A state legislature bill, currently working its way through the California Senate, might give Redondo Beach a chance to buy a portion of the AES power plant property using state funds.
Assembly Bill 2444 was passed last week by the California State Assembly after adding language that would allow for the City of Redondo Beach, and other communities with fossil fuel power plants, to receive grant money to purchase, convert and repurpose a portion of the AES property into public open space. The bill, which has the backing of local Senator Ben Allen, is now moving through Senate committees.
“AB 2444 has been working its way through the capitol for a while now, and I’ve met with other legislators over the last several months to see if there’s an opportunity for the South Bay, and for Redondo specifically,” Hadley said.
AB 2444 is a way for the South Bay, which has been known as a “Donor District” in Sacramento, to get back a bit more of its share of funds from the money it invests in the state.
“I’m a fiscal conservative; I’m not looking to grow the state’s debt for no good purpose or to be cavalier, and I’m not going to support a measure like this without having a real benefit for constituents,” Hadley said.
New parkland for the South Bay, and Redondo Beach in particular, would be a boon to the area; as District 2 Councilman Bill Brand has frequently noted, the city has a very low ratio of park acres per 1,000 residents. This deficiency led to a motion in March, led by District 3 Councilman Christian Horvath, that set aside $300,000 to create and seed a city fund to acquire new parkland.
That move might now be considered prescient. Language in the relevant section of AB 2444 specifies that a project applicant must prove that they can match a minimum of 20 percent of funds for the grant they’re applying for.
That means that, with funds currently available, Redondo could apply for a $1.5 million grant to purchase part of the AES property that is currently up for bid. That comes out of a proposed $80 million set-aside that Redondo could potentially qualify for.
According to AES vice-president Eric Pendergraft, the land sale is “moving along, fairly slowly, but it’s still got a heartbeat.” Though the company has been in contact with its “shortlist” of bidders since closing an initial round of bidding at the end of April, momentum has slowed since the company realized that additional complications loomed regarding site cleanup, Southern California Edison easement rights and a dispute over the existence of wetlands on the property.
Though a cease-fire agreement between the City and AES regarding the power company’s application for further industrial uses at the plant site ends on August 1, Pendergraft said that preliminary talks to extend the agreement have already taken place.
For his part, Brand calls AB 2444’s movement “gratifying,” though he believes it is a bit of a longshot.
“Redondo Beach can’t do this alone, and it’s been a long journey to not only learn the ropes but to use the ropes to bring something like this forward,” Brand said. “Kudos to Assemblyman Hadley and Senator Allen for seeing how the dominos are falling for Redondo Beach.”
Should it ultimately pass the Senate, which would require a 2/3 vote, as Allen noted in a statement, AB 2444 still has a long row to hoe; it will then need to be signed off by Gov. Jerry Brown and then passed by a statewide vote. Allen indicates the goal is to place the measure on the Nov. 8 presidential election ballot.
“I am cautiously optimistic that we can get it done,” Allen said,” but it may be several weeks before we know the ultimate fate of the measure.”
