Redondo Beach council, staff outline priorities: waterfront, Measure FP, economic vitality

Redondo Beach City Council and city staff met in a recessed strategic planning workshop at the Main Library on May 13, 2025, to review accomplishments, refine the city’s three‑year goals and direct staff on a set of near‑term objectives. The meeting consisted of introductions, an extensive review of departmental achievements over the prior 12 months, a SWOT discussion and a line‑by‑line conversation about proposed strategic goals and possible objectives.

The council identified economic vitality — including targeted work on the Artesia Boulevard corridor, the waterfront and the PCH corridor — as the leading area for near‑term action, followed by implementation of Measure FP to build or modernize police and fire facilities. Other recurring priorities were public safety operations and wellness programs, homelessness and mental‑health response, improvements to permitting and customer‑facing digital services, and infrastructure/asset management such as park and facility inventories.

“If this strategic plan looks like it could belong to any city, then it’s not us,” said Jane (strategic planning consultant), urging the council to make the goals specific to Redondo Beach. Council members and department directors then discussed concrete items under each goal: marketing and leasing strategy for waterfront opportunity sites (including the Fun Factory site and pads along the marina), design and entitlement work for the Seaside Lagoon and boat launch, and an active program to execute the Artesia Corridor Action Plan (ACAP). City staff emphasized phasing and resource constraints.

Measure FP, the council’s public safety facilities bond measure, was treated as a program‑level priority. Staff outlined near‑term steps: selection of a program/bond manager, development of an acquisition and site strategy and coordination with the city’s municipal advisor on timing for bond issuance. Council members noted the cost sensitivity of delaying bond issuance, and staff said they would return with a recommended schedule tied to market and bond law developments.

Public comment reflected the workshop themes. Jim Mueller, a District 5 resident, urged the council to “go after the businesses we want” on Artesia rather than waiting for the market to select tenants. Roger Carlson, speaking as a member of the Harbor Commission, urged continued harbor patrol attention in the North Basin and support for harbor leasing and slip‑removal projects. Staff answered questions about project timelines and funding sources and said many of the projects under discussion are already budgeted or in the CIP, while others will require new funding or grant pursuit.

Policy and process outcomes: city staff will draft concrete objectives under each high‑level goal, estimate resource needs, and return to the council with a proposed prioritized list and timelines. The administration indicated it will bring back a refined, staff‑annotated plan for council review in May 2025 (for approval) and suggested a longer check‑in on progress in early 2026 or March 2026 to review execution and reprioritize if needed.

Votes and formal actions recorded during the meeting’s preliminary items included motions to approve the agenda and receive and file two blue folder items; those procedural motions carried unanimously with the consent calendar vote recorded as 5–0. The council also recessed the public council meeting to the library for the strategic planning workshop, a motion that passed on the floor.

What’s next: staff will (1) convert the workshop goals into a concise set of objectives, (2) annotate each objective with an owner department, estimated budget impact and near‑term milestone, and (3) return the draft objectives for council review and public comment at the next available meeting cycle. The council asked staff to highlight objectives that require new funding and to produce a realistic implementation timeline rather than a long checklist of aspirational items.

At the workshop’s close Mayor Jim Light thanked participants and asked staff to incorporate commission input, public comments and the council’s direction into the next draft of objectives to be delivered for council review.