Council adopts FY 2026-27 budget; residents press county and city to address 50‑foot golf‑course nets

Rancho Palos Verdes — The City Council unanimously adopted the FY 2026-27 budget and five‑year capital improvement program on Tuesday after a final presentation from finance staff. The approved general fund budget totals roughly $42.8 million, a modest increase from the prior year, and the CIP includes about $31 million in projects, with right‑of‑way and landslide stabilization among the largest items.

Finance director Robert (presenting) summarized revenue and expenditure projections and emphasized the city's 50 percent reserve policy and ongoing efforts to pursue additional outside grants. "We are continuing to pursue over $136 million in landslide grants," he said, noting staff work to expand fiscal sustainability and consider local funding measures.

During public testimony, a group of neighbors from the LaCresta neighborhood urged the council to act on a separate infrastructure controversy: the installation in 2023 of 50‑foot poles and nets on the Los Verdes Golf Course that residents say obstruct ocean views and were installed without adequate notice or environmental review. "LA County installed these 50‑foot poles and nets without informing affected neighbors and without completing required environmental studies such as CEQA," said Marie Chura, president of the LaCresta HOA. Miriam Naya and Dan Kerobkin added that the measures were installed in response to a small number of safety complaints and that the community had not been broadly engaged.

City Manager Ara Marenian and council members responded that they are actively working with Los Angeles County and Supervisor Janice Hahn's office to identify funding and options, but they warned the required redesign and removal work will be costly. Marenian told the council the county's redesign estimate is about $1.2 million plus roughly $50,000 to remove the poles, and added that county legal counsel will not authorize pole removal until safety concerns are addressed. "This project has not been shelved," Marenian said. "We are working with the county and exploring funding; we may have to budget for this." He also said the city lacked eligibility for certain county grants and that CIP tradeoffs restricted adding the project this fiscal year.

Council members praised staff for extensive budget work over multiple meetings and described the adopted budget as a cautious compromise that balances reserves, CIP needs and ongoing landslide stabilization work. The council approved the budget, including transfers approved during prior workshops, and directed staff to continue pursuing grants and funding options for priority projects.

Next steps: Staff will post the budget book to the city website, pursue grant opportunities, and continue coordination with county officials about the LaCresta golf nets issue; council members offered to meet with neighborhood representatives for updates.