For its Tuesday night meeting, the Hermosa Beach City Council had agendized a discussion of communication strategy regarding future of the city’s fire department. A communications plan was eventually approved, but the discussion invariably reflected the body’s ongoing concerns about the underlying issue.
Citing those worries, the council will host at least two town hall meetings this summer to provide information and gather input on different options for the department. The city is considering funding expanded hiring and improved facilities, but is also debating contracting for services with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. A third option, sharing services with a neighboring agency like the Manhattan Beach Fire Department, has been slower to progress, city staff said.
The issue has proven to be an emotional one for the city. During an April council meeting, residents shared stories of how local firefighters had saved family members’ lives. And city firefighters told of how ongoing staffing shortages had resulted in grueling work schedules.
“The status quo is not an option. It is not sustainable,” Aaron Marks, head of the Hermosa Beach Firefighters Association Local 3371, said at the time.
A feasibility study, to be released this summer by the county fire department, will provide an estimate of costs associated with the contracting option, interim HBFD Chief Pete Bonano said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Among the outreach measures that the city is conducting is the creation of a brief video documenting the work of the city’s fire department. Some council members questioned whether the video ought to also include a look at a station elsewhere that contracts with the city, in order to provide residents with a more balanced look at the issue.
“We know our community loves our fire department, but frankly I have concerns to be answered,” said Mayor pro tem Justin Massey. “What does it mean to have our own fire department, and what does it mean to have a contract with the county?”
But resident Sheryl Main, who is helping prepare the video, argued that a Hermosa-focused project was still relevant.
“I agree that everybody loves our firefighters,” Main said. “But lots of people here live a block away from the beach, and haven’t been to the beach in weeks. They forget, they take it for granted.”
Fees Boosted
In advance of implementing a host of new measures aimed at toning down an occasionally raucous atmosphere over the summer, the council approved a stepped-up fee structure for violations of various ordinances, including the city’s new prohibition of short-term vacation rentals.
Citing the need to deter a potentially lucrative business model, council members approved a fee structure for the short-term rental prohibition that distinguished between smaller homes and larger ones. Rentals of one- or two-bedroom units would face punishments that would begin at $2,500 and increase by that much for the first three violations, then face potential misdemeanor charges for subsequent violations. Rentals three bedrooms or more would face twice the penalty.
The new scheme was approved on a 4-1 vote, with newly sworn in Mayor Hany Fangary dissenting. Fangary approves of the ban on short-term rentals, but cited the potential for the new fees to quickly escalate to “more than a year’s mortgage on my house.”
Council members also boosted fines for violations of the city’s new social host ordinance, designed to target parents who permit parties thrown by their children, to $2,500 for a first violation, $5,000 for a second, and $10,000 for a third.
