About Town Redondo: Judge’s race, Draft General Plan, density threat
Judge Spear now trailing for re-election
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Emily Spear, of Redondo Beach, now trails in her bid for a second term.
After she led on election night with 53.5% of the vote, to challenger Kimberly Repecka’s 46.5%, in counting of further ballots, Repecka pulled to 50.38% (517,454 votes) to Spear’s 49.62% (509,710).
Monday was the fifth post-election night ballot count update from L.A. County Elections. Estimated ballots remaining to be processed were 238,500.
Repecka is a deputy public defender for L.A. County.
City to hold Draft General Plan open house
The city will host an open house March 20 on the Draft General Plan Update at 6 p.m. in the Main Library second floor meeting room.
The two-hour event focuses on
land use, conservation, recreation and parks, open space and environmental hazards/natural hazards.
The General Plan Update is meant to direct the city’s future growth, to establish goals and policies to guide decisions. Specific issues include jobs, population growth, housing and market demand. It aims to “create a new vision for Redondo Beach in 2050.”
A 27-member General Plan Advisory Committee formed in 2017 to write the plan, completing their work in January.
The open house will include city staff presenting each element of the draft document, which is open for public comment until March 31.
Council opposes housing bill for Coastal Zone
The Redondo Beach city council voted unanimously Tuesday night to oppose California State Assembly Bill 2560, which would end the coastline exemption for what is known as Density Bonus Law.
Under the law, if a developer includes a certain percentage of affordable units in a housing project, they are eligible for bonuses such as density that exceeds local zoning.
At present, all of the California Coastal Zone is exempt from this.
The Density Bonus Law, initially passed in 1979 and expanded in 2021, only applies to areas already zoned as residential. The update three years ago enhanced incentives for affordable and senior housing components, and reduced parking mandates.
The California Coastal Zone, formed in 1976, is a strip of land and water that extends the length of the state.
Assembly Bill 2560 was introduced in February by Assemblyman David Alvarez (Chula Vista) and co-authored by State Senator Scott Wiener (San Francisco/San Mateo County).
Redondo Beacch City Councilman Todd Loewenstein encourages all citizens to write letters to the state legislature opposing 2560.
RBUSD begins 2024-24 enrollment
Redondo Beach Unified School District opened its new student enrollment for 2024-25 March 1.
RBUSD is taking applications from in-district and out-of-district families for transitional kindergarten (T-K) to 12th grade. In its announcement, the district noted that “acceptance of out-of-district applications underscored (its) commitment to offering educational opportunities beyond geographic boundaries.”
Find more information at rbusd.org. ER