Council to Reconsider Mole B Draft

The Redondo Beach City Council is set to consider a revised draft of the Mole B Master Plan at its July 5 meeting, according to City Manager Bill Workman. The councilmen sent the initial proposed draft back to staff after a contentious meeting in May. (See attached document for materials from May meeting.)

At the City Council meeting, local residents—including boaters—were not happy with what many claim was an 11th-hour action to officially designate an emergency helicopter landing zone at the existing Harbor Patrol facilities, especially because in the original master plan presented to the City Council, the landing zone took away space for mast-up boat storage.

Mole B, also known as Moonstone Park, takes up about 1.46 acres at the end of Marine Way in King Harbor. The Redondo Beach Harbor Patrol is building a new facility at the north end of the mole.

"We are not talking about Grand Central Park," said Councilman Steve Aspel. "It a very small pie and everyone wants a piece of it. The problem is that there is just not enough of the pie to go around."  

Besides the area set aside for emergency helicopter landings, the draft plan presented at the council meeting called for a new Harbor Patrol facility, a new outrigger canoe club storage facility, open park space, a public launch ramp, a coastal overlook, parking, a covered area that could be used as an outdoor classroom, new restrooms with an outdoor shower and mast-up boat storage. In November, the City Council approved construction of a $1.8 million new Harbor Patrol facility, including a third fire station, on the site of the existing modular facilities on Mole B.

Contrary to boaters' belief that the helicopter landing zone was a last-minute addition, Redondo Beach Fire Chief Dan Madrigal said the request for an emergency landing zone was issued at the beginning of negotiations last year.

"I was at the very first meeting and made it clear that we wanted to maintain the same open space we have always used in the past for lifesaving emergencies," said Madrigal.

The chief said there are some emergencies where a land ambulance is not sufficient. In those rare occasions when a life was in peril, Madrigal said the department wanted to be able continue to land a helicopter on the grassy area of Mole B—just like it had done for years before.

The city held several meetings with stakeholders—including boaters and members of the two outrigger canoe clubs based on Mole B—about the master plan over an eight-month period.

Apparently, city staff and stakeholders worked out a compromise; however, it did not include enough space for the landing zone, and staff revised the plan again. According to  Madrigal, the problems began when the architect drew a circle with the word "helipad" in a grassy area in the revised plan.

"People started to envision a dedicated cement helipad with flashing lights and God knows what else," said Madrigal. "There was never intent on the part of the Fire Department to slide this in at the last minute and there are no plans for a dedicated helipad. We just want to keep doing what we have been doing—landing here in the rare occasion when it is a matter of life and death."

Aspel called the issue "a big misunderstanding."

"Chief [Madrigal] did nothing wrong," he said.

Plans to revitalize Mole B began after voters approved the Redondo Beach Coastal Land Use Plan (CLUP) on Nov. 2, 2010. According to the CLUP, essential recreational boating facilities are missing from King Harbor. The plan says recreational boaters should have additional boating use dry storage areas, public launching facilities and other boating support facilities. It also supports the protection and upgrade of commercial fishing and recreational boating facilities in King Harbor.

"King Harbor is Redondo’s crown jewel, but it’s lacking some vital lower cost recreational boating facilities, such as small craft dry storage and launch ramp for those who unable to afford a marina slip or have a trailer-able boat," said Sean Guthrie, the vice president of King Harbor Marina.

At the City Council meeting, King Harbor Boaters Advisory Panel Chairman Mark Hansen presented councilmen with several recommendations, including scrapping the plan for an emergency helicopter landing zone and reestablishing the mast-up dry boat storage, as well as not allowing the public to use the proposed hand-launch.

"It is essential that we have enough dry storage and launch ramps if sailing is going to regain momentum," said Hansen. "We have done a lousy job of growing sailing from the bottom up and further limiting dry storage will perpetuate that."  

Hansen also recommended the addition of a splash wall instead of a coastal overlook.

Though the Council approved of Hansen's recommendation for a splash wall, it nixed the idea of closing the hand-launch to the public. According to councilmen, making the hand-launch available to the public is a requirement of the California Coastal Commission.

In addition to replacing the coastal overlook with a splash wall, the City Council directed staff to modify the proposed draft to allow the helicopter landing zone, the mast-up boat storage, the outrigger canoe facilities and other requirements. In order to fit everything, councilmen said the staff may reduce the amount of open space from the Recreation and Parks Commission's recommendation of 40 percent to the Coastal Commission's required minimum of 33 percent.

Aspel seemed resigned to the fact that there will ultimately be disagreements over the final plan, too. "The more people we try to accommodate in this process, the more people that are going to be upset," he said. "In the end, no one will be happy."