King Harbor is Revamping Its Public Amenities with Resident Input

The city of Redondo Beach reached out to the community for input on the decades-old waterfront debate for the first time in four years. As a result, the goal of the King Harbor Amenities Plan is to put recreational areas, such as Seaside Lagoon and the Sportfishing Pier, at the forefront of the revitalization of the harbor.

REDONDO BEACH— On Feb. 14, The Harbor Commission of King Harbor in Redondo Beach held a virtual meeting to discuss the King Harbor Public Amenities plan, process, and timeline. This is the first inquiry for public input on waterfront issues since 2017, when voters passed a measure that blocked a developer, limited waterfront uses, and spawned a series of lawsuits.

At the Feb. 7 working group meeting, SWA, an LA-based landscape architecture group, presented sketch drawings of the various public amenities and incorporated options for items such as pedestrian paths, bicycle lanes added to main pedestrian routes, directional signage, entrance identifiers, ADA accessible paths, and waterfront access by type of user. The public is now being asked to provide input at the upcoming March 7 meeting. In addition, you can submit input on the plan to khamenitiesplan.com.

The following Public Amenities Plan outreach efforts have been completed:

· Sunday, Feb. 20: Pop-up at Riviera Village Farmers Market

· Saturday, Feb. 26: Pop-up at Perry Park.

The March 7 meeting is the second community meeting that will be an opportunity for the consultant team and the city to provide an overview of the key takeaways and priorities received from the first outreach meeting, the pop-up events, and the public’s submitted input.

During the March 7 meeting, SWA will summarize what they heard from the survey, pop-ups, and online meeting and begin organizing at a high level how the received input can be applied to the Public Amenities Plan. This meeting’s presentation materials will be anticipated to include diagrams, imagery, and sketches. There will also be an opportunity for the community to provide feedback on developing the preliminary plan recommendations. It is anticipated that SWA will share a draft of the Public Amenities Plan at the third community meeting in April 2022. In addition, SWA will continue to gather community input through pop-ups, community meetings, and surveys.

Harbor Commission President Roger Carlson noted that the board would like to see a new educational feature added, like the now-closed Sea Lab across from the AES power plant.

As for Moonstone Park in Redondo Beach, Carlson remarked that the city currently has the money to put in restrooms and add landscaping. The funding comes from Chevron’s $2.4 million award after unloading large coker drums at the park more than ten years ago for an El Segundo refinery project.

Funding for the project has been assessed as well.

“Funding is not a specific part of this planning process; however, the consultant team includes a firm to accomplish cost estimation,” said Mark Hansen, a King Harbor Representative. in an email from Feb 21. “Some components do already have identifiable funding sources:

Mole B – $2.4 M remaining from a contribution from Chevron from a past project.

Seaside Lagoon – $10M secured from the State. Boat Ramp – Matching grants from the CA Div. of Boating and Waterways are specifically available for ramps. Funding sources could also likely be identified for the Sportsfishing Pier, Dry Boat Storage, etc.”

According to the press release sent out, the King Harbor Amenities Plan will focus on:

-A public boat launch ramp

-Mast up dry boat storage

-Seaside lagoon replacement

-Potential new sportfishing pier

-Dinghy dock for moorings field

– Hand launching/ zero-depth entry

-Intl. boardwalk and basin 3/ Dock and Dine

-Mole B: Outriggers and centerboard sailboats

“The lack of a boat ramp and dry boat storage have been two conspicuous omissions over the last 60 years,” said Hansen. “In 2010, when the Coastal Commission realized that we had never provided a boat ramp, they directed: “A public boat launch ramp shall be constructed in association with future development projects within the Harbor area.” The Coastal Commission could potentially similarly direct the addition of dry boat storage. A Mole B Master Plan, approved by the City Council in 2012, included an area for the storage of small centerboard sailboats to be hand-launched with dollies down a gangway. Keelboat storage could logically be located adjacent to the new boat ramp.”

The plan will also focus on the International Boardwalk. The International Boardwalk includes a line of casual restaurants and bars along the eastern edge of Basin 3, King Harbor’s smallest basin to the south. The hoist is located there as well.

“There seems to be a consensus that this would be a good area for Dock & Dine,” said Hansen. “Yes, this would be an area where boaters could arrive either on their primary boats or in their dinghies to come ashore to eat. This would attract both local boaters and visitors from other harbors, using our moorings.”

Mole B is one of the four land fingers, A, B, C, D, that separate the three basins, 1, 2, 3.

It is currently home to the Harbor Patrol and the Outrigger Canoe Clubs.

For decades, boaters have recommended that a permanent home be established for the Outriggers, and this is another project that will be addressed under the Amenities plan.

The Seaside Lagoon replacement could possibly include a lap pool; however, such a pool would not be coastal-related and could alternatively be located at other locations further inland. A Wave Pool and or a Scuba Training pool have been suggested as well.

According to Carlson, the city has a nine-month contract with SWA, and the first half has been completed. SWA has gathered community desires and put together design options to accommodate those desires. SWA will present a final report to the city by June, with these designs and community input. That presentation is expected to inform the city council what area residents want.

Minor projects can begin development by the city within existing harbor budgets. For example, Moonstone Park has over $2m in existing funding for improvements. The seaside lagoon is likely to be the most significant project, with more design work to come and more funding to be raised. The boat ramp is not currently funded.

“As an area-wide facility, I’d expect many possible sources for funding, from city to county to state to even federal,” said Carlson.

A basic timeline of the outreach and approval process is shown online at www.khamenitiesplan.com.

The Harbor Commission will get an update at their next meeting on Monday, March 14, at 7:00 pm.

https://redondo.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

According to Hansen, the City Council is tentatively scheduled to receive a plan for consideration by June 2022.

You can register for the next meeting on March 14 at www.khamenitiesplan.com or email [email protected].