Rolling Ranchos

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City Council Speech Reguarding Ponte Vista
by Kristi Ikemori

Good evening Councilmembers. My name is Kristi Ikemori and I am speaking tonight for both myself and my husband, Ian Ikemori. As residents of the Rolling Ranchos neighborhood, we are extremely concerned about the proposed Ponte Vista at San Pedro development for the following reasons:

A dramatic increase in housing population density that may affect the “small town feel” of Lomita;
Construction that may cause 3 pollutants (e.g., particulate, nitrogen oxide) to exceed AQMD thresholds; and
Increased traffic congestion.

As residents, we should be able to voice our concerns to an unbiased City Council. However, how is that possible when the mayor of the city, Mark Waronek, works for the developer of Ponte Vista? Waronek and Associates, a consulting firm specializing in governmental advocacy, public/community relations, and strategic planning, is employed as a community spokesman by Bisno Development Company, the developer of Ponte Vista. Also, according to the Ponte Vista website, Mark Waronek is a Community Coordinator for Ponte Vista. This website states that the Community Coordinators are “local leaders [who] continue to represent the communities in which they live and work. Their extensive experience in both community relations and public policy is an asset to the Ponte Vista team.” How can he fairly represent all the issues of the citizens of Lomita, if he is financially benefiting from the development of Ponte Vista?

Another duty of the City Council is to provide representation on regional organizations and associations and to work with neighboring cities to address areas of mutual concern. Again, we have found some apparent financial conflicts of interest. According to the minutes from the December 1, 2003 City Council Meeting, Mark Waronek was named the delegate for the Southern California Association of Government (SCAG) and the city liaison to the Lomita Chamber of Commerce. According to the Ponte Vista website, both of these organizations have endorsed the development. Since the City of Lomita is a member of the Lomita Chamber of Commerce, did it vote on whether or not to endorse Ponte Vista? If so, who cast this vote and whose opinion was it based on? Additionally, the Department of Transportation is responsible for studying the traffic issues and making recommendations about the Ponte Vista development. According to the DOT’s website, Mark Waronek, as mayor, represents the City of Lomita for District 7. This is the same district that includes Ponte Vista. How can the views of all residents of Lomita be represented with these organizations if the city’s delegate has financial and business conflicts of interest? Even if an alternate delegate is sent for issues regarding Ponte Vista, can the city council guarantee the citizens of Lomita that Mark Waronek would not discuss Ponte Vista at all with any member of these organizations?

Also, how can Mayor Waronek work with neighboring cities as an unbiased representative of Lomita on this issue when he is listed as a member of the Harbor City/Harbor Gateway, Manhattan Beach, San Pedro Peninsula, and Torrance Chambers of Commerce as a real estate developer and investor for the company “Ponte Vista at San Pedro”? Even more concerning is that Ponte Vista is listed as a member of the Lomita Chamber of Commerce. Although a contact name is not listed, the same contact address and phone number is used as that listed for Mark Waronek in the previously mentioned Chambers of Commerce. Did Ponte Vista vote to endorse itself? If so, who cast that vote?

Based on our concerns about business and financial conflicts of interest, I am here tonight, as a concerned citizen, to ask the city council to remove Mark Waronek as the delegate to any organization that has already endorsed or has the potential for endorsing Ponte Vista at San Pedro or any organization or agency that reviews and makes recommendations for any part of Ponte Vista, such as the DOT. That is, unless the City Council can show by a majority vote that you are in favor of endorsing Ponte Vista as it is proposed now. Thus, indicating that Mark Waronek is acting on behalf of the city’s interests and not his or his boss’ financial interests. On the same token, we ask the City Council to add a stipulation to Line item H on the consent agenda tonight. The stipulation being that unless the City Council can demonstrate through a majority vote it’s endorsement of Ponte Vista, the City release a press statement saying that in spite of it’s membership with the Lomita Chamber of Commerce, it does not endorse the Ponte Vista development.

On a final note, if there is not a majority vote showing endorsement of Ponte Vista by the City Council, then we respectfully ask the city council to release a statement to the press saying that when Mark Waronek is promoting Ponte Vista in the community, he is acting on behalf of Bisno Development and not the City of Lomita.

Thank you for your time.