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Hermosa Beach council interviews six planning commission applicants; appointment set for Feb. 25 regular meeting
Summary
The Hermosa Beach City Council held a special meeting to interview six applicants for the Planning Commission. Candidates discussed land value recapture, Plan Hermosa, RHNA housing targets and local business impacts. The council will make an appointment at its regular meeting later Feb. 25.
Hermosa Beach City Council members on Feb. 25 interviewed six applicants for openings on the city’s Planning Commission and agreed the council will make an appointment during its regular meeting later that evening.
The interviews, held during a special meeting, focused on applicants’ experience and views on local planning issues including the city’s recently adopted land value recapture program, Plan Hermosa and the state Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) requirements. Council members asked each applicant a single, prearranged question in turn.
Candidates emphasized housing constraints, business vitality and a case-by-case approach to development. Andrea Giancolt, a Planning Commission applicant and former Public Works commissioner, said she was “dedicated, I’m passionate, and I bring balance and openness to the Planning Commission,” and cited prior service on the Green Belt accessibility project as an example of working through community opposition to expand access.
Eric Horn, another applicant, referenced RHNA figures in his answers and said, “RHNA has us on the hook for 558 units of housing by 2029,” noting mixed-use development along commercial corridors as one potential path to meeting state targets while also describing land value recapture as “controversial” and something the city should monitor over the next few years to see whether it incentivizes or discourages development.
Other applicants voiced similar themes: one applicant said Hermosa Beach is “pretty compact” and that decisions on density should respect Plan Hermosa’s community character areas; another urged simplifying the planning commission’s review of public art so staff can handle routine cases with commission review reserved for appeals; and several candidates described private-sector, urban-planning or nonprofit experience they said would help them evaluate development impacts and fiscal trade-offs.
Council members repeatedly asked applicants to weigh the pros and cons of land value recapture, a local program the council discussed and adopted in recent months. Applicants described potential benefits—raising funds for affordable housing and creating an incentive for some types of development—and potential drawbacks, including the possibility that fees could deter builders or shift development to jurisdictions without the charge.
No formal appointment was made at the special meeting. The City Clerk reported that one applicant, Josh Kaye, withdrew earlier in the day. The council announced the appointment would be acted on at the regular Council meeting later on Feb. 25.
The interviews took up a single agenda item and ran for roughly an hour; each council member asked the same question of each candidate, and public comment was not part of this special meeting. The Planning Commission appointment will be reflected in the minutes and staff reports for the regular meeting where the council votes.
