Harbor Lights: The Battle of Mole B

by Harry Munns

When you build a harbor out from a beach the way King Harbor was built, you need a way to get out to the furthest parts of the body of water you created by enclosing what used to be beach. The way it was done in King Harbor was to build concrete bulkheads and walls of boulders and back fill them with dirt and rocks. They called the new land masses moles and alphabetized them from A to D, A being the furthest north. King Harbor Yacht Club is on mole A.

Mole B has an access road called Marina way, between Bluewater Grill and the Spectrum Club. Harbor Patrol facilities take up a fairly small section of Mole B at the very end. This little strip of land shaped like a flag pole with a triangular flag at the top has something rarely seen on any coastline in the U. S. and almost never seen within a small boat harbor. It has a substantial chunk of land that isn’t exactly dedicated to a particular purpose. As you might imagine, people are lining up to try to get their hands on this prime piece of real estate.

Moonstone Park and an outdoor facility used by the Lanakila and Nahoa Outrigger Canoe Clubs take up all the space between the King Harbor Marina parking lot and the Harbor Patrol facility. A recent Budget Response document from the city manager’s office called Moonstone Park, “…an underdeveloped and underutilized…1.64 acre park…primarily used for passive recreation and it includes minimal amenities.”

In this instance, “underdeveloped and underutilized” are code for “let’s build something there that makes money!”

I’m all for the city making money especially if it can go to a good use like keeping the street light in front of my house from going dark as a result of budget cuts. However, I see a few problems with the direction Mole B’s future seems to be taking.

The outrigger clubs pay the city $600 a year for a space that takes up about one-third of the area between the parking lot and the Harbor Patrol. In addition to providing healthy recreation for quite a few people, the presence of outriggers adds to the flavor of King Harbor and the whole South Bay. They’re the most likely of any group to end up with a spot in Moonstone Park simply because they’re already there. If they left that location, they’d probably have to move south to San Pedro or Long Beach because there’s no other suitable space available in King Harbor.

The City Sailing Program would like to lay claim to a chunk of Moonstone Park but to do so they’d also have to take away some revenue-producing dock space owned by King Harbor Marina. In return, KHM would get some revenue producing space in the park for mast-up boat storage.

Herein lies the cluster…., I mean mess. Any use of Moonstone Park that increases the number of cars requiring parking, especially on weekends, won’t work. An active day for the outriggers fills the available parking spaces, and then some. KHM routinely tows cars parked in boat slip tenant spaces without stickers. Add sailing lessons, which are usually conducted on weekends, and you’ve got a recipe to create Redondo Beach’s version of the northbound 405 on a weekday morning.

The dock space would also include some sort of launching capability. So boats on trailers would get wheeled across the narrow right-of-way to the Harbor Patrol facility, for launching and storage. The Harbor Patrol facility, part of the city fire department, includes at least one land based response vehicle. Would the periodic obstruction of the only road off Mole B cause a public safety problem? Stay tuned for that debate.

I’m all about boats and I love the city sailing program. I’d like nothing more than to see them get a permanent home and stop having to store boats and equipment in various locations around the harbor.

Here’s the problem. We don’t have a boat ramp and world-class public boating facilities and sidewalks that two people can walk along side by side without bumping into each other because King Harbor is a tiny harbor. We’re lucky to have any harbor here at all. The fact we have so much packed into it already is a testament to after the fact planning. I may write a book about it titled, “King Harbor: How to Plan a Harbor Without a Plan.” Maybe that’s a little harsh.

Even though Mole B didn’t have a place in the overall harbor plan that doesn’t seem to have existed back in the day, the city of Redondo Beach has begun studying potential future uses for that space. It will take place over the next year. If you or your group have an idea for developing some prime waterfront property, contact Redondo Beach City Hall. If people can walk or bicycle to your new project, you may have a shot.

Comment on this or any other King Harbor topic at www.kingharborboater.com click on the “blog” link. ER

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