Permits for 6 Condominiums Revoked by Redondo Beach

Mayor Barbara J. Doerr and the City Council voted 3 to 2 this week to revoke the conditional-use permits of six condominium projects in south Redondo Beach because they would have exceeded 23 units per acre.

The projects will have to be redesigned, said City Atty. Gordon Phillips.

One of the permits revoked was for a building in the 700 block of South Broadway, which already has a foundation, framing, plumbing and electrical wiring, according to the developer, Tom Robinson.

“We’re probably almost half done with that project,” Robinson told the council. “We are basically beyond the point of return.”

The local coastal plan--part of the city’s General Plan--permits 19 to 23 housing units per acre in the medium-density residential zone. However, projects with 24 units an acre or more have been routinely approved since 1964, city officials said.

Planning officials have routinely rounded numbers upward when determining how many units are allowed in a project. For example, if 6.5 units are permitted on a lot, officials would allow 7 units, which often resulted in more than 23 units being built on an acre.

City Treasurer Alice DeLong raised the issue when protesting a similar project near her home. Phillips said then that allowing more than 23 units an acre violated the General Plan.

At the time, Senior Planner Paul Connolly said the practice had been explained to the agencies who must approve projects in the area: the Planning Commission, the City Council and the state Coastal Commission.

The medium-density residential zone is bordered by Avenue H, Catalina and Knob Hill avenues, Broadway and Pacific Coast Highway.

The council voted 2 to 2, with Marcia Martin abstaining, to revoke the permits. The mayor, who votes only in case of a tie, joined council members Kay Horrell and John Chapman, whose districts include the medium-density residential zone, in revoking the permits.

After the vote, Robinson said in an interview: “We’ll just have to litigate it through the courts.”