ROW Attempting to Block Waterfront Development with Voters' Initiative

News release from Rescue Our Waterfront

Redondo Beach, CA — Rescue Our Waterfront (ROW), a Redondo Beach grassroots organization, today announced the completion of the King Harbor Coastal Access, Revitalization, and Enhancement (CARE) Act.

Despite years of public input, the City and CenterCal have continued to ignore the reasonable and justified concerns of the public. Residents have objected to the negative impacts of the proposed “Waterfront” project which would block public views of the ocean and inhibit public recreational use of the harbor as a harbor.

“The initiative ensures a fair compromise of development for this city and for residents,” said Candace Nafissi, Co-Founder of ROW.

Residents voted for the zoning contained in Measure G with the promise of balanced revitalization that would protect and enhance recreational use of the waterfront, protect Seaside Lagoon from development, and protect public views of the ocean, harbor, and coastline. The current project prioritizes commercial development that could be built anywhere, while negatively impacting every recreational use of the harbor.

“The city wants to give CenterCal a free 99-year lease on our harbor for a project which prioritizes a movie theater, hotel, and parking garage, so our initiative will prioritize harbor recreation while allowing only balanced development that revitalizes business,” said Martin Holmes, Co-Founder of ROW.

Nils Nehrenheim, the third Co-Founder of ROW, added:

“Why is it we can find space for over 500,000 square feet of commercial development and over 260,000 square feet for a new parking structure, but we can’t save 40,000 square feet of Seaside Lagoon or build a realistically-sized boat ramp?”

The King Harbor CARE Act ensures a balance between new development and the public views, access, and recreational use of the harbor. The CARE act includes the following protections:

• Preserves the Seaside Lagoon Regional Park and prohibits opening the pool-like feature to polluted harbor water.
• Requires 40% of the current ocean and harbor views from Harbor Drive and 60% of the current views from Czuleger Park be preserved. It also requires story poles be placed to show the public the true impacts of proposed new development.
• Ensures a first-class boat ramp with a minimum of two lanes, thirty trailer parking spaces per lane, and ample maneuvering space for vehicles towing boats. It also prevents this boat ramp from impacting other current recreation uses in the harbor.
• Prohibits construction of additional parking structures in the Harbor area and requires that parking for recreational users be sized and protected for peak summer demands.
• Demands a real traffic analysis of the impacts that accounts for weekend traffic and the limiting traffic circulation conditions in the harbor area.
• Prevents cut through traffic by prohibiting the connection of Torrance Boulevard with Harbor Drive.
• Mandates the city include parking structures in their assessment of the 400,000 square foot development cap approved by the voters.

The King Harbor CARE Act further clarifies Measure G zoning sections meant to balance development and protect and enhance public access to the views and recreational use of the harbor area.

Rescue Our Waterfront is a grassroots community activist organization formed to advocate for the responsible redevelopment of the Redondo Beach waterfront. ROW supports revitalization that is balanced, properly integrated, and preserves and enhances coastal dependent recreational and commercial uses of the harbor. “Revitalize NOT Supersize.”

— Photo credit: Dave Proffer/Wiki Commons/Flickr