Redondo Beach : Building Density Reviewed

The City Council directed the Planning Commission to review building requirements to ensure that city ordinances allow the same density in south Redondo Beach that is permitted under the city’s coastal plan.

The city has allowed more than the maximum 23 units per acre in the medium-density zone permitted by the local coastal plan by rounding numbers upward, according to City Atty. Gordon Phillips. For example, seven units are allowed when only 6.5 units are permitted under the city’s formula.

City Treasurer Alice DeLong protested the procedure while contesting a proposed seven-unit condominium project at 816-818 Esplanade, which is near an apartment building that she owns and lives in.

The council sent the project back to the Planning Commission to determine whether the condominium could be approved under local coastal plan provisions that allow greater density for senior citizen housing.

The property owners’ attorney, Randall Kmose, suggested that the project be approved as senior housing because three of the proposed occupants will be at least 55.

The medium-density residential zone is bordered by Avenue H, Catalina and Knob Hill avenues, Pacific Coast Highway and Broadway. Of 14 projects in the area awaiting approval, six have been rounded up in a way that would permit more than 23 units per acre, according to senior planner Paul Connolly.