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Hermosans to walk on pier once more
by Robb Fulcher
The eager feet of area residents will once again trod the Hermosa Beach Pier within a matter of days, following extensive repairs and refurbishing that kept the city's most recognizable landmark padlocked to the public for the past two years.
Workers will remove the last of their equipment from the 1,200-foot long concrete deck and reopen the pier, as early as Friday but no later than Tuesday, city officials said.
"Everyone's been saying 'when can we go out on the pier? When can we go out on the pier?' Finally we can answer that question and say yes, you can go out there," Councilman John Bowler said at Tuesday's council meeting.
The council decided, by a split vote, to forego a ribbon cutting or any sort of fanfare. Instead, passersby will simply notice that the pier is no longer closed.
Councilwoman Kathy Dunbabin said she feared that a reopening ceremony would raise residents' expectations, which would be dashed when they realized the planned renovations at the base of the pier had not yet been done.
"I didn't want people to walk out there and think that it would be like the Manhattan Beach Pier or something," she said after the council meeting.
The renovations at the base of the pier, which have received tentative approval from the council, will include a raised observation platform to the south, amphitheater seating to the north, and twin 25-foot towers flanking the entrance to the pier itself.
The plans also call for a new bathroom building, with about a half-dozen outdoor beach showers nearby.
The overhaul that closed down the pier itself included the repair of cracked and eroded pylons, resurfacing of the deck, and new railings and new, more attractive lighting fixtures up top.
The overhaul cost about $2.4 million, paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the California Coastal Conservancy and Prop. A funds.
The pier has been rebuilt from the pylons up three times in the course of its 99-year life.
In other matters, the city council took the first step toward allowing an Internet-based recording and video studio to occupy the auditorium area of the historic Bijou Theater building, which is being converted into retail and office space.
Officials had previously eyed a large "anchor" retailer for the auditorium area - the building's largest single space - inside the 76-year-old building on Hermosa Avenue north of Pier Avenue.
The council directed the city's planning commission to study changes in Hermosa's zoning code that would allow No Worries Productions to occupy the auditorium space. The matter is expected to return to the council for a public hearing before a final decision. ER