Redondo Beach City Council has rejected pleas from residential neighbors opposing a remodel of the Dive N’ Surf shop on 504 N. Broadway, which will redesign the building’s second floor.
Some neighbors told the council that the shop would encroach too close to their property lines, and they worried that parties would be held on a proposed front deck.
“I have a sneaking suspicion,” said Councilman Steve Diels. “Frankly from my experience that we’re not really hearing from the opponents what they really oppose. And I think there’s a shotgun effect going out…I wish I knew clearly what they were really telling us what they really wanted. Maybe they don’t want their views blocked, I don’t know what it is.”
Dive N’ Surf patriarch Bob Meistrell addressed the council to talk about his shop and the company’s community service endeavors. Council members chimed in, mentioning additional donations and programs Meistrell forgot.
“We run into a lot of issues with regards to residential butting commercial, said Mayor Mike Gin. “There’s only six square miles in the city, so there’s not a lot of space.”
Following a two and-a-half hour public hearing, the council unanimously denied the neighbors’ appeal, but required Dive N’ Surf to move the deck five feet further from neighbors, so the yards of residents could not be looked into. In addition, Councilman Bill Brand requested that bike racks be installed at the store.
“Thanks for coming out,” Councilman Steve Aspel said shortly before the decision was made. “No one’s evil here — no one’s bad…We have to make horrible decisions. One of the hardest things we have in this silly job is when we have to vote against nice people. We have to make a judgment. We have to disappoint somebody, that’s really a hard thing from a personal standpoint.”
In other matters, the council without discussion approved plans and specifications for the first step to revitalize Redondo Pier, with new lighting, landscaping, benches, and decking and surfacing on the pier and the bike path area.
The council also approved the use of concrete barbeque pads in city parks.
The council agreed to conduct the financial affairs of the Riviera Village Business Improvement District while it reorganizes, perhaps within three to four months.
The council assumed the district’s business contracts and liabilities, and accepted unspent funds of $103,000.
The council discussed the $250 million potential cost for a new city sewer system, and the cost of maintaining the current system, which could cause residents’ fees to rise more than 50 percent over four years. Public Works Director Mike Witzansky said Redondo sewer fees would remain lower than most area cities.
Council members watched a slide show with images of the city’s sewer lines, which was compared to a colonoscopy. The city has 112 miles of mainlines, 2,110 manhole structures, 15 pump station, nine emergency power generators, over 27,000 residential dwellings and 600 commercial connections, all comprising a sewer system from around the 1960s.
