“This is an exciting new vision for the property,” said Eric Pendergraft, AES’s vice president of business development. “Our priority was that the people of Redondo Beach would have a chance to vote on it, so we’re very thrilled to have met the requirement so quickly.”
For the past month, paid signature gatherers contracted by Arno Petition Consultants have collected signatures in front of storefronts and supermarkets in Redondo Beach and also went door-to-door in residential areas. Signatures from fifteen percent of registered voters are required to qualify for an initiative, and AES surpassed the fifteen-percent benchmark by about 3,000 signatures.
Between now and the March 2015 election, AES plans to meet with interested parties and groups to present a “conceptual, illustrative plan” of what could potentially be developed on the property. Pendergraft confirmed that Los Angeles architecture firm Rios Clementi Hale is preparing more detailed artistic renderings and plans to accurately depict the proposed zoning changes.
“We will meet with anybody and everybody who wants to learn more about it,” Pendergraft said. “We want people to make an informed vote.”
