Coastal Commission hearing delay approved
A model of the CenterCal Waterfront project. A California Coastal Commission hearing on the project will be delayed following City Council approval of an extension requested by CenterCal. File photo
Redondo Beach residents will have to wait a few months longer to weigh in on the CenterCal Waterfront redevelopment project after the Redondo Beach City Council acquiesced to a request from the California Coastal Commission.
The Council unanimously agreed to extend the deadline for a decision on the Coastal Development Permit for the Waterfront, giving the CCC until Aug. 24. Before the deadline extension, the CCC would have discussed some elements of the Waterfront project, including the CDP, at an April hearing planned to be held in Redondo Beach.
The Council’s approval was needed, as the City and CenterCal are co-applicants on this permit, dating back to the previous City Council’s approval of the project.
Coastal Commission staff didn’t articulate reasons for the delay in letters submitted to City staff, and testimony for the delay differed among members of the public and CenterCal.
According to CenterCal Vice President Jean Paul Wardy, he and his team were “shocked” that the meeting was considered in April at all.
“We’ve been following up for months and months,” Wardy said, stating that he believes CCC staff had not even started on a report to present before the commission. “The only thing that’s held [the hearing] up is the boat ramp application and information needed to deem that complete.”
But according to Wayne Craig and Eugene Solomon, resident activists who have worked against the project, they were told by CCC staff that they would be ready for a hearing on all aspects of the project, including the CDP, an application for a boat ramp at Mole B, and Measure C, which rezoned the harbor area to effectively stymie major portions of CenterCal’s project.
Following a request for clarification, CCC spokesperson Noaki Schwartz clarified on Wednesday that CenterCal requested the extension with the Coastal Commission.
According to both Wardy and City staff, the Coastal Commission recently deemed the City’s application for the Mole B boat ramp as complete. However, the City has recently undertaken steps to find a more suitable location than Mole B — a man-made outcropping near the north end of King Harbor —with a series of public workshops.
Opponents to the CenterCal project were displeased with the idea of waiting even a few months longer for a hearing to take place, especially if the hearing may not take place within a short distance of Redondo Beach.
“I’m looking back to this time last year…when there was a resounding statement made by the citizens of Redondo, regarding how they view what should be done,” resident Jeep Suddeth said, referring to the passage of Measure C. “The word ‘justice’ means a clear statement, by the public, needs to be carried out…justice moved out of reach or justice delayed is justice denied.”
Councilman Nils Nehrenheim, an architect of Measure C, said that the City and CenterCal need to work “as a team to move this forward.”
“A good partner has got to be true and fair to the process,” Nehrenheim said, before referring to a letter sent by CenterCal’s attorney, threatening potential legal action should the Council decline the extension. “A good partner is not being inflammatory, working in good faith, and especially not leaving itself open to liability.”
Nehrenheim made the motion for the Council to approve the extension, and to request that the CCC hold its August meeting in its South Coast-Los Angeles district, preferably in Redondo Beach.
Should the meeting be held outside of Redondo, Wardy said that CenterCal would offer buses to take members of the public — project supporters and opponents alike – to the hearing, which Nehrenheim and the rest of the Council appreciated.
“I would also like to include, in that bus service, a bus back,” Nehrenheim said, drawing laughter from around the room. “Let’s not put it past this situation.”
The April CCC hearing will include a discussion and information session about the CenterCal project.