South Bay Echo for June 24
Pot shop bust, transitional housing on PCH, AES site owner sues Redondo and Riviera Festival returns
Hello friends… Welcome to the 34th edition of South Bay Echo, your source of local hometown news with a real estate angle.
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Redondo busts pot shop
Proving it’s about 20 years behind the times, Redondo Beach Police busted an “illegal” cannabis dispensary last week. The unauthorized pot shop on Artesia Boulevard operated off and on for years. The city shut them down several times only to see them reopen under different names. I thought the city had given up. The shop serves a robust local clientele and neighbors would hardly know it’s there. But apparently some complained.
Last week, City Manager Mike Witzansky shared a message from Police Chief Joe Hoffman (which was then posted on a Redondo Beach Facebook page) that police seized a large quantity of marijuana and 23 pounds of psychedelic mushrooms, which researchers are proving more and more to have beneficial traits for mental health.
Gosh it seems like the early 90s again. The only reason this shop is “illegal” is because the leadership of Redondo Beach decided to outlaw dispensaries since they were approved by California voters for medical purposes back in 1996 and recreational purposes in 2016. That’s 26 years for Redondo Beach to come to its senses. But meanwhile we have countless liquor stores on almost every corner. Probably the same guys who busted this pot shop casually cruised up to a liquor aisle over the weekend and bought a big bottle of poison.
Ask yourself now which substance is more harmful. I say give the people what they want. That dispensary on Artesia did a huge business for a reason: because people wanted it. If the city doesn’t approve dispensaries soon, the voters will do it for them.
Transitional housing on PCH
There’s been a lot of hubbub recently among neighbors over a 20-unit motel on PCH (the Pacific Coast Inn) being converted into homeless transitional housing under the state’s Homekey program.
Word over the project has generated the typical knee-jerk response from the NIMBY crowd calling it a homeless shelter. More than 100 people reportedly showed up to complain at a recent meeting by local Councilman Nils Nehrenheim.
In actuality, this type of housing will help clean up our streets and provide the needed support for those who want it. Recipients will pay rent and are expected to respect neighbors. There is also an assortment of supportive services they can access.
This is not housing for someone picked directly off the street. Those folks will first go to the Pallet shelter or another immediate homeless shelter. Nehrenheim said the motel will be for veterans, people with Section 8 housing, victims of domestic violence or those living in their cars, according to the Daily Breeze.
AES site owner sues Redondo
Well, here’s an interesting move by the owners of the AES site, which if you remember was purchased in 2018 by a conglomerate spearheaded by the young and brash Leo Pustilnikov. First reported by Rescue Our Waterfront, the AES site owners have sued the city of Redondo Beach in attempt to force it to approve new zoning on the site for a housing project.
This comes at an odd time because development on the site really isn’t an issue right now as the power plant still pollutes our neighborhood. And it goes against positions the developer has taken before. In recent years Pustilnikov and company argued to keep the power plant generating as the Public Utilities Commission kept granting extensions. The plant was supposed to have shut down already.
Pustilnikov also said that he didn’t intend to build housing on the site, which has already been rejected twice by voters in different ways. Instead, he talked about a mixed-use development with retail, restaurants and a hotel, maybe some short term stays.
The lawsuit aims to compel the city to accept a housing plan at the site based on its state-issued requirement to zone for more units called the “regional housing needs assessment.” Pustilnikov, as well the city’s own planning commission by a 5-2 vote, recommend the City Council designate up to half of the 51-acre AES site for mixed-use development with 30 dwelling units per acre. Pustilnikov has talked about housing units at the former SEA Lab property, which they own as well.
Riviera Summer Festival this week
The much-beloved Riviera Summer Festival returns to South Redondo Beach’s Riviera Village this weekend for the first time since 2019. Carnival rides, food trucks and live music kick off at 4 p.m. Friday and continue through the weekend. Also enjoy over 200 arts and craft tents. For more visit RVSummerFestival.com.
Correction from last issue
Luke Carlson survived being shot twice in the chest and once in the back while unarmed by Redondo Beach Police Officers. My original post stated that he died. I apologize for the mistake.
All for now… thanks for reading. If you like it please share it and comment.
Transitional housing on PCH. Assuming these people were down on their luck and not crippled by addictions the question is how long may a person stay in the transitional locale? It's a hard act to follow housing on PCH. Rooms advertised for rent in SFR are higher than a cat's back. As the favored mantra says the "root causes" include strangling regulations for construction. It's a point of pride to say, "I stay in [beach city].". Where will the residents be able to afford to move after transitional housing?