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Again this month, I'll have to do a two part (maybe 3) newsletter - but in this first session, it will be solely about my interview with Joshua Stecker, which appears in the March issue of San Pedro Magazine. If you haven't been able to get a copy of it, you can read it all here and then point your friends and neighbors to read it as well - if you wish. Hopefully, we can make 6Th Street Creek happen sooner if we go "viral".

Joshua, is the Editor of San Pedro Magazine and is mere 33 years old, which is exactly half my age and even younger than my youngest son Bret. He asked some intelligent and compelling questions about my "senior citizen activist" efforts to "re-purpose" some old and dirty streets in old downtown San Pedro (and Wilmington) and what I've been up against and what the true problems and opportunities are.

I also want to say upfront, I'm doing this redevelopment newsletter and free planning artwork for the next generation of young people who live and work in the harbor area - such as Joshua Stecker - as well as some others seniors like Loa Sprung, who wrote:

"Dear Richard Pawlowski, I love your idea for 6th Street in San Pedro. What fun! I know the area would also need to be patrolled by police or special care takers to keep children from dumping their French fries in the water. I can just see the beauty of the creek. Trees planted along the water too. There was just such a creek in Orange County designed by a Japanese artist. Wish I could be an active support for you, but I am 85 years old and my foundation is crumbling if you know what I mean. Carry on! Sincerely, Loa Sprung "

(I must be honest too and admit I never thought of the potential French fries problem :-)

Here's another quote, from the local producer John Schoenfeld to Janice Hahn our Council Woman:

"6th Street Creek is BRILLIANT! I just wanted you to know I am a huge supporter of this idea. It is an obvious answer to making the downtown area even more special. GO FORWARD W/ 6TH STEET CREEK!!!

And: -

"Dear Mr Pawlowski,  I read your interview with the San Pedro Magazine and I just want to let you know that it makes me happy to know that there are active, optimistic indivisuals like yourself here in San Pedro attempting to make this city a better place. I recall reading that your children moved from this city, and I too, often think about leaving the city in which I was raised, San Pedro, because there is just no attraction, bad business, and there is high malicious behavior. I saw your "6th Street Creek" plan and I think that it is a great idea! Being the young college student that I am, I still dont have much power to propose anything to make this a better place, but I do appreciate what you are doing and hopefully many other indivisuals who can have "more say" will follow your lead and triumph in making this a better San Pedro. If  theres anything I can do to help make this a better city, let me know. Sincerely, Jason V.

There are also many other new people who have taken the time to write (and call) and asked to join this list because of this San Pedro Magazine interview. I'll be quoting some of those comments from readers in the next issue.

Now on with the Interview:

San Pedro Magazine 3.08 – COVER STORY – RICHARD PAWLOWSKI Q&A

Thinking Outside the Box
Interview by Joshua Stecker

There’s was an Albert Einstein quote attached to the signature of an email I received a few months back from Richard Pawlowski that read, “If at first an idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” That pretty much sums up Richard Pawlowski, a man with bold ideas some might think far-fetched at first, but when analyzed correctly, could actually be worthwhile. But who is he?

Born in Ohio, Pawlowski’s family moved to Wilmington in April 1942 due to the second World War. Eventually, he landed in San Pedro after graduating from Banning High School and Harbor College with a degree in Architectural Engineering. In his adult life he worked as a facilities planner for the Automobile Club and worked for some major Southern California architects, all while he and his wife raised three children who were scattered between San Pedro and Mary Star High Schools.

Today, Pawlowski is a semi-retired architect-developer who spends a good deal of his time on the Internet, using the latest technology to design websites and for coming up with bold and brash ideas for redevelopment of downtown San Pedro - such as the Pacifica Creek Park and his current 6th Street Creek concept. Frustrated with the current bureaucracy that impedes any real civic progress, Pawlowski has taken it upon himself to share his vision with City planners, developers and now the public with the hope that people will also step up to the plate and help reinvigorate San Pedro’s downtown district.

I sat with Pawlowski at Sacred Grounds in downtown and asked him to share his
thoughts and hopes for the area, why he’s doing what he’s doing, the pros and cons of his ideas, and what he thinks is stopping progress and crushing the hopes of current and future local business owners. – JS

San Pedro Magazine: So who has seen your redevelopment plans? Why are you spending time developing ideas, penning conceptual drawings, making redevelopment plans and going to civic meetings?

Pawlowski: Well, I’m focused on the key people within the redevelopment system here in Los Angeles. That means people like Janice Hahn, Port of Los Angeles officals, the CRA, the Planning Dept. and the Wilmington and San Pedro neighborhood councils. Some of the legal and conflict of interest problems I see within them - intrigue me. They are well intentioned, but a lot of stuff just never happens. There’s a lot of redundancy in work they do and it never seems to materialize. They (the Port and CRA) bring in high priced consultants from San Francisco and San Diego and who just come in and out of town and really don’t do anything but collect a check and split. So somebody had to step forward and call it like it is - and I decided to take it upon myself to do it.

When the idea struck me to do something such as bringing Averill Park down to Pacific Ave. to solve the greatest problems facing San Pedro, I told myself this is outlandish and outrageous and there’s a snowball’s chance in hell to make it happen. The reality is however, it doesn’t take much for me personally to do this kind of prelminary work because I've done about 50 shopping centers so far in my life. So let’s see what happens.

SPM: So what do you think is the true problem and solution to redevelopment in downtown?

Richard Pawlowski: I think the true solution to solving the core problem here in downtown San Pedro is to close off 6th Street from Pacific Ave. to Centre St. and turn it into a unique type of amenity that you don’t see anywhere in the South Bay. I call it 6th Street Creek and it’s NOT going to be like Pier Ave in Hermosa or even 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. 6th Street Creek would be totally unique to San Pedro because there used to be a real creek running down through here to the waterfront. This type of new but old water-feature goes in line with mitigating some of the Port’s prior environmental damage.

If you want to get into what’s really happening with the Port so-called ‘mitigation funds’, the Port doesn’t seem to want to admit that the Port growth and damage over the last 100 years, especially the last 50 years, has occurred off Port lands. So a lot of the settlement money coming from the China Shipping settlement is only targeting and fixing things that are on Port property and those things are holding a lot of the really good stuff back. And there’s an ongoing struggle with the good people here in San Pedro that are demanding that the Port do those kinds of quality mitigation things. I also think you cannot improve San Pedro without first improving Wilmington; they go hand in hand.

Moreover, our local leaders don’t believe answers can come from inside San Pedro and for some reason they think solutions have to come from outside consultants from afar. I think the opposite is true. You have to be around here long enough to truly understand what is really wrong and then propose something totally unique to this town. San Pedro and Wilmington are very unique and special historic towns that have been severely abused by the City of Los Angeles, the local oil companies and the Port.

SPM: Why this sudden interest in redevelopment? You mentioned people have said you were “crazy” for doing this. Are they right?

Pawlowski: Well, in a way, you have to be a little bit crazy to live here - with all the Port pollution - and I turned my back on what San Pedro was becoming for a long time. My kids don't want to live here in San Pedro. They don’t and won’t come back here - even for a day and I don’t blame them. In fact, they too, are really opposed to what San Pedro has become. Some of us seniors have lived here a long time and find it now tough to pull up roots and go, but a lot of people, like my kids, don’t want to come back because there’s really not a lot of opportunity here for them and they don't want to wrk on the docks. We now have to travel great distances just to see our grandkids. However, there is a very special uniqueness to San Pedro that I’ve found - which are the better parts that I go to such as Averill Park and Point Fermin. But San Pedro needs some better amenities brought into downtown to solve this problem. And I don’t think anybody can question that need.

SPM: So how does one go about transforming downtown? How do you bring back the uniqueness?

Pawlowski: You don’t need to tear down buildings or anything like that but simply “repurpose” some key streets. Simply put - the downtown real estate is too valuable for cars, parking meters and asphalt. You must start to get rid of the cars to bring back the “people friendly” uniqueness. You can’t keep having these two or three-ton hunks of steel running up and down in between these old historic blocks. So the sooner we can make sense with that “repurposing” premise, the better off we’ll be.

SPM: Can you explain the origin of your first major concept, Pacifica Creek Park? (click for more info)

Pawlowski: Averill Park is my inspiration. I go there all the time because I live near there. That special San Pedro park is a hidden jewel that was designed way back in the 1920s or 30s and it is such a great every-day treasure today. I see it as a model for what Pacific Ave. could be for the next generation. And if we can’t do Pacific Ave. first, then I think 6th Street Creek is probably the easiest and best way to start this kind of street “repurposing”. It’s a fairly inexpensive thing to do as well because we already own the land, it’s our street and it’s just a couple of important commercial blocks, but if we do it, and make it happen - it’ll be something everyone in the South Bay would like to visit, again and again. So the inspiration basically is ‘Averill Park for Pacific Ave.’

I’ve also taken the same concept and proposed it for Wilmington too, along old Avalon Blvd. It’s amazing what goes on in the political process in Wilmington and I learned a lot by going to their Neighborhhod Council meetings. I’m now kind of challenged and intrigued by what really happens politically with the backstabbing that goes on in some of these meetings. But I think there’s a way my drawings can bring forward the best for that town, maybe even after I’m gone it may happen. I just think others may need to have something that can visually be spread to still other visonaries.

SPM: Where would the funding for something like this come from?

Pawlowski: Well, in regards to the solution for 6th Street Creek, I think we can do it with available Port mitigation money. The CRA also has a whole bunch of money which is really being misspent and it really bugs me because some of the stuff that they’re doing – is way off track. Plus, the CRA is competing with the City Planning Department - who is at odds at times with the Chamber of Commerce AND the Port, and you have all these competing interests, and yet - most are good people, but they are fragmented and going in different directions and mainly circles. I’m trying to get them to think along the lines of backing ONE major new solution for downtown San Pedro that can bring a lot of new benefits...especially since the Bridge to the Breakwater is being set aside and/or “watered down”.

SPM: In your endeavor to get your ideas out there, you’ve said you’ve gone to hundreds of meetings and you’ve now got a large email list, what’s been the general consensus from the people who make the decisions?

Pawlowski: In the initial rounds of proposing Pacifica Creek, being the novice in local politics that I am, some of the more interesting things that have happened, I recognized a real myopia that surrounds this town. It was kind of like, what am I up against? In a way it’s kinda comical, but a lot of people have written me and emailed me with genuine support. Some have said I’m wasting my time and I should be in another town where people will appreciate my ideas more. Well, I’m not there, I’m here. Janice Hahn has said she “loves” what I’m doing. But a lot of local leaders seem to be afraid because they have to bend with the political winds. Some people really want to see 6th Street Creek, but not Pacifica Creek and in many ways, I don’t blame them. However, had I started with 6th Street Creek first, I would have had very little resistance. But I went the other way – because Pacifica Creek would make the most change and actually benefit the most people – all along Pacific Ave..

SPM: Who have been your biggest opponents with your ideas?

Pawlowski: That’s an interesting question, because there are very few people who didn’t like it. They just say I’m wasting my time because it’s too large of a thing. But, that’s also what worries me because they don’t want to go the distance – for real change, most want to take the easy way out and waste time and money with half-measures. It seems no one wants to be bold or daring anymore. I think San Pedro can be the place where every other urban planner can come here and think, “Hey if San Pedro can do it, we can do it too!” San Pedro can be a leader in urban redevelopment – but the leadership here can’t be a bunch of political chickens.

Basically, 6th Street Creek is a major landscaping project and street repurposing. It’s not like the billion $ Bridge to Breakwater project where the Port is totally taking a huge chunks of land and converting them from the ground up. It’s a historic commercial street and something we can all use and will want to be near. Making 6th Street a pleasant place again is the goal. There’s simply nothing pleasant about asphalt and cars anymore and why do we have to keep catering to cars? Maybe it’s my age, but I want to walk more – not drive! Everybody says they want a walking, pedestrian environment - but they’re talking about putting a few trees on the sidewalk and keeping the cars, asphalt and meters. That does not make aesthetic sense and it won’t work! That’s a sad half measure! Look forward another 10 or 15 years - to really making this unique part of San Pedro very special – but not doing anything to the buildings - but we must get rid of that asphalt and parking meters in front of them. And if we don’t - we’re always going to be wishing we did. Ignoring what the reality is and doing something like what I propose in front of the Warner Grand - makes perfect sense to me and many others as well.

SPM: Say this construction plan goes through. There’s a possibility the streets will be closed down for such a construction project and downtown businesses will possibly suffer. What can you say to the business owners who will be directly affected by such an endeavor?

Pawlowski: First, one of the unique things that happen once there is a commitment to do it, all kinds of promotional aspects and new people will come forward. It works in reverse because irrational fear is what holds special solutions back. In order to make something better, I think – and this is my optimism talking – people would park blocks away to see what is going on and what is specail and new. It would bring the right kind of retail investors back here and also bring a special chance to change the demographic - so I think those concerns are unfounded fears. What happened in Hermosa Beach and Santa Monica was that business turned around and boomed there - after they closed some streets. But with all the empty stores and pawn shops around here, that’s the real tough story! Hopefully we can get enough like minds to think in the direction of repurposing 6th Street and stick to it. I’m doing what I can to get it started.

SPM

For more information on Richard Pawlowski’s concepts, visit www.newsanpedro.com and www.banningvillage.com or contact him at rp@venturexpo.com or 310-418-1488. He also publishes a monthly online blog at www.venturexpo.com/blog1.html

Thanks for reading this and in part 2 of the March Issue I’ll cover (if I get time):

* The Incestuous Loan Relationships Between the CRA and the Port of Los Angeles (this is a very IMPORTANT TOPIC for both San Pedro and Wilmington residents)

* If YOU want Some Real Funny Entertainment, Come to a CRA/PCAC Meeting

* POLA's Fuzzy and Deadly Math and Why NO POLA GROWTH is a GOOD thing.

RP