Members of a grassroots organization turned 150 books of signatures into the Redondo Beach City Clerk’s office on Thursday, with the aim of placing a measure limiting development along the Redondo waterfront on the March ballot.
According to Rescue Our Waterfront co-founder Nils Nehrenheim, roughly 7,000 signatures were gathered to bring the King Harbor Coastal Access Revitalization and Enhancement Act to the March 7 municipal election ballot. The signatures were gathered by more 70 volunteers and paid gatherers over a period of two months.
“Everyone in the city has been supporting us,” said ROW member and King Harbor CARE Act signer Wayne Craig. “It’s not just [Riviera Village].”
The CARE Act is designed to “ensure a balance between new development and public views, access and recreational uses of the harbor,” according to a release from ROW. It would accomplish that by “[clarifying] Measure G zoning sections,” referring to the 2010 ballot measure that was passed to define zoning and development regulations along the waterfront.
The CARE Act has several provisions designed specifically to counter CenterCal Properties “Waterfront Redondo Beach” plan approved by the city’s Planning Commission and appealed to the City Council. El Segundo-based developer CenterCal hopes to build 312,289 square feet of net new development, 523,939 square feet in total, over 36 acres of land, complete with a market hall, a boutique hotel, office space, retail and a redesigned Seaside Lagoon that would open to the ocean. The ballot measure would restrict Seaside Lagoon from being reconstructed to open it to the harbor; would prohibit construction of additional parking structures; and would prohibit the connection of Torrance Boulevard with Harbor Drive.
In CenterCal CEO Fred Bruning’s mind, the measure is a significant overstep.
“We had our attorneys look at it, and it would limit any future development to what is already there,” said CenterCal CEO Fred Bruning. “The language might not even allow for the replacement of the existing parking decks…in our view, and our attorneys’ view, that’s not fine-tuning Measure G, that’s killing it.”
Submitting the ballots on Thursday, Nehrenheim said, gives ample time for the signatures to be certified by the Los Angeles County Registrar by December 6, thus allowing for the measure to qualify for the March ballot.
There are two hurdles currently facing the CenterCal project that may be cleared within two months. In November, the Council will discuss finalizing a developer agreement with CenterCal. But first, the City Council will hear an appeal against the Redondo Harbor Commission’s approval for permits and certification of the Waterfront project’s Environmental Impact Report. That appeal is scheduled for October 18.
