fields, and she later served on the Planning Commission in developing the Peninsula Center expansion and building the Norris Theatre.
In the early city days RHE tried unsuccessfully to add county areas like Black Horse into the city, but the developers held that off as RHE, wanted to control the developers' housing density. We then helped walk the Peninsula with petitions to incorporate the Peninsula county land into Rancho Palos Verdes so they could reduce the housing density that the county was permitting.
We now find it unbelievable that our city has allowed the residential density presently approved for the Peninsula Center and is encouraging more. I strongly urge RHE to restrict the presently allowed increase as much as possible and not to approve further increases at least until we see how the present increase affects the Peninsula.
Dick Moe
Rolling Hills Estates
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