Letters to the Editor 4-2-26

Pat Ervin seems to forget how the community reacted to the overdevelopment represented by the reviled and failed Heart of the City rezoning in Redondo Beach. Hundreds of residents showed up in opposition to Planning Commission and City Council meetings went to early morning hours and had to be continued to additional meetings because there were so many people commenting. When both the Planning Commission and Council ignored the snowballing opposition and approved the zoning for 2998 condos and an additional 600,000 sq ft of commercial development, residents gathered enough signatures in two weekends to qualify for a referendum vote on the project. Finally, the Council bowed to public sentiment and rescinded the zoning.

Then they tried to form a redevelopment district to try and end around on the community and force the Heart of the City zoning down their throats. Once again, the residents rallied and gathered enough signatures to stop that attempted end around.

Then the Council tried to piecemeal the zoning starting with a section east of Catalina. The community responded by passing Measure DD in 2008, now Article XXVII of our City Charter, requiring a vote of the people to upzone property.

Still, the Council tried to pass zoning without complying with Measure DD – the residents sued the City and a judge forced the city to put rezoning in the harbor area to a vote of the people per Measure DD.

In 2010, the voters finally approved a change in zoning for the AES property that would continue to allow public utilities or a park on the property.

But the fight was not over. In 2015, AES tried to do their own rezoning with Measure B which would have again allowed condos and commercial development on their site. Despite a $1M campaign, AES lost the vote.

As AES attempted and failed to get approval and a contract for a new power plant on the site, they turned off their dewatering pumps and the Old Salt Lake returned to the site. Over 100 species of birds now thrive in the reestablished wetlands. The Coastal Commission made the determination that, indeed, there was an active wetlands on the site and that any development must preserve or enhance the wetlands. AES tried to dry the wetlands out by reactivating their dewatering pumps. But by now people were watching and cataloging the bird species. When the City reported the dewatering activity to the Coastal Commission, the Coastal Commission responded with a Cease and Desist order.

AES gave up on a new power plant or condos and sold the property to a developer. The developer originally agreed to sell half the property to the City and develop the remaining half. Then he reneged just after the City won a $5M grant to start the planning to restore the wetlands. Instead he tried to force the city into approving 2700 condos plus commercial development – over 2 million square feet of development in all. The city denied his application and now we’ve been tied up in court. The city has won several of the court rulings, but the developer appealed. Recently, the developer withdrew one of the lawsuits… a reverse condemnation lawsuit. But others are still active. In parallel, the developer failed to make payments to AES. The developer overpaid for property that was zoned public utility and parkland, speculating he could get condo zoning. Now he could not pay his debt to AES. AES foreclosed on the property and the day before it was set to go to auction, the developer filed bankruptcy. So now the property is stuck in bankruptcy court with several lawsuit appeals still pending.

There is a long history to this site, but to imply the community supported Heart of the City is revisionist history at best.