As a long-time homeowner who has been actively involved in our community for many years, I am keenly aware of the development issues in Torrance.

I was actively involved in the Coalition of Homeowners Associations – that fought the previous mayor and his cronies to STOP overdevelopment in Torrance.  On a number of occasions I was one of the spokespersons for the Coalition at Planning Commission and City Council meetings.

 You will recall that the Coalition was instrumental in Stopping the 917 condominiums that the Mills Corporation planned to build next to Del Amo Mall.  You will also recall that the Coalition was instrumental in Stopping the 236 condominiums that were proposed to be built behind the financial center at Hawthorne and Carson Boulevards.  I also firmly believe that the Coalition was the only reason that 459 condominiums were not developed on Lomita Boulevard just north of Costco. 

As a member of the Coalition in 2004, I helped fight for a moratorium on developments of more than 4 units.  This was a grass-roots effort to save Torrance.  It almost worked.  However, a former councilman - who was voted out of office in 2006 - was the lone vote against an emergency moratorium.  And, his sole vote stopped that effort.  One can only speculate as to how effective the moratorium would have been in saving our city from the problems rooted in overdevelopment. 

But, even before overdevelopment became a “city-wide” issue, I had actively advocated against inappropriate housing development in Torrance.  As the President of the Northwest Torrance Homeowners Association, I opposed inappropriate over-development in North Torrance on a number of occasions.  And, recognizing the strength we citizens have in numbers, I pledged solidarity to the homeowners associations in other areas of the city and asked for their support.

One only has to look at the fiasco still being constructed next to Wilson Park to understand the importance in having a vision before allowing development.  The developer of that project had the city change the zoning on that property from industrial to residential – even while industrial properties stood there.  And, the zoning and the residential development occurred without even a thought to traffic problems and the impact that project will eventually have on the infrastructure of our community and our neighborhood schools.

Obviously, unchecked, inappropriate housing development causes many problems in our community. 

Before I will allow any residential development I will insist that the development complies with all zoning regulations and that all potential impacts on our community – safety, traffic, schools and infrastructure be addressed in advance and a plan for remediation be in place prior to any development.