Sand Box
Waterfront reboot
Redondo Beach
District 2 Councilman
Almost everyone in the South Bay thinks the Redondo Beach waterfront is long overdue for revitalization, and I do too. I understand the impatience of those that are tired of waiting, and will support any project just to see some progress. But by accepting a risky, 525,000-square-foot mall that doubles traffic, blocks 80 percent of current views, builds on the Seaside Lagoon and over-commercializes our charming small boat harbor and waterfront, we will be making the biggest mistake of a generation.
With the 50-acre AES site now for sale, and the eventual availability of the Edison right-of-way land along Anita/190th Street, we have an exceptional opportunity to truly revitalize the entire waterfront, instead of the piecemeal overdevelopment Redondo has become famous for.
The timing is perfect for a comprehensive plan that is truly driven by the public that could site much of the open space and recreational uses on the waterfront where they belong and back up most of the commercial development to east of Harbor Dr. This will spread out the impacts, allowing for a much larger area to generate revenue for needed infrastructure upgrades without sacrificing the seaside experience.
Like many communities, we need a public private partnership to share in the upfront investment as well as in the return of that capital investment. Unfortunately, CenterCal Properties, who specializes in building malls, has spent the last four years trying to convince the community that the only project that will work is another one of their risky malls that will obliterate the charm and character of our waterfront.
The community doesn’t support this singular solution, but Steve Mayor Aspel, his self-appointed Harbor Commission and a slim majority of the City Council are pushing it through anyway. Mayor Aspel vetoed even a discussion about an advisory vote on this project, or an examination of the financial capabilities of CenterCal to actually build this project and maintain it on a long-term basis. So, it should surprise no one that yet another group of concerned Redondo residents has banded together again, spent thousands of their own money and weeks of their precious summer, to qualify the third citizen-led initiative in eight years to curb overdevelopment in Redondo Beach.
This latest disconnect between our elected officials and what the majority of residents would like to see for Redondo began during the visioning process led by CenterCal in 2013. It started off well with many, including myself, excited and hopeful that finally we had the chance to envision a project most of us could support with a developer that seemed willing to listen. CenterCal held eight community meetings over a nine month period, but by the fourth or fifth meeting it became clear to us that CenterCal was not listening to the majority of the residents in the room. They proceeded to craft a mall-like project that ignored all the concerns we expressed about the three-story parking structure in the Ruby’s parking lot, the movie theatres, the disappearing open space and the high level of retail they thought would be successful. People were so angry and disappointed that at the eighth and final meeting CenterCal refused to take public comments. Now CenterCal claims this project is the result of those public meetings. Nonsense. I was there.
So now the rubber is hitting the road and the mall is moving through the approval process. As a city council member, one of my duties is to act as an impartial arbiter in quasi-judicial processes, such as a hearing on whether a project environmental impact report (EIR) properly conforms to the California Environmental Quality Act. Much like any trial, if one cannot go into the hearings with an impartial viewpoint, one must recuse oneself.
Therefore, I have recused myself from ruling on this project because the EIR claims doubling traffic in King Harbor will not be a significant impact on traffic; erecting 45 foot tall buildings blocking 80 percent of the views along Harbor Drive will not be a significant impact on views; and, building on and decreasing the size of the Seaside Lagoon is not a significant impact to recreational opportunities. I find it preposterous to even entertain those notions.
On the other hand, Mayor Aspel appearing in the promotional video for the project, or Council Member Laura Emdee giving a presentation to a group of elected officials from Los Angeles County on the merits of this project, using CenterCal’s own slides, in my opinion, demonstrates significant bias. Elected officials have to decide for themselves though, if they are truly impartial
The terms of the lease and the financial obligations of both the City and CenterCal are yet to be determined. (I am not recused from these negotiations as negotiating a lease is not a quasi-judicial process). While many believe CenterCal is paying for everything, residents need to be aware that the City will retain certain financial obligations for this development and these terms are still under negotiation in closed session. This being the case, it amazes me that the Harbor Commission approved this project (4-2) without knowing any of the financial details.
As a resident of the South Bay since 1966, an active citizen and Council Member for 15 years, I’m very worried about the prospects of such a huge development for the Redondo Beach waterfront. The 65,000 sq. ft. Upper Pier Plaza was bankrupted in the early ‘90s after opening with great optimism and fanfare. Now, it is occupied almost exclusively by office space paying about $2 per square feet; not a single retail store is left. The 525,000 square foot. CenterCal project is going to require $7 to $11 per square foot in lease rates. If their project fails, which I think it will for numerous reasons, it will become the biggest white elephant/financial boondoggle the South Bay has ever seen, and taxpayers will likely be footing the bill to pay for the mistakes, while CenterCal can move on after selling at a handsome profit.
Unfortunately, we first have to stop this current project before we can consider a comprehensive plan for our entire waterfront. All the potential buyers of the AES property see the CenterCal project as the linchpin to what they do. If the CenterCal project moves forward, you can bet they will be coming to us with a dense residential development. No one wants that.
It’s not realistic to expect the residents fighting this huge project to have an off-the-shelf alternative project on the ready to replace the overdevelopment plans CenterCal and our staff have been pushing for four years. But it is realistic for the residents to redirect their city to seize the incredible moment we have before us by taking control of this process, and not let self-interests turn our town into a cash register for themselves and others while leaving the rest of us holding the bag.
