Tall and Skinny

I am writing about something that I think is a concern of thousands of residents of our beautiful beach communities. Due to ever-increasing density, our once-charming towns are becoming miniature “Daly Cities.”

Quaint neighborhoods that once had a variety of styles of homes and large, beautiful trees are being replaced, block by block, by cookie-cutter architecture. The sad story has now been repeated hundreds of times: A charming older home on a large lot is torn down and is replaced with two “tall and skinnies.”

In North Redondo and Hermosa Beach, entire blocks have been covered with 19-foot-wide tall and skinnies. The new homes almost completely cover the lots, and there is almost no room for outdoor entertaining or for children to play.

Sure, the new homes are nice. They have trash compactors, spa bathtubs, built-in microwaves and an extra fireplace. However, all of those gizmos could be easily added to our existing homes. What cannot be corrected is the damage done by the tall and skinnization of our communities:

We can never get back the lost views. We cannot get back the big, magnificent old trees and the spacious yards. And, we can never get back the lost sunlight that the soaring, densely-packed tall and skinnies have taken from us.

Plus, the increased density is leading to traffic jams and noise pollution in once quiet neighborhoods.

BOB ADAMS

Redondo Beach