City Revises Public Notice Process, Fire Protection Fee

For its next public hearing—and future meetings—the Hermosa Beach City Council plans to publish a notice in the Easy Reader 10 days prior to the hearing date in an effort to keep residents better informed of council discussions.

The public notice policy includes when the council considers any new ordinance or repeal of an existing ordinance.

“We really did do that to many ordinances, and we did that tonight with the fire improvement fee,” said City Manager Steve Burrell when the council unanimously voted to revise its public notice process .

A public hearing was held during that same meeting last week to discuss reducing the municipal fire protection improvement fee, which was introduced in 1988 to alleviate the cost of improving fire protection facilities, equipment, and vehicles during new city development and growth.

City staffers proposed reducing the fee rates since the amount of new building projects and development in Hermosa Beach has decreased over recent years, and the City Council unanimously approved the recommendation.

“If we’re pretty much built-out at this point, and given the economic times without a lot of construction going on, do we need a fee,” asked City Councilman Howard Fishman during the public hearing.

Hermosa Beach Fire Chief David Lantzer replied that the fee, even reduced, is still vital to the Fire Department.

“My concern is if we eliminate it, we eliminate a funding source,” he said.

The 50-cent per square-foot fire protection improvement fee rate is to be reduced to a 9-cent per square-foot rate for residential building and an 11.5-cent per square-foot rate for non-residential building (see accompanying city staff report by clicking 'view gallery' under photo.)