A proposed condominium project at 1000 Esplanade is creating a stir within the South Redondo community.
Some residents have expressed concerns about the development blocking views of the ocean from public walkways along PCH, Catalina, and Avenue B. While the project was approved by the Planning Commission in April, public resistance prompted District 2 Councilmember Bill Brand to request that the City Council hold a public hearing and subsequently re-consider the builder’s application.
Though a date for a hearing has not yet been set, it is likely to be sometime in July.
Builder Ben Agalwar of Agar Homes is taken aback by the negative response, as he has developed projects on the Esplanade without any trouble.
“We don’t know where this is coming from; it’s hard to read the public’s mind,” he said. “As a builder, as an applicant, we have to go through the process and allow the public their rights. But we also have to assert our rights.”
He emphasized that, at 30 feet high, the project meets the city’s building requirements and ordinances, and that it will obstruct a mere fraction of the public view.
“Walking down [Avenue B] you’ve got a 100-foot-wide view from a public corridor, and if you want an unobstructed view all you need to do is just walk a few more steps,” he said. “You might as well walk on the Esplanade and breathe some fresh air and get all the view you want.”
Longtime environmental activist Dean Francois, who is clear that he has “no vested interest” and lives “nowhere near the project,” believes the proposed development violates the Coastal Act.
He points to Section 30251, part of which reads that “permitted development shall be sited and designed to protect views to and along the ocean and scenic coastal areas.”
“While the development project conforms to the local zoning code, it doesn’t conform to the Coastal Act… The municipal code, as well, states that public views are to be protected along the ocean,” Francois said.
Agalwar maintains that neither regulation pertains to views across private property.
He said if that were the case, property owners would be precluded from erecting fences or growing shrubbery in their own yards on the basis that it might obstruct views from public spaces.
Francois has a different perspective.
“It’s the public’s view of the ocean and it does apply to views that cross over private property,” he said. “If they build out the way they’re planning to, it will cut one-third of the view of the ocean and it’s the public view. It’s something that needs to be protected.”
Francois believes this project is precedent-setting.
“This issue won’t go away with this project,” he said. “There will be more projects that will also affect public views…The issue, really, is we can build these structures out and make them less obtrusive. He can build his condo with the same square footage and go down a floor by building at basement level with underground technology. It’s precedent-setting that we can do these things. We can preserve our ocean views. I think these are the things we need to be pushing for.”
Brand said he is required to “remain impartial” until after the public hearing. Likewise, Mayor Steve Aspel said he is bound to “keep an open mind” until the application has been re-heard.
