Redondo Beach commission picks five utility-box designs, assigns locations and sends recommendations to council

The Redondo Beach Cultural Arts Commission voted to recommend five utility-box wrap designs to city council and assigned locations for each design after a roughly 37‑minute discussion.

Commission staff presented 20 submitted designs and the scoring criteria — including the ‘‘moving car’’ test (simple, bold colors and no text), limited use of dark colors to avoid overheating, family friendliness, and showcasing aspects of Redondo Beach’s cultural and historic heritage — and recommended a process to rank and select five designs for council approval. Several commissioners raised concerns about some entries failing the moving car test or not following the submission template, and the commission marked several designs as ineligible before ranking the remainder.

The commission formally voted to recommend designs 1, 4, 6, 7 and 10 to the city council for approval; the motion passed with all members voting in favor. Afterward commissioners decided not to delay locations until council action and, by motion, recommended placement for each selected design across council districts: design 1 at Avenue I and Catalina (District 1); design 4 at Harbor and Redondo (District 2); design 6 at Prospect and Barrel (District 3); design 7 at Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Dow (District 5); and design 10 at Artesia and Ringe (District 4). That motion likewise carried with all members voting in favor.

Staff told commissioners that pricing shown on some submissions would not affect eligibility and that, for entries containing text (for example a design that included the words “Redondo Beach”), the commission could approve a design on the condition that the artist remove the text before production. The commission also discussed technical issues tied to wraps: some artists had not supplied art formatted to the required template and staff adjusted composites to illustrate how a submitted image would wrap on five sides of a box; commissioners said artists should be asked to resubmit correctly formatted files when needed. Commissioners noted there are many unwrapped utility boxes citywide and that selections may continue in upcoming meetings as more boxes are wrapped.

Gary (city staff) led the presentation and the ranking process. Commissioners deliberated eligibility and then used a points-based ranking to pick five finalists. After scores were compiled by staff, a motion to recommend the five designs passed; commissioners later moved to send the designs and site recommendations to council together so construction and permitting could proceed more quickly if council approves.

The commission did not finalize production contracts or installation dates; both depend on council approval and subsequent scheduling. Staff said that some boxes are Caltrans-owned and therefore not eligible, and commissioners adjusted recommended locations accordingly. The commission also agreed that if council approves a design containing text, they could require the artist to remove the text as a condition of approval.

Commissioners also discussed community outreach to locate artists and to match designs to high‑visibility sites, and asked staff to share the list of boxes and district boundaries to help match future selections to neighborhood priorities.