City Lifts Catalina Development Ban

After months of study and debate, the Redondo Beach City Council has voted to allow development to go forward on the city’s tattered North Catalina Corridor, but rejected broader initiatives that would have spelled out precisely what sort of development it prefers.

After a late-night debate Tuesday on the potential of the site--which is bounded by Catalina Avenue, Beryl Street and Pacific Coast Highway and abuts the back of the Southern California Edison plant--the council voted to adjourn rather than choose from among three ordinances prepared by the city staff.

The move allowed a moratorium on development in the area to expire and clears the way for consideration of several light industrial projects. Those projects have been proposed by property owners, who want to build a storage-locker warehouse there, among other things.

The issue was a thorny one for the council, which had hired a consultant and commissioned a special study by the city’s General Plan Advisory Council. Both groups recommended putting a tree-lined district of boutiques and offices on the site, but property owners vehemently protested that the area was too noisy and smelly to attract shoppers.