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Neighbors urge Hermosa Beach to oppose 50‑foot development using "builder's remedy"; city outlines review process
Summary
Residents urged the City Council to oppose a proposed 50‑foot, five‑unit development on Palm Drive they say would exceed long‑standing 30‑foot residential height limits; city staff and the city attorney explained the planning, appeal and Coastal Commission steps and noted state "builder's remedy" rules may affect local authority.
Dozens of neighbors and property owners told the Hermosa Beach City Council on March 11 they oppose a proposed five‑story apartment project on North Hermosa's Palm Drive that would exceed the city's 30‑foot residential height limit.
Multiple speakers identified the project property by address and raised similar concerns: the development would reach about 50 feet, would block sunlight for adjoining homes, would add parking pressure to narrow alleys and risk changing the character of the neighborhood. "It would be bad enough if locals did this, but part‑time residents from another country are using the builder's remedy law to defy ordinances such as zoning and height restrictions," said Rory Barish, a neighbor. Anna Jung, who said she has lived next door for 37 years, told the council the building would "totally block the sun to our house in the winter" and cause mold and mildew problems.
Several speakers urged the city to seek stronger protections from the Coastal Commission and to explore whether the city can deny the project on coastal or health‑and‑safety grounds. Neighbors asked the city to delay the planning hearing and provide complete project files in person; speakers said recent procedural changes had limited public access to some planning documents.
City Attorney representatives and staff described the normal approval flow: development applications are reviewed by the Planning Department, go to the Planning Commission and can be appealed or "called up" by two council members for a city public hearing; if the city approves a project that conflicts with state housing law, the developer may then take the proposal to the California Coastal Commission as part of the builder's remedy and state housing processes. The city attorney said the Coastal Commission review is outside city control. "That is their purview, not ours," the city attorney said, while also urging the council to avoid substantive public comments on pending applications until any formal appeal or call‑up is before the council.
Why it matters: Residents said the project would be the first 50‑foot residential building in Hermosa Beach and could set a precedent that changes neighborhood scale and livability. Several speakers urged the council to explore legal arguments to oppose or condition the development before it reaches the Coastal Commission. City staff said neighbors can review files during business hours and that two council members may call a Planning Commission decision up for council review.
Provenance: topicintro: {"block_id":"block_6439.96","local_start":0,"local_end":120,"evidence_excerpt":"My name is Anna Jung. I live, next door to a, proposed project at 3550... We live at 3422 Hermosa Avenue. This is Brian Chung, right? And we've lived there for 37 years. And there's a proposed ... it's supposedly approved at 50 feet and a half, which is twice as tall as our house.","reason_code":"topicintro"}, topicfinish: {"block_id":"block_9360.85","local_start":0,"local_end":140,"evidence_excerpt":"I think it might help you all a lot to understand what's going on with it all. Do some research about Builders Remedy. Find out about it. Either form and join or join a group that is working on this already. And and try and educate yourselves about what Builders Remedy is and why it's here and and so on.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}},
