Harbor Commission Seeking Public Input on Harbor Business Plan

* In the article, it was originally mentioned that the next meeting date was April 20, but the correct date is April 21.

The Harbor Business Plan Subcommittee continued to take public input during the Harbor Commission meeting held Monday night at the City Chambers.

The subcommittee — which consists of Shane Michael, Harbor Commission chairman and Harbor Commissioners Tarek Shaer and Tony Cignarale — held a public forum March 30 to hear opinions and concerns from Redondo Beach residents and other stakeholders regarding the Harbor Business Plan and revitalizations ideas for the city's 150 acres of waterfront property.

Another forum is scheduled on April 21 before the commission puts together a report for the City Council, and the subcommittee expressed their enthusiasm Monday, to collect as many comments as possible till then.   

Several comments were raised from the audience during the Monday meeting, and the majority of them condemned the city for not treating the harbor business owners as partners and not giving them a more active role in the process.

Judy Miller, owner of Shark Attack, a souvenir store on the pier, said that the various studies done by the city have only brought in a string of increase in non-commercial space, shorter leases and no upgrades of the facilities.

"The point we are at now is the tipping point," Miller said. "First, we had a bad economy. The fact that we have the businesses surviving out there is kind of a miracle. And part of that is the true love of Redondo Beach and Redondo Beach harbor."

"We have a group of people on the harbor and on the pier who truly want to [Harbor Business Plan] to go and they want to contribute to it. But I don't feel that we are considered part of the team, we are just considered ants," she said. 

Sean Guthrie, vice president of Marina Cove Ltd., which operates King Harbor Marina, said that the city should be not only a governmental regulator and landlord, but also a partner since it profits from the harbor business revenue.

He also said that the Plan currently lacks overall vision and direction.

"We clearly want to improve the harbor area," said Guthrie. "But, what is it going to look like at the end of the day? Hopefully we can at least have that."

The next Harbor Business Plan Subcommittee's public forum will be held April 21 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Redondo Beach Public Library. 

For those who wish to comments on the Harbor Business Plan may also send an e-mail to harborbusinessplan@redondo.org