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Redondo Beach Council adopts housing-element and zoning amendments to keep state certification
Summary
Council amended the 6-cycle housing element and approved related zoning changes after coordination with the state housing department (HCD), replacing affordable-housing overlay districts on its identified sites with specific mixed-use and high-density zones and adjusting per-site densities; council cited the need to preserve local control and avoid developer remedies.
The Redondo Beach City Council adopted a resolution and introduced two implementing ordinances to amend the city's six-cycle housing element and related zoning, a step staff said was necessary to keep the plan certified by the state and preserve local land-use control.
City planning manager Sean Skolley told council the package replaces the city's prior affordable-housing overlay districts on five identified housing sites with more prescriptive zoning—mixed-use housing, high-density residential and commercial-regional housing—with higher allowable densities on several parcels. Skolley said HCD had reviewed the draft and issued a substantial-compliance letter on March 13. "Having a compliant and certified housing element is important to retaining some level of local control," the city manager added in remarks introducing the item.
Key changes include increasing maximum densities on multiple sites from about 55 dwelling units per acre to 65 DU/acre on several parcels and up to 80 DU/acre at the South Bay marketplace site; staff also removed one site (North Tech) from the list. Under the new mixed-use designations, 50% of future development floor area on some properties would have to be residential.
Residents and others addressed council during the public hearing; commenters urged scrutiny of state RHNA allocations and sought assurances about affordable housing production. Planners said the amendments do not immediately change existing buildings'owners' rights but do establish new development standards for future proposals.
Council action: After discussion and public comment, the council adopted by title the resolution approving the environmental addendum, introduced ordinance CC-3311-26 and ordinance CC-3312-26 for first reading and voted unanimously to proceed. Council members emphasized the work staff and HCD had done to align the city's documents and said the changes were intended to avoid the state's "builder's remedy" and preserve as much local discretion as possible.
Next steps: Staff will finalize the ordinances for formal readings as required and file the adopted amendments with HCD to maintain certification.
Provenance: Topic introduction and summary of amendments: SEG 2241-2250 (Sean Skolley presentation); HCD compliance letter referenced: SEG 2461-2469; council motion and vote to adopt and introduce ordinances: SEG 3039-3068; final readouts and ordinance titles: SEG 3139-3171.
