San Pedro

San Pedro is a community which is part of the City of Los Angeles, with much of the economic activity of the area dependent on the Port of Los Angeles. San Pedro's downtown is in the midst of a renaissance due to the redevelopment of its wharf area reaching from the Passenger Ship Terminal to the tip of San Pedro. This area has been reinvigorated by the recent addition of the battleship Iowa.San Pedro is also home to the Cabrillo Marina and the Ports 'O Call seaside village shopping area. The Ports 'O Call shopping area is also due for a major redevelopment as the Port of Los Angeles is now evaluating development companies to completely make over the area..

San Pedro has some nice neighborhoods with Harbor and Ocean views, but unfortunately also has some other less desirable areas. The area closer to Point Fermin tends to have nicer homes.

Neighborhoods:

South Shores: This neighborhood is adjacent to Rancho Palos Verdes and the ocean, and is bounded by Western Ave. to the east, and 9th Street to the north.

Palisades: This area is adjacent to the Southshores neighborhood and the ocean, and is bounded by Western Ave. on the west, Gaffey Street on the east, and 25th Street on the north.

Point Fermin: This neighborhood is at the southern tip of San Pedro, and is bounded by Gaffey Street to the west. and 22nd Street/S. Harbor Blvd. on the north

Vista del Oro: This area is bounded by Western Ave. on the west, 7th Street on the north, Gaffey Street on the east, and 25th street on the south.

Plaza: This area is bounded by Gaffey Street on the east, 22nd Street/S. Harbor on the south and east, and 7th Street on the north.

Miraleste Pines: This neighborhood is adjacent to the Miraleste area of Rancho Palos Verdes to the west and north, and is bounded by 9th Street on the south and Western Ave. on the east.

Holy Trinity: This area is bounded by 7th Street on the south, Gaffey Street on the east, Western Avenue on the west, and Miraflores on the north

Barton Hill: This area is bounded on the south by 7th Street, Gaffey Street to the west, Anaheim Street to the north, and the L.A. Harbor on the east.

San Pedro is served by the Los Angeles Unified School District and has 12 neighborhood elementary public schools, two intermediate schools (Dana Intermediate and Dodson Intermediate School), and San Pedro High School, as well as two Continuation High Schools (Angels Gate and Cooper).San Pedro also has several private elementary and high schools, including Mary Star of the Sea High School and Trinity Lutheran .

Taxes:
Property Taxes: The property tax rate for the fiscal year 2011-2012 is 1.245849% (computed by the standard 1.0% of the property's assessed valuation (in accordance with Proposition 13, a property's assessed valuation is the original purchase price, plus the cost of improvements, based on the value of permits pulled, plus an increase in valuation of 2% per year) plus additional tax rates for voted bonded indebtedness) plus direct assessments of approx. $100-$200 per parcel for such items as school parcel taxes, etc..

Property Transfer Tax: The County of Los Angeles levies a transfer tax upon the sale of a property of $1.10 per thousand dollars of the sale price. In addition, the City of Los Angeles levies an additonal transfer tax of $4.50 per thousand dollars.. The only other city in the South Bay to levy an additional transfer tax is Redondo Beach , which is less than half of this additional fee levied by the City of Los Angeles.

San Pedro is part of the City of Los Angeles and is served by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department

San Pedro and the Los Angeles Harbor present many opportunities for sports and recreation. Picnicking, Hiking, Kite Flying, Surfing, Diving, Jet Skiing, Sportfishing, Sailing, Swimming, Windsurfing, Basketball, Football, Baseball and Soccer are just some of the activities available. There are also numerous neighborhood parks.

Cabrillo Marina: San Pedro is home to one of the best pleasure boat Marinas, Cabrillo Marina. This marina, east of Gaffey off of 22nd Street, offers recreational boaters the closest marina to both Avalon and the Isthmus on Catalina Island in Southern California.

Cabrillo Beach: Cabrillo Beach, located off of 36th Street, east of Gaffey at the southern tip of San Pedro adjacent to the breakwater, offers a delightful sandy beach. The Cabrillo Beach pier extends 1200 feet into the Los Angeles Harbor and is a great place to fish.Adjacent to Cabrillo Beach is the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, which offers a great exhibit of sea life.

White Point Park: This park at Western Avenue and Paseo del Mar has a children's play area and is right next to the cliffs and is near the tidepools and beach of Royal Palms State Beach

Sunken City: This is an area in the Pt. Fermin area where a landslide which began in 1929 and then accelerated in 1939-1940 destroyed part of Paseo del Mar. and several homes. It is now a jumble of rolling land with palm trees, isolated slabs of the old road, tilting sidewalks, streetcar tracks, and remnants of house foundations, and chimneys above the surf-swept rocky seashore. An area to the north has received recent publicity for a large landslide which took out much of the road running along the cliffs.

San Pedro Waterfront Improvements:

There have been significant improvements made to the San Pedro Waterfront recently, with much more to come. The overall project is called "From Bridge to BreakWater", and is planned to be a 30 year build out for the complete project. The first phase of the project being implemented is the Gateway Plaza and the Cruise Ship Promenade. As stated in the San Pedro Waterfront Improvement website, "The project concept involves development of a public pedestrian promenade, an entry plaza, streetscape and pedestrian enhancements, and street intersection improvements. The purpose of this project is to make improvements to the gateway area to the Port and to meet the following objectives:

~ enhance public access to the waterfront;
~ provide an attractive pedestrian-friendly corridor ; and
~ provide a system of public plazas and gathering spaces along the waterfront.

The first project to be completed, the Cruise Ship Promenade opened to a community celebration in December 2004. Facing the huge cruise ships that depart from the World Cruise Center in San Pedro, the Promenade's overlook decks, custom wave benches, flowing grasses, bocce courts and chess tables, deck chairs and beautiful ipe wood deck have all been well used and received as a benchmark for the projects still to come!

Future phases will include increasing access from the Downtown San Pedro area to the waterfront, new parks, increasing pedestrian access, a new 4 acre park "Fisherman's Park", refurbishment of the Ports O'Call village and improved access from Downtown San Pedro, improvements to Cabrillo Beach, and much more.