In running for City Council, Nils Nehrenheim might actually be losing more power than he gains.
It’s an interesting paradox for a person who has grown his political cache through working with and eventually becoming the face of Save the Riviera and Rescue Our Waterfront, two community organizations that have raised fights against commercial and mixed-use developments.
“Bill Brand says it best: You’re way more powerful as an activist or a leader of a group, being vocal, than being on council,” Nehrenheim said. “But the problem with that is that you’re not seeing all of the decisions being made; sometimes it’s better to stop throwing grenades and start fixing the problems.”
Nehrenheim is looking to take over the District 1 seat from incumbent Martha Barbee, who was appointed to Council following Jeff Ginsburg’s mid-2016 resignation. In fact, Nehrenheim’s continued declarations that he is a candidate for District 1 City Council, made during Council public comment periods, have become something of a running joke for fellow candidates.
But Nehrenheim has made no secret of his intentions since making himself a candidate for appointment last year; he believes he’s the best choice for Council, as he feels the existing members aren’t representing the community. The problems with Redondo’s government, he said, come from the existing council.
“If you get on there with people who believe in the same views and talk with [the public], you wouldn’t need community groups; it’s a problem that the community keeps having to rise up,” Nehrenheim said. “I’m not waking up every day, wanting to find a new group to have an issue to deal with.”
Like Brand, Nehrenheim’s key issues are zoning and development, and believes that Redondo’s issues come from a desire to kowtow to developers.
“We’ve turned ourselves into a bedroom community,” Nehrenheim said. “We’re taking out commercial space and we’re replacing that square footage with residential. That’s not sustainable. We need to stop building condos on top of what is currently commercial space.”
Zoning, he believes, is the fabric of the community, and that existing zoning standards only reinforce that the City is more interested in allowing for residential construction than commercial construction. He wants Redondo Beach to “capture traffic” with new office and commercial development, not create traffic with more residences.
“City staff is being driven by the leadership of the council and the mayor — that it’s okay to approve projects like Legado,” Nehrenheim said, referring to the protracted battle between residents of South Redondo and Torrance against the Legado Redondo mixed-use development. The project was introduced with a design featuring 180 units and 36,000 square feet of commercial development. Following more than a year of battling in council and courtroom chambers, the City and Legado reached an agreement for the developer to submit a 115 unit, 21,539 square foot development.
For much of the last year, Nehrenheim has been focused on combatting the proposed CenterCal Properties Waterfront: Redondo Beach project. The efforts of Rescue Our Waterfront and other community organizations led to Measure C, which redefines harbor area zoning in such a way that may restrict current plans for waterfront redevelopment. Measure C is also supported by Brand, a candidate for Mayor and longtime Nehrenheim backer.
Accusations on social media have flagged Nehrenheim as a “rubber stamp” for Brand’s policies, should he be elected.
“You want to talk rubber stamps? They’re rubber stamps; Barbee is a rubber stamp,” Nehrenheim said. “Bill and I disagree on a lot; the ties that binds are quality of life issues.”
