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December 14, 2007
Attend Planning Commission Meeting Regarding
the Re-Zoning of the Harbor-Pier Area
7:00pm
Thursday,
December 20, 2007
City Hall, 415 Diamond Street
Lets continue support for
Harbor re-zoning efforts and keep the turnout of
stakeholders strong.
The next Harbor-Pier Area Re-Zoning Public Hearing of the
Planning Commission is December 20th.
Those truly interested in actually enhancing and
revitalizing the Harbor-Pier Area must remain vigilant and
continue to stay involved in the public hearing process.
Of critical importance, the planning and zoning
inconsistencies must be resolved otherwise the economic
vitality of the Harbor-Pier Area will continue to be in
jeopardy.
The Chamber strongly urges both those who attended and those
unable to attend the ongoing meetings including the December
20th meeting.
Redondo Beach Chamber
position on this issue:
The Redondo Beach Chamber of
Commerce agrees that the Harbor & Pier area properties are
underutilized and are not competitive with the regional
market. The Pier and Harbor areas are stagnant and offer the
highest possibility for beneficial economic change to
happen. Change needs to happen to stimulate economic
viability because we are seeing leakage of restaurant,
retail and hotel business to our neighboring communities.
The services and infrastructure that residents demand can
not be supported by keeping the status quo. Revenues are
needed from clean business such as additional restaurants,
hotels retail and recreational services.
While the Chamber doesn’t
disagree with the ability of the Harbor & Pier area to
accommodate an additional 750,000 square feet, we believe
that this total will be unacceptable to the community and
moreover will be unlikely to be fully utilized in order to
move forward the city needs to identify a number that is a
little bit less than that. The public needs to see some
benefits and these improvements should be at the core of the
zoning proposals. We support zoning efforts that aim to
encourage a positive change.
In regards to the current
zoning proposal, the Chamber believes that not everything
needs to be equal. A higher or lower FAR in different areas
may make more sense. A blanket FAR over the entire area
doesn’t make sense because certain properties, such as the
Moles, will never be able to accommodate the densities that
are feasible in the larger contiguous properties along
Harbor Drive. The Chamber suggests the Planning Commission
looks at carving out the Redondo Beach Marina, the King
Harbor Marina, and the properties between Portofino and the
Blue Water Grill that allow higher densities or allowable
FAR. Additionally, this higher FAR should also include the
Portofino and adjacent property to accommodate the ongoing
improvement of this key Harbor asset.
Open space should be a requirement and there should be FAR
incentives to ensure that public open space is created
within projects; any project should include a baseline
minimum amount of public open space, and to achieve the
maximum FAR, the amount provided should be greater than the
baseline. Some office space is needed to support restaurants
and other day businesses. Office space also provides
additional parking that balances with weekend uses.
Finally, we believe the Pier & Harbor re-zoning effort
creates a wonderful opportunity to impose higher
environmental standards on new development, and would
encourage the Commission to require projects to comply with
the minimum requirements necessary to obtain the appropriate
US Green Building Council LEED rating.
November 12, 2007
Businesses Must Be Heard on
Proposed Zoning Changes
By
Glenn Bishop
Chair of the Board
.jpg) The City of Redondo Beach Planning Commission is in the
process of considering amendments to the land use and
development standards for the harbor and pier area to
resolve inconsistencies in the current regulations. The
Chamber is urging the business community to get involved in
the discussion on this very important issue and share your
thoughts.
We hope you will provide your input to a project that will
stimulate the economy and balance the need for growth with
our residential quality of life. It is imperative that
members of the Planning Commission hear from those who wish
to keep Redondo's economy moving. Some of the proposed
amendments include amending the zoning ordinance to remove
residential uses from the list of permitted uses in the
harbor area.
Businesses must get involved as many more areas are up for
discussions that include restrictions on offices,
restrictions on retail and restaurants in portions of the
harbor area, floor area ratio standards and maximum total
increase in development, height standards; and land use
designations and standards.
November 8, 2007
Important Planning Commission Meeting
Regarding Re-Zoning The Harbor-Pier Area
7:00pm
Thursday, November 15th
City Hall, 415 Diamond Street
Although there was a good turnout of stakeholders at the
first Harbor-Pier Area Re-Zoning Public Hearing, attending
one meeting will not be enough to bring about positive
results.
Those truly interested in actually enhancing and
revitalizing the Harbor-Pier Area must remain vigilant and
continue to stay involved in the public hearing process.
Of critical importance, the planning and zoning
inconsistencies must be resolved otherwise the economic
vitality of the Harbor-Pier Area will continue to be in
jeopardy.
The Chamber strongly urges both those who attended and those
unable to attend the first meeting to be at the November
14th meeting.
October 29, 2007
Pro-Jobs Policies Under Attack
An effort is
underway to stop the proposed land use and zoning changes
intended to facilitate the city’s recently adopted three
year goal to “Enhance and revitalize the Harbor and Pier
area”.
Signatures are
being gathered for a ballot measure that will require
citywide votes on both major and minor land use changes. If
enough signatures are gathered, the Redondo Beach City
Council could vote to place the issue before the voters as
early as April or May of next year. However, at the City
Council's discretion, they could put the issue before voters
anytime between then and the March 2009 citywide election.
If the measure
passes, it would put a stranglehold on resolving the current
inconsistencies between the land use plans and zoning
ordinance created over 5 years ago as a result of the failed
Heart of City planning process.
Essentially, the initiative proponents are anti-growth which
translates to anti-economic prosperity because the
unintended consequences of ballot box planning will wreak
havoc on our city. The planning and permitting process is
already too cumbersome, particularly for small businesses,
and requiring citywide votes will only worsen matters.
Resolving the inconsistencies between the land use plans and
zoning ordinance is critical to maintaining and improving
the economic vitality of the Harbor-Pier Area because the
current situation severely limits many existing buildings
from simply being remodeled, upgraded and/or expanded, not
to mention allow changing uses.
The Chamber urges you to
attend the first Planning Commission Public Hearing on this
issue Tuesday, October 30th at 7:00pm at City Hall, 415
Diamond Street.
October 11, 2007
City Council To Decide
User Fee Increases
At the November 6th City
Council meeting, the City Council will make a final decision
regarding staff proposed user service fees increases for the
Planning and Building Departments. The user service fees for
Planning and Building services are recommended to be updated
to reflect the FULL cost of providing these services.
The proposed Planning fees
reflect a significant increase, however, the fees are stated
as having minimal impact on existing business.
The impact is mainly on new
developments, new uses, and expansions that require a public
hearing.
The Chamber invites you to
hear a presentation regarding these proposals at the
Chamber’s October 24, 2007 Board Meeting at the Redondo
Beach Library, 415 Diamond, at 8am
You will be able to ask
questions and get detailed information on the proposals.
Please contact
marna@redondochamber.org
or call
310-376-6911 x 21 to RSVP your attendance.
April 13, 2007
Redondo
Beach City Council to Consider New Fees on Business
On April 17,
2007 the Redondo Beach City Council will hold a public
hearing to consider the adoption of two ordinances that
would allow the City to collect fees to cover the cots of
two State mandate inspection programs.
Attend this meeting for more information:
Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 7:00 P.M.
Redondo Beach City Council Chambers
415 Diamond
Street
If the City Council adopts the ordinances, a follow-up
public hearing will be held on June 5, 2007 to discuss the
actual fees to be assessed.
One fee would recover the costs of inspecting businesses
designated in the City’s Municipal National Pollution
Discharge Elimination permit as “Critcal Sources of
Pollution.” Businesses such as restaurants, gas stations,
auto services, and dry cleaners will be affected.
A second fee would recover the costs of inspecting
businesses required by the State’s new regulation dealing
with sewer system overflows. This regulation mandates that
the City implement a Fats’ Oils, and Grease reduction
program, requiring the inspection of businesses such as
restaurants and
car washes.
Click here
to contact the Redondo Beach Chamber
for more
information
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