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Council hears update on stormwater-capture projects; Fulton Playfield project faces $5.6M shortfall
Summary
Staff briefed the council on the city's stormwater capture program, regional projects and funding shortfalls; the Fulton Playfield infiltration project is nearly designed but needs an estimated $5.6 million more to proceed to construction.
The Redondo Beach City Council received an update Feb. 4 on the city's stormwater capture policy and projects, including neighborhood-scale low-impact development measures and larger regional efforts embedded in the city's Watershed Management Program (WIMP).
Public Works and engineering staff described private-property low-impact development (LID) tools such as infiltration galleries, permeable pavers, bioswales and dry wells, and showed completed examples including an infiltration system installed under Veterans Park. "These are typically installed under the frontage landscape areas of private properties and capture the stormwater before it's discharged into the street or gutter," presenter Geraldine Trivedi said.
Staff also reviewed larger, multi-agency regional projects. The Los Angeles County-led Alondra Park stormwater-capture project is under construction with a reported total cost of about $70 million; Redondo Beach is listed as a project partner and will receive capture credits. The Fulton Playfield regional project has design nearly complete and received a recommended regional grant of $4.3 million, but staff reported a construction funding shortfall of approximately $5.6 million that must be filled before the project can be bid and built.
"The project design is almost complete, probably 95% there and ready for competitive bidding," Trivedi said. "However, there is a significant construction funding shortfall of approximately $5,600,000. Staff is currently pursuing additional funding from the Safe Clean Water program."
Council members asked staff to pursue multiple funding streams and to explore smaller, lower-cost LID opportunities that can be paired with development activity. Mayor Mary Light and others praised staff for progress to date and stressed a pragmatic approach: continue seeking regional grants while also investigating policy changes that make LID measures a routine part of redevelopment and new construction approvals.
Council member Barrett asked whether staff could study incentives or requirements that capture runoff when homes or commercial properties are scraped and rebuilt. City staff said that the ongoing general-plan Phase 2 work and related impact-fee studies are an appropriate place to analyze revisions to thresholds and permitting that would broaden LID requirements or create in-lieu fees.
Staff recommended several possible next steps for council consideration, including: directing discretionary capital resources to unfunded WIMP projects; updating city administrative policy and municipal code thresholds so more development triggers LID measures; codifying an in-lieu fee for applicants who do not provide onsite capture; pursuing additional grant funding; and studying a potential dedicated fee to fund future capture projects.
The council provided direction to staff to continue pursuing grant funding, to incorporate stormwater-capture policy considerations into the general-plan Phase 2 work, and to return with cost estimates and proposed policy options.
