The City of Redondo Beach released what staff has called its most complex, comprehensive study in the city’s history, as the Draft Environmental Impact Report for The Waterfront project was made available for public review at last night’s City Council meeting.
Massively thick, 6,500 page binders, costing more than $500 to print each, were distributed to the City Council and Mayor midway through the Tuesday meeting. The report itself, before the addition of its appendices, is 1,500 pages.
“It’s a bit big for a bathroom read,” Mayor Steve Aspel said.
The project, as it is planned, would demolish most of the structures within the area of the Redondo Pier and International Boardwalk, including the Pier parking structure. Approximately 523,000 square feet of development is planned on the 36 acre site, more than 304,000 of which will be net new development, including a hotel, movie theater and a market hall. The plan also intends to revitalize Redondo’s Seaside Lagoon, and is set to construct a boat launch ramp, in keeping with regulation set by the California Coastal Commission.
The boat launch plan is discussed as one of eight alternative versions of the project, according to the city’s Community Development Director, and head of the Planning Department, Aaron Jones.
The meeting also saw a number of project supporters come out to voice their hopes for The Waterfront’s success, including Dive N Surf and Body Glove CEO Robbie Meistrell, who simply said that he wanted to “share the Meistrell family’s support of the project.”
Ten year resident Alan Vick said the project would be a boon for Redondo Beach. “I see [the pier and harbor] as old, tired and run down…I live within walking distance and never go there; I ride my bike past, and go to Hermosa or Manhattan, where it’s more vibrant, has a better feeling. I love the vision CenterCal has,” he said. “I hope we can look back on this five years from now and applaud you for making this happen with a city center that generates additional revenues.”
Though the project has drawn criticism from members of the community, including District 2 councilman Bill Brand, no one spoke against the project at the night’s meeting.
The public comment period began at the meeting, and runs for 63 days, to Jan. 19, at 5:30 p.m. The city, according to Jones, expects to receive “several hundred comments,” anticipating at least one to two months of city staff work in responding to those comments.
The City of Redondo Beach has planned for three public workshops to discuss the DEIR, with the first coming on Saturday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 300 N. Harbor Dr., from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Two more workshops will also take place, one at the Redondo Beach Main Public Library, from 6-9 p.m. on Dec. 9, and again at the Crowne Plaza on Jan. 9 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The size of the document has delayed the online release of the Draft EIR, which Jones said is nearly one terabyte in size. The document is available for download at the city’s website, redondo.org. Hard copies are available for public review at the City Clerk’s office, and in both of Redondo’s public libraries.
Though Aspel is aware that members of the public on both sides of the fence will find the “14 pages that’ll suit [their] needs,” but he hopes members of the public will go “outside of their comfort zones” in reading the document.
“I hope that, when the letters start flying, and we get phone calls and emails, that people will have read the whole thing,” he said, adding that the meetings the city is holding “are not just bitch sessions; if you have positive things to say about the project, say those too.”
“In my experience, naysayers will show as much as anyone else. Your voices are heard, but they need to be heard at meetings as well,” Aspel said.
Waterfront Task Force
The City Council named members of the Mayor and Council subcommittee for the Waterfront Task Force. Brand and District 5 councilwoman Laura Emdee were approved, following Emdee’s motion to appoint the pair, based on their districts’ records on the Measure B vote. A majority of District 2 residents voted no, while a majority of District 5 residents were in favor of the ballot measure.
Measure B, which was defeated in March, would have replaced the AES power plant with a mixed-use development project called “Harbor Village.”
Brand attempted a substitute motion that would have replaced Emdee with District 3 councilman Christian Horvath, but couldn’t find a second to support him. Horvath, for his part, deferred to Emdee’s motion.
General Plan update
The council moved to push forward their timeline on reviewing amendments to the city’s General Plan, specifically with regards to mixed-use zoning.
Brand, who has long called for an complete update of the city’s 23-year-old General Plan, has taken up cries from members of the community who have pushed against Mixed-Use zoning in particular.
Recent outcry regarding mixed-use projects has focused on the SeaBreeze Plaza project, which recently gained a conditional use permit to begin work, and the Legado Redondo project, which comes before the city’s Planning Commission on Thursday. Both have raised the ire of nearby residents in South Redondo, who complain the projects are too dense and will increase traffic in an area that is already sodden with population and traffic.
“There have already been two projects that, to my understanding, the community doesn’t support that have taken advantage of Mixed-Use zoning,” Brand said. “Developers aren’t going to wait for us to reset our priorities.”
Arinna Shelby, a resident of South Redondo, voiced her support for Brand’s motion.
“There will be a lot more support from the community if we can take steps to move forward as quickly as possible, rather than extending the process,” she said. “We’ve been vocal in Planning Commission, at City Council, and in meetings outside, and we’re here to help and support…we love this community and we want to keep the character of it, not have overdevelopment ruin things.”
Council directed city staff to bring amendments to mixed-use zoning for discussion at the Feb. 16 City Council meeting.
