ADA law may require elevator in one-story former Becker Surf building in Hermosa Beach
by Kevin Cody Don English asked the Hermosa Beach Planning Commission, Monday night, August 18, to waive a city-imposed requirement he install solar panels, and an elevator at the 5,292 sq.ft. building his family owns at Pier Avenue and Monterrey Boulevard. The building has been vacant since longtime tenant Becker Surf closed two years ago. English, speaking on behalf of his family, which has owned the building since 1959, told the commission the solar panels would cost $57,000 to install, and the elevator was not necessary. “Have you ever been in a one story building with an elevator?” English asked the commissioners. According to the Community Development staff report, the elevator is required by ADA for handicap access from the building to the handicap parking on the store’s lot behind the building. The building is built into the side of the Pier Avenue sand dune, which offers geothermal cooling, making the solar panels unnecessary, English noted. But the site’s configuration also means the parking lot is on a grade above the building. The Planning Commission was unanimous in agreeing to waive the solar panel requirement. But it did not waive the elevator requirement because…
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