by Garth Meyer
In the latest chapter of a story begun in 1959, the Redondo Beach city council voted 5-0 to choose a contractor to design a boat launch in King Harbor, the city’s contribution not to exceed $650,000.
Dave Sharobee, city senior management analyst, who drafted the request for proposals, set the stage at the Aug. 20 city council meeting.
City staff had evaluated two bids, and recommended contractors Moffat & Nichol. The ramp is estimated to cost $14 million, with funds sought from the California Department of Boating and Waterways.
The Mole D site selection, just north of the former Samba Restaurant – now Riviera Mexican Cantina – was chosen as part of the public amenities plan in 2022. Studies to be conducted include those for parking, traffic and environmental impacts.
A boat launch would still require Harbor Commission and Coastal Commission approval.
Study results are expected in 2026. Sharobee stated that the goal is to permit the project by July 2026. He counted nine attempts since 1959 to build a public boat launch in Redondo Beach. They all failed to pan out for various reasons.
Mole D was chosen as the site for the latest effort because it was the most spacious, with the least impact on surrounding businesses, and it offered the safest circulation patterns, as recommended by the Harbor Patrol.
The question of whether to keep the existing boat hoist remained open at the start of the Aug. 20 meeting, the city council later voting not to proceed with it.
“If you have a boat hoist, and a boat ramp, that would quickly eat up a lot of that space,” Sharobee said.
A hoist would have also called for separate grant applications, the old lift deemed as needing replacement.
The hoist was installed, Sharobee noted, because a ramp was never built.
In 2013, while approving the Shade Redondo Hotel project, the Coastal Commission mandated that a boat launch be built in King Harbor, to serve the panel’s mantra of increased access to the water. No further developments of more than 10,000 square feet would be permitted until a boat launch was added to the harbor.
Once Sharobee’s presentation was complete, Councilman Zein Obagi, Jr. immediately motioned to approve the recommendation of Moffat & Nichol as boat launch contractors. Councilman Nils Nehrenheim followed with a quick second, noting the council had talked a lot about this matter.
“Having a hoist and a ramp is a luxury we probably can’t afford,” said Harbor Commissioner Roger Carlson, in public comment before the vote, a member of the harbor amenities working group.
Mark Hansen, another harbor amenities group member, thanked the council for the latest on a project he has spent 25 years working on, part of that time deciphering which of eight or nine potential spots in King Harbor was best.
“Fishermen; they’re the guys who really use this,” he said.
The boat launch would require 30 parking spots per boat lane, some spots 55 feet long to account for trailers. The public amenities plan suggests two lanes, with 60 parking spots, 13 at the 55-foot length.
The turning-circle at the top of the launch is required to be at least 48 feet in diameter.
Greg Kapovich, waterfront and economic development director, estimates “2028 would be a good breaking-ground date.” ER
