South Bay Echo for Jan 21

Highrise in El Porto, shaming local pols, higher electric bills and Wilderness Park planting day

Hello friends… Welcome to the 20th edition of South Bay Echo, your source of local hometown news with a real estate angle.

This Substack is brought to you by Rosetree Real Estate, a full service real estate brokerage dealing in residential and commercial properties to both own and lease. For more information visit RosetreeRealEstate.com. DRE# 02145024

Highrose or high-RISE in El Porto?

Rendering by Withee Malcolm Architects

Now here’s a loophole that will turn heads. Developer Frank Buckley has applied to build a 4-story, 50 foot tall apartment building at the northeast corner of Rosecrans and Highland, according to the Daily Breeze. The project drastically surpasses height and density limits, which residents say is severely out of place.

The proposed apartment building is called Highrose El Porto. It could as well be called Highrise El Porto. I guess that wouldn’t be good publicity.

And get this: The project won’t be subject to public review unless somebody appeals the application for $500.

That’s right. The Planning Commission won’t even be allowed to weigh in, all because the project includes six units set aside for “very low income” households.

Without the utilization of a state density bonus law the developer could only build 51 units. This incentive allows 79 units. So basically, the developer can throw six units away for individuals earning up to $41,000 per year, while gaining this giant building with 24 more units than otherwise would have been allowed. This density bonus law has been in place in California since 2013.

For this project, the Manhattan Beach Community Development Director will have the sole decision-making authority to approve or deny it. She’ll make her ruling next month.

After that, somebody must appeal the project — pay the city $500 — to be heard by the Planning Commission and the City Council if it’s appealed further. There is a Change.org petition that has gained close to 2,000 signatures already.

For more about the project see this city of Manhattan Beach page.

Ballot initiative to restore local control

Overhead Hermosa Beach (Photo by David Rosenfeld)

There is one way to prevent projects like the Highrose El Porto and the laws that make it possible: You can support the ballot initiative planned for the November 2022 election called Our Neighborhood Voices.

The initiative would put local elected officials back in control of land use decisions, ending the ever-increasing creep of Sacramento. It would establish that any city or county land use or zoning laws override conflicting state law.

Local governments would be allowed to ignore unpopular state laws passed in recent years like one to allow duplexes on single-family lots and another permitting accessory dwelling units. The density bonus law is another one.

This week the LA Times Editorial Board wrote a column shaming local politicians such as Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand, for spearheading the initiative. They said the state laws “ease local restrictions that make it harder, if not impossible, to build.” They asked, “How can we ever create enough housing for all people, at various income levels, when so much of it is set aside only for single-family homes?”

Here’s what the LA Times Editorial Board and so many Democratic politicians can’t seem to get through their heads: We live in the beach cities at the edge of a continent. They aren’t making any more of it.

Southern California has the best weather in the entire world. The population is increasing. There is no shortage of people who want to live here so we are never going to build enough housing to meet this insatiable demand. Living near the ocean is not a right: It’s a privilege.

I am all for building more affordable housing, but the Highrose El Porto is a perfect example of how out of whack these incentive programs are. Here it’s being used for no other reason than a loophole to build bigger. These laws need to be scaled back or the South Bay coastline is going to look like Miami Beach.

Join the effort at OurNeighborhoodVoices.org.

Edison bills higher for unknown reasons

Power lines in Redondo Beach along 190th.

Redondo Beach City Councilman Todd Loewenstein noticed unusually high electric bills this month from Southern California Edison. Turns out he’s not alone. But the electric company has yet to explain the reasoning.

Loewenstein expects to get an answer sometime soon from the company’s government relations person. Until then, he and many others are left wondering why electric bills have more than doubled in some cases.

Many have supposed it could be due to peak hour pricing. Perhaps the switch to more clean generating power is at play. At this point, it’s not really clear to anyone. A little communication from the company would be nice.

Help plant trees at Wilderness Park

The once thriving lower pond at Wilderness Park. (Courtesy City of Redondo Beach)

The South Bay Parkland Conservancy is looking for volunteers Sunday, Jan. 17, to plant trees and shrubs at Wilderness Park.

This local nonprofit, founded in 2017, has led the effort to restore Wilderness Park and enhance this vital community resource. If you haven’t been to the park in many years, you might have been shocked to see how much the park was allowed to deteriorate.

Along with planting more native trees and shrubs, the group has spurred the revitalization of the lower pond, once a cherished playground for young kids including myself. The pond has sadly been dry for years.

The group expects to prep and plant between 100 and 200 plants in two sessions, one from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and another from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Click here to sign up.

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