[CORRECTION: The original version of this article included erroneous survey results for the question of whether Redondo Beach city government was doing a good job in general. Of the survey’s 504 respondents, 61% said yes, 19% said fair and 12% said they did not know. Easy Reader regrets the error].
by Garth Meyer
Survey results showing that a majority of Redondo Beach residents oppose retail cannabis stores led the city council Tuesday to vote to shelve the matter, and perhaps bring it back during next year’s budget talks.
The almost decade-long issue reached somewhat of a conclusion Feb. 10 after the city hired polling firm FM3 to conduct a study of 504 registered voters.
Taken in December, the poll showed 55% of residents against allowing cannabis stores and 38% in favor.
Districts Four and Five (North Redondo) favored stores while Districts One and Three opposed it. District Two showed a dead tie in the poll.
“So, what I see is we should approve a cannabis shop on Artesia (Blvd.) between the two districts that support it,” joked Mayor Jim Light after a presentation of poll results by FM3’s Dr. Richard Bernard. “I’m just teasing the councilmembers.”
District Four Councilman Zein Obagi, Jr., made a case that the city should go forward and permit cannabis shops, or perhaps just one, for reasons of tax revenue.
“For the first time in my five years on council, we reached a one-year employment agreement with (the police department)… What do we do to get more money online…? I don’t think cannabis is a golden bullet to solve all of the city’s problems, but what are we asking our Public Works and Police to do… (How do we answer) when they ask, what did we do to increase the revenue to the city?”
“The residents in the poll aren’t necessarily seeing the challenges in the city.”
Councilman Brad Waller, District One, concurred with Obagi’s assessment that more revenue is important, but wanted to hold off on retail cannabis.
“If this (poll) was a little closer, but… it’s pretty much 60-40 across the city,” Waller said. “I’m not in support. (But) my mind’s not closed.”
Councilman Chadwick Castle of District Two said he took an informal survey last summer that, like FM3’s, also showed a similar 50-50 split in his part of the city.
“Everyone understands we need more tax revenue in the city… but in totality, the citizens of Redondo don’t really want cannabis,” Castle said. “And they want us to use other mechanisms to fund our budget.”
District Three Councilmember Paige Kaluderovic noted that the poll showed few people were aware that the city did not allow cannabis stores.
“We have work to do… and to prove to residents that we can handle enforcement,” she said. “At this point, I can’t go against the will of my constituents to bring back revenue that way… All of this was not in vain but it’s maybe not the right time.”
Obagi, Jr. made a motion to consider cannabis stores again for the fiscal 2027-28 budget. Waller seconded it.
Joan Irvine, longtime advocate to open the stores here, spoke in public comment, saying,” (The potential operators) aren’t here tonight because they saw the survey; they’re going, ‘Redondo – kind of a lost cause.’”
She said that underground products are untested, unregulated, and that the black market grows when a city bans retail cannabis.
“Prohibition creates shadows… Kids don’t get safer, the black market gets stronger,” she said. “Alcohol is a far more dangerous substance…”
She suggested the city council should put the matter on the ballot and ask the entire city to vote.
“I really wish we’d put this issue to rest,” said a man who called in a public comment. “… How much more clear does it have to be?”
He then criticized Mayor Light’s earlier remark.
“Mr. Mayor, you made a flippin’ joke about location being all that matters. That really does dismiss the genuine concerns of families like mine.”
Councilman Scott Behrendt of District Five, who in 2024 was the first on the council to come out against retail cannabis in Redondo Beach – later offering a compromise vote if it could be kept off of a stretch of Artesia Boulevard – said Tuesday that “I’m open to bring it back for this budget session.”
That would mean in a couple months. He asked if city staff would be prepared to do so, if the city attorney’s office could do so. The answer was yes.
Mayor Light then addressed the criticism of his joke.
“My flippant comment aside…. There’s not much that’s going to change. This was a very damning survey in terms of support for cannabis. The mandate here is to find different ways to raise money,” Light said. “With that, I will call the vote.”
The count was 5-0. The council may revisit the matter in spring 2027.
Poll particulars
On Feb. 10 at Redondo Beach city hall, Dr. Richard Bernard of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3, Santa Monica) told the city council how its local cannabis retail poll was conducted.
Done by phone and e-mail, respondents were first contacted by phone, e-mail and text. The results came with a +/- 4 margin of error.
The poll questions began with a straight, ‘do you support retail cannabis stores in Redondo Beach?’ The initial answer came in at 52% no, 36% yes and 12% don’t know.
Half of respondents were next given supportive arguments first, and half opposing arguments first, followed by information about regulations which the stores would have to follow. The city council studied, considered and voted these into place over the past four years.
Poll results showed that both supporters and the opposition “really appreciated” the regulations, according to Bernard, such as to not allow a cannabis store within 600 feet of a school, daycare center or youth center.
The most persuasive reason shown in the results for people opposed to retail cannabis was the fact that neighboring cities ban the stores; Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance and El Segundo.
“There’s much more (intensity) for the opposition than the positive,” Bernard concluded, noting a 20-point gap between “strongly oppose” and “strongly support”: 46% to 26%.
Just 22% of respondents were aware that it is illegal to open a cannabis store in Redondo Beach.
“78% have the incorrect answer,” Bernard said, citing nonetheless that the city council had spent much time and effort on the matter.
“I guess they trust you and don’t watch your meetings…”
All told, FM3’s poll asked people about their level of support for retail cannabis in Redondo Beach four times.
The final tally was 55% opposed, 38% in support and 7% unsure.
The poll cost $39,000.
“In your professional opinion, was this a fair and impartial survey?” asked Councilman Brad Waller.
“Yes,” Bernard said.
The survey also asked if Redondo Beach city government was doing a good job in general.
A total of 61% said yes, 19% said fair and 12% said they did not know.
“Given the views on federal, state and county government… these are pretty good numbers, you should feel good about,” Bernard said. ER
Curb the spending.
How about the council ask the more obvious questions: is cannabis good for our community, and do we really need more more or wise use of taxes already taken?