I welcome the opportunity to serve on the City Council to protect our quality of life and help solve the current challenges that we face. I would like to continue to serve in a leadership role on your behalf.

I have a 35-year track record of working to maintain the semi-rural character of our city. I am particularly proud to be a co-author, with a Council subcommittee of former Mayors John McTaggart, Robert Ryan, and Larry Clark of the RPV View Protection Ordinance, 1989 (Proposition M) that has been foundational to maintaining our city's character.

Currently, I am serving my 12th year as a Planning Commissioner, recently as the Chair. I work diligently to enforce the goals of our city's general plan, development codes, and neighborhood compatibility guidelines.

Based on my education and professional experience, I understand the critical importance of maintaining local control of zoning and land use decisions.

If elected, my top priorities are to preserve our quality of life:

• Public safety
• Local Control
• Fiscal strength
• Infrastructure
• Palos Verdes Nature Preserve

I am committed to continue working for our residents to maintain our quality of life and the character of our extraordinary city.

The loss of our City’s Local Control of Zoning & Land Use is a direct threat to our quality of life. All communities are under siege from the California Legislature. Lawmakers FALSELY eliminated single-family zoning under the guise of addressing the statewide affordable housing crisis.

This makes no sense! SB 9 takes away California’s neighborhood voices on land use decisions. Effective January 2022, SB9 attacks and undermines the 100-year foundation of the democratic processes of local citizen participation, city-based general plans and zoning ordinances that are mandated under current state laws.

This approach is wrong, because…

Eliminates single-family zoning statewide!

Treats all cities in the state the same, regardless of size or location!

Permits developers to build up to 4 housing units on 1 lot, (SB9)

Contains zero mandates or requirements for affordable housing or homeless.

Decreases affordability by encouraging speculators and corporate real estate interests to bid against homeowners for properties.

Dismantles Environmental Protections by eliminating parking, roads, water and sewer requirements, overburdening local infrastructure.

Eliminates most local project review by the elimination of local development code requirements or public hearings.

If laws like these sound like the wrong approach, it’s because they are...

I have been actively working against these intrusive State laws through California Cities for Local Control (CCLC), a Bipartisan statewide organization that helps gather local elected officials support to push back against these misguided State laws. CCLC’s message is to respect the citizens of our individual communities by addressing the affordable housing issue, not the elimination of Local Control of Land Use & Zoning!

Moving forward I will continue to actively support and advocate for the Our Neighborhood Voices Initiative which would protect the rights of local communities to determine their own zoning and development projects and override state-imposed development mandates.

The City of RPV is blessed to have 1400 acres of natural open space to be maintained in perpetuity for the protection of threatened and endangered species and their habitats. In addition, the Preserve provides passive recreation by means of hiking, biking and equestrian trails. Acquired with a combination of public and private funds, the city is the steward of this jewel, with the responsibility for maintaining a balance between protecting wildlife, providing public access, and preserving the quality of life for the surrounding neighborhoods.

In order to maintain and protect the Preserve, the city needs to continue the development of a comprehensive Nature Preserve management program that strives to achieve this delicate balance.

Key elements of the program include:

• Improve fire safety within the Preserve.
• Prepare a power line undergrounding project that is grant and implementation ready upon funding
• Implement the wildfire early detection and monitoring program
• Expand the current fuel modification program
• Enhance the Ranger program to improve visitor education regarding trail safety, resource protection, parking rules, and noise impacts.
• Continue to look for ways to provide access to the Preserve away from neighborhoods and prevent Preserve overuse.
• Provide paid parking facilities for Preserve users to reduce the impact of parking on local streets.
• Redistribute access to the most popular locations via trailheads that emanate from the Civic Center and/or Palos Verdes Drive South.
• Assess limiting daily attendance based on an analysis of visitor volume and impacts on the Preserve.
• Continue to monitor trail-related websites and provide accurate trail and parking information.

July 2022     

Dear Supporters,

After much thought and discussion with City leaders and friends, I have decided to run for election to the RPV City Council on November 8th, and I hope I can count on your support.

For 38 years my family has enjoyed the extraordinary benefits and beauty that our city offers and my agenda is straight forward… Maintain Our Quality of Life.

I understand the critical importance of maintaining local control of zoning and land use decisions on which the city was founded in 1973. I will fight to maintain our city’s State Constitutional rights against the one size fits all zoning & housing legislation continually forced on our city by the State of California Legislature.

We will soon have the opportunity to address the city’s major infrastructure issue, the Portuguese Bend landslide and stabilization of Palos Verdes Drive South. Action on maintaining this critical link will require major financial, project phasing and implementation decisions that I am qualified to make.

I will pursue by all means possible the continued personal safety of city residents. Mindful of the devastating fires experienced throughout the state, enhanced fire safety readiness is crucial. In conjunction with SC Edison, this should include selective undergrounding & hardening of utility poles.

This election is not just about the next term, but about leadership and decisions that will impact our long term future. Together, we can move Rancho Palos Verdes into that future, while Maintaining Our Quality of Life. I appreciate your support and your vote.

Sincerely,
Steve Perestam

• ELECTION DAY: November 8, polls open from 7 AM to 8 PM
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