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I never thought I'd title an article, "High-Density, Low-Income Housing."
Last night Jennifer and I attended a Palos Verdes Estates Town Hall meeting, held at the PVE Golf Club. It was our first time to the Golf Club, and we went in the wrong door; we were kindly pointed in the right direction, and told the meeting was being held in the ballroom at the end of the building. When we got to the ballroom I looked inside, and it was full to overflowing; people were eating hors d'oeuvres and drinking glasses of wine, and I was sure we were in the wrong place. Just as we turned around to leave, Dick Briggs came bustling towards us, and ushered us to seats he had saved. It was the high point of our evening. It was a listening session, a chance for the government of PVE to hear their constituents' reaction to their latest Housing Element Plan. You’ll remember that in their previous iteration, St. Francis was indicated as a suitable site for high-density, low-income housing. Their rationale was that by the time of the next Housing Element Plan, 2029, we would have ceased to function as a church and would want to sell our land without any encumbrance. Their assessment was misguided and patently false in many ways, and through the diligent work of Dick Briggs, the vestry, and a land use attorney, we had the church removed from the list. Last night’s meeting was held because the city’s new solution was to select three sites in Lunada Bay, which went over like a lead balloon.
Most of the people in the listening session were from Lunada Bay; frankly, I was deeply uncomfortable for most of the meeting. People were speaking from a place of fear, and many were angry and rude. One person suggested that St. Francis be put back on the list of potential sites; before he finished talking, Dick Briggs was on his feet. He responded passionately but respectfully that St. Francis was taken off the list because we are protected as a religious institution by the private deed restriction from the Homes Association, as well as a federal statute. Dick thanked the board for removing us, and sat down. We need to let the city council know that we are glad that we were removed from the proposed Housing Element. Our retained council wrote that we should, “thank them for removing St. Francis from the site's inventory and emphasize the existing deed restrictions that prohibit multifamily housing on the church properties. The goal should be to reinforce that St. Francis has been removed for good cause, and that’s the end of it.” Our imperative for standing against this is that we don’t know what could come next; it opens a door that need not be opened. Below is the contact information for the city council. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to email me. If I don’t have the answer I’ll ask someone who does.
To email City Council as a group: citycouncil@pvestates.org
To contact City Council Members individually:
Mayor Jim Roos, email: jroos@pvestates.org
Mayor Pro Tem Dawn Murdock, email: dmurdock@pvestates.org
Councilmember David McGowan, email: dmcgowan@pvestates.org
Councilmember Michael Kemps, email: mkemps@pvestates.org
Councilmember Victoria A. Lozzi, email: vlozzi@pvestates.org
Before I went to the meeting last night I reminded myself that everyone there is a child of God. It’s hard to keep that in mind when people are being ugly, but we are called to love all people: gentiles, tax collectors, and city council members. As we stand our ground, let us also invite people into our church, so that they can see why it matters so much to us. And let us pray for those who are called to make these decisions:
Almighty God our heavenly Father, send down upon those who hold office in this City the spirit of wisdom, charity, and justice; that with steadfast purpose they may faithfully serve in their offices to promote the well-being of all people; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
— Fr. Jason
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