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| Doug Epperhart, (left) John Stinson and Bruce Horton depart after giving years of service to the Coastal Neighborhood Council in San Pedro |
Three Great
Leaders of San Pedro Coastal Neighborhood Council Depart At The Same Time After
21 Years of Combined Service
By Diana L.
Chapman
To me, it's
a shame.
To them,
it's about time.
Three
Coastal Neighborhood Council members have concluded they are done with their
posts, quietly departing at the end of June to do other public service and say this
too quietly stamps a philosophy all three have had for years: a good council
board needs change.
Doug
Epperhart, 56, the coastal board president twice since he joined a league of 95
Neighborhood Councils established in Los Angeles in 2001 to thwart further
secession attempts, said coastal was the second council to exist in the
sprawling metropolis.
"We
were the second neighborhood council in the city and we organized early,"
Epperhart said. "It was a good, thorough process. But it's time to get out
and let somebody else do it. You need someone fresh."
Epperhart
has moved up to neighborhood council ranks while John Stinson, treasurer for
the last seven years and Bruce Horton, the secretary for the same amount of
time, both said they are moving on to pursue other interests -- both community
oriented as well. Vice president Dean Pentchaff also departed after about five
years on the council.
"I've
got a lot of other fish to fry," said Stinson, 65, who also heads the San
Pedro Art Association ."I've been a treasurer for the last seven years and
while it has had its upside, dealing with the city's bureaucracy is maddening.
But we've done good things."
Former
secretary Bruce Horton,72, joked: "Why am I giving it all up, all the
fame and glory? I've met so many good
people. I feel like I almost grew up here. But the board needs new blood. I'm
moving on and I think others should too."
Horton says
he'll return to do volunteer work for The Lone Wolf Colony in Apple Valley
which provides two week stays for ambulatory adults trying to heal from
injuries or illness. He was once a board member for the program.
All three --
also commending their council member comrades -- say they have worked
diligently to aid their community and have much to be proud of.
That they
have.
Their
council aligned with two other Neighborhood councils -- central and Northwest San
Pedro and Harbor City -- to beat back a scheme to change single family residential
zoning at a former Navy housing site on Western Avenue to multiple-zoning.
Developer
Bob Bisno wanted to force in 2,300 condominiums on the 61.5 acres, but met his
match when he faced off with the councils.
"In
proposing what officials say would have been San Pedro's largest residential
development ever, Bisno unwittingly galvanized potent opposition from within
the community's increasingly sophisticated neighborhood councils," said a
2009 L.A. Times article.
Bisno's
"move to scale back the project to 1,950 units...did nothing to mollify
the well-organized opponents," the article said. The project has since
been revised by I-Star finance which is seeking
to build 1,135 units at the site.
The former
coastal members are also proud of
helping to defeat another condominium project at a defunct McCowan's grocery
site on Leland Street in yet another residential neighborhood.
One of the
proudest moments, he had, Epperhart said, was helping to divert the YMCA's
proposed move to take over the Cabrillo Youth Camp -- saying it would only be
open to the public once a week. Still in the hands of the Boy Scouts, many San
Pedro residents for years have been miffed that the port property was used exclusively
and run by the Boy Scouts, often the monstrous building with a pool and camping
sites sitting empty along the West Channel on Shoshonean Drive. The Boy Scout
lease ends in 2013 and the debate is expected to resume.
Epperhart,
who has moved to the top amongst councils, now serves on the seven member Board of Neighborhood
Commissioners. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
appointed him last year.
"We're
sitting on a road map of possibilities," Epperhart said. "I'm 80
percent happy with the way (the councils) turned out. You can't be 100 percent.
It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But even in the bad times,
we were moving in the right direction."
Why do I
feel disappointed by the departure of these veterans?
Over the
years, I've witnessed what they've done.
As the treasurer, Stinson was an absolute treasure. Many of us seeking
funds for help with projects in San Pedro are also volunteers and did not
understand the process. Step by step, Stinson guided many to receive the funds
his council awarded, including a $5,000 award to run afterschool programs at
Dana Middle School.
In another heated
battle, Stinson and Horton went to bat for a neighborhood protesting the
building of a new 7-11 at 1831 South Pacific Avenue. Residents there worried
that they already had enough liquor stores in and didn't want any more alcohol
sales. The two board members physically counted every bar and store that sold
liquor. Coastal sided with the neighbors.
Former
Councilwoman Janice Hahn, however, disagreed and allowed the 7-11 development with
a clause that the store could not sell liquor for the first year.
Although
they didn't succeed at everything, my
point is that these veterans -- and the hundreds sitting on these councils that
work as hard as these three and others did deserve a big thank you for taking
on such role. It's not easy. It's not
always fun. And the meetings often are tedious.
But for
those who have delved into council posts trying to make what we all want -- our
community to be in a better place-- I salute you.
