Community Center Plan Defeated

A controversial and longstanding plan to build a $1.5-million community center in Redondo Beach’s Alta Vista Park was defeated Tuesday by the City Council after park neighbors complained the center would exacerbate congestion and noise.

The center was to have been built with money from a special fund accumulated over the years from an assessment on the 1979 condominium conversion of the nearby Brookside Condominium project.

In an opinion last year, City Atty. Gordon C. Phillips advised the council that the assessment fund could only be used to build the community center, but residents in the area argued that the construction would use up valuable open space in the park and saddle the city with up to $100,000 a year in operating costs.

Councilwoman Barbara J. Doerr, whose South Redondo Beach district includes the park, had proposed a small center near the park’s tennis courts, but was voted down along with Councilman Steve Colin, on a 3-2 vote.

“No matter what you put there, it’ll create traffic,” argued Councilwoman Kay Horrell, who persuaded the council to seek court permission to use the money elsewhere.