LOCAL CONTROL/DENSITY - PROTECT THE EQUITY IN YOUR HOMES!

The evening of May 26th the League of Women Voters for the Palos Verdes Peninsula sponsored a forum bringing together local leaders from the four cities on the Peninsula to discuss Housing Issues & Our Cities. It was streamed using the Zoom format.

Palos Verdes Estates (PVE) mayor Michael Kemps, Rancho Palos Verdes (RPV) councilwoman Barbara Ferraro, Rolling Hills (RH) mayor Bea Derringer and Rolling Hills Estates mayor Steve Zuckerman represented their cities and were asked several questions by the moderator Judith Mitchell.

All these local leaders expressed their fears that California state legislators were taking away controls from the individuals, elected city leaders, who know what is best for each distinctive community.

They emphasized that legislation in this regard that is the same for all 482 cities in the state does not serve the people well. If various bills now pending before the state legislature become law the fabric of RH, RHE, PVE and RPV, as well as numerous other cities throughout the state will be destroyed.

The most ominous of these bills they seemed to agree is Senate Bill 9 (SB-9), who Ferraro advised will take all planning control from the cities.

Zuckerman pointed out that RHE and RPV became incorporated cities to be able to control land use in their communities. He mused out loud that if city leaders cannot lead, that is control land use what is their purpose? Derringer added that her city has only three egress routes for its residents and that Cal Fire rates it as being in a Very High Fire Severity Zone, which means that if planning is not done by those in local leadership a large fire might be catastrophic.

She also stressed that this does nothing to alleviate the need for affordable housing since these homes would be priced at the market rate.

Kemps reiterated that SB-9 would crush any more R-1 zoning, which allows one home for each lot. And he listed at least seven bills now pending in the state legislature that will diminish local control.

All these local leaders agreed and continually stressed:

PENINSULA RESIDENTS MUST BE INVOLVED IF THIS TREND IS TO BE STOPPED!

PVP Watch once again, like we did in our earlier newsletter on Local Control/Density, join our local elected officials and plead with anyone who reads this to educate yourselves regarding this serious matter and communicate with your state senator, your assemblyperson and the governor.

SB-9 CAN DESTROY OUR PV COMMUNITIES AS WE KNOW THEM TODAY. ACTION BY YOU AND YOUR NEIGHBORS IS NEEDED NOW!

Educate yourselves by going to websites like unitedneighbors.net, which gives you an explanation and illustrates what bills like SB-9 will do; catalystsca.org, which has videos and newspaper articles regarding this subject; and localcontrolca.com, which has posted the names of communities and local elected officials from around the state who agree that the loss of local control will destroy communities.

HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO.

If you live on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, contact your District 26 state senator Ben Allen at…

ben.allen@sen.ca.gov or senator.allen@senate.ca.gov also copy his deputy chief of staff Samuel Liu at samuel.liu@sen.ca.gov and his field representative Liliana Pond at liliana.pond@sen.ca.gov

And call him at (916) 651-4026 or (310) 318-6994. If you receive a message machine leave a message telling Allen how you think about a senate bill or issue.

Mail him at State Capitol, Room 4076, Sacramento, CA 95814 or at 2512 Artesia Boulevard, #320, Redondo Beach, CA 90278-3279.

And contact your Assemblyman for District 66 Al Muratsuchi at…assemblymember.muratsuchi@assembly.ca.gov and copy his chief of staff Andrew DeBlock at andrew.deblock@asm.ca.gov

And call him at (916) 319-2066 or (310) 375-0691 and leave a message telling him what you think.

Mail him at State Capitol, Post Office Box 942849, Room 2179, Sacramento, CA 94249-0066 or at 3424 West Carson Street, suite 450, Torrance, CA 90503.

And please do not forget to contact Governor Gavin Newsom since he must sign these bills to make them law. With a recall looming he might be swayed if he hears from enough constituents. Mail him at Governor Gavin Newsom, 1303 10th Street, suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814; call him at (916) 445-2841; or e-mail at govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail.

Also check in to this site frequently for additional resources https://ourneighborhoodvoices.com/

EDITORS NOTE - SENATOR BEN ALLEN

On May 24th PVP Watch sent its newsletter regarding Local Control/Density to Senator Ben Allen amongst many others. Allen responded, “But I appreciate you sending me this and absolutely share your concerns about SB9 (and how it takes away local decision-making power regarding R1 zoning) and the fact that SB10 allows a simple Council majority to overturn a voter referendum.”

On May 26th on the Senate floor when SB-9 came to a vote Allen is shown to have simply said, “No Vote Recorded (NVR).” PVP Watch feels the senator did not do his job. He did not vote! On one of the most onerous bills concerning the loss of local control; one that numerous city councilors and mayors urged him not to support; and one that only two days earlier he had expressed his concern over to constituents, Allen had the 'political courage' to simply abstain. This is disappointing and all his constituents must remember it!

Take action!

At Your Service,

George Fotion, CalBRE#785373

310.346.6467

https://SearchHomesInPrivate.com