Skechers Gets Vote For Holiday Construction In Manhattan Beach

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — In a brief conversation last Tuesday night, the Manhattan Beach City Council voted 4-1 to allow Skechers to do construction work at 330 South Sepulveda Boulevard on Monday, Oct. 12, a city-recognized holiday for Columbus Day. The discussion and vote took place after Mayor Pro Tem Suzanne Hadley pulled the item form the Consent Calendar.

"I still expect this to pass," she said. "I'm a 'No' on this. I adore Skechers. I adore Michael Greenberg. He's an amazing philanthropist in our city but I would not be having as many exemptions from any business or any resident that kept coming so for consistency sake, I told the mayor I'd pull this."

Hadley told fellow council members and members of the public who'd tuned in she'd voted against similar requests for construction work at the same location in January and February for the Martin Luther King, Jr. and President's Day holidays. Skechers is adding 20,000-square-feet of office space to its existing 55,000-square-foot office building. The expansion is into space previously occupied by a car wash.

Manhattan Beach City Council has the authority to grant exceptions to the city's policy to not allow construction on city-recognized holidays. During the Monday holidays McCarty Building Companies Inc. was allowed to work on the same project, the city did not field any complaints, according to a report by Carrie Tai, the city's community development director, and Ryan Heise, a city building official. MB's municipal code allows construction activity to occur from 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9 a.m.-6:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

While city staff did not think public outreach on the matter was necessary, McCarty Building Companies Inc. "has notified the surrounding properties of the request to allow construction on Columbus Day, as well as the City Council Meeting date and time for the agenda item to discuss the request. The applicant will also notify the surrounding properties 72 hours prior to the Columbus Day if approved by the City Council," according to the staff report on the agenda.

"I don't like exceptions," Hadley said during the discussion. "It smacks of favoritism to me. Everyone should be treated equally in the city of Manhattan Beach."

Council member Steve Napolitano, who has served on the Manhattan Beach City Council for a cumulative 16 years and was Senior Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe from 2005-2016, said exceptions like the ones previously granted to Skechers and the proposed one are common when big projects are involved. He noted exceptions to construction hours had also been granted to construction at the Manhattan Village shopping center, which is undergoing a transformative buildout that includes three new multi-level parking structures. "I think this is a reasonable request," he noted.

Council member Hildy Stern noted that the work on Monday, Oct. 12 was sensitive to the needs of the neighbors and the fact that many residents are home working remotely since it would be indoors. The staff report read, "While this request only pertains to Columbus Day, staff does not anticipate additional noise disturbances, as no public complaints for construction-related noise have been received since the start of construction (Section 5.48.140 12). The dearth of complaints indicates the applicant’s ability to minimize impacts to the surrounding neighborhood on an ongoing basis." Work on Columbus Day at the Skechers project will take place from 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.