Council backs pilot electronic directory in harbor, asks staff to refine city ordinance

The Redondo Beach City Council voted to allow a limited electronic directory pilot in the Harbor Pier area and told staff to return with a revised municipal code that clarifies how electronic message displays will be reviewed and approved.

Councilmember Lowenstein, who sponsored the referral, said the project began as a capital improvement budget item to update an existing waterfront sign and had grown into a broader review of electronic signage citywide. “My thought on this is it’s a one‑off,” Lowenstein said, urging the council to approve a modest pilot for wayfinding and directories rather than permitting large, billboard‑style displays across neighborhoods.

The action follows a public hearing and a multi‑hour staff presentation that detailed existing code language, which currently prohibits electronic message displays citywide except in limited public‑institution zones. Community Development Director Mark Weiner explained staff’s initial draft would have allowed electronic displays on “city owned property or public institutional zones” and would have used administrative design review for smaller signs and commission review for larger ones. Waterfront Economic Development Director Greg Kapovich said the immediate staff goal was to replace an aging kiosk near the International Boardwalk with updated display technology and to consider a small number of wayfinding kiosks whose mapped content can be updated as businesses change.

The planning commission had expressed broad concern about unrestricted, citywide electronic signage and urged limiting any new authority to waterfront locations and subjecting larger displays to commission review. After debate, the council directed staff to: (a) permit a narrow pilot for an electronic directory at the waterfront location identified in the staff report (the existing “kiosk”/Moldy site), (b) treat pedestrian and wayfinding kiosks as a separate category that can be handled administratively (with appeal mechanisms preserved), and (c) clarify the municipal code so that design review for waterfront installations goes to the Harbor Commission (the council further asked staff to ensure the code does not conflict on jurisdictional language). The council also continued the ordinance public hearing to Feb. 18 so staff can produce draft ordinance language and visuals.

Councilmembers emphasized limiting billboard‑style signs, preserving community character and minimizing driver distraction. Councilmember Barron asked staff to accelerate the single pilot sign and return with additional graphics and cost detail for future wayfinding installs. Director Kapovich and IT Director Mike Cook stated the pilot kiosk hardware has arrived and the selected display is a double‑sided 55‑inch unit roughly 6 feet tall, and that staff had budgeted an earlier CIP appropriation of about $100,000 for initial sign work. Staff said touchscreen functionality exists in the purchased equipment but will not be activated until the council approves a broader change to the code and entitlements.

What happens next: Staff will return with a draft ordinance and clarified code language that (1) limits the immediate change to the waterfront pilot sign(s), (2) establishes design‑review and appeal paths tied to the correct commission for harbor projects, and (3) defines a separate administrative pathway for small pedestrian wayfinding kiosks (with appeal rights). The council scheduled continuing the public hearing on Feb. 18; the pilot installation and a static updated kiosk are expected to proceed while the ordinance is finalized.

“Let’s get this sign advanced down at the waterfront,” Lowenstein said, noting the item began as a funded CIP and the harbor businesses need updated wayfinding. “If it works well… we can expand it at a later time.”