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Hermosa Beach commissions warn of growing backlog, prioritize pier, city yard, windows and stormwater work
Summary
Public works staff told the joint Public Works and Parks & Recreation commissions that constrained staffing and limited new funds leave the city with an urgent list of high‑priority repairs — including the pier and city yard — while recommending two projects be deferred and bringing a long list of unfunded needs to council.
Hermosa Beach’s Public Works director told two advisory commissions on May 5 that the city’s capital improvement program (CIP) is at a critical inflection point: staff capacity and available funds, both strained, are forcing the city to prioritize safety and core infrastructure repairs over new enhancements.
"Staffing and funding remains very constrained," Public Works Director Joe San Clemente said as he opened a detailed review of the proposed FY 2026–27 CIP. He told the joint meeting of the Public Works and Parks & Recreation commissions that the department is at or over capacity for the next two fiscal years and that "deferring projects is no longer a sustainable strategy."
Why it matters: San Clemente’s presentation identified a short list of projects that must be advanced — the pier, the city yard, community center window replacement and critical pavement and sewer work — while flagging a much longer set of deferred and unfunded needs. Administrative Services Director Brandon Walker summarized the fiscal context, saying the city has been living off one‑time COVID and vacancy savings and now faces a structural gap in the…
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