Tuesday night's City Council meeting had a bit of everything: a heartfelt tribute to one of Hermosa's most familiar civic voices, a long-simmering fight over vacation rentals that finally came to a head, and a feel-good update from a beloved local club celebrating its 90th year.
The council opened the evening by honoring former Mayor George Schmeltzer, who died August 1 at 87, alongside his wife, Stephanie Crane, who died July 16 at 76. Crane's daughter read a family statement thanking the community for the recognition and remembering her mother as a tough, warm-hearted woman who spent decades helping patients and families as a hospital advocate.
Schmeltzer served on the City Council in the late 1970s and early '80s and twice as mayor, but longtime residents said his real legacy was the half-century of showing up that followed: fighting a proposed oil drilling operation in town, working to protect school properties from development, volunteering for local school bond campaigns, and spending nearly 20 years supporting health and wellness programs through the Beach Cities Health District.
Council members and several former mayors took turns sharing memories. Former Mayor Jim Rosenberger, who considered Schmeltzer a mentor for more than 50 years, said the lesson he'd drawn from him was one every elected official could stand to remember: "It is quite possible to disagree with each other, but not to be disagreeable, to where when the issue is over and the meeting's over, you go out and share a drink with that person that you were just disagreeing with. And George was able to do that, and that's something we can all benefit from."
Mayor Pro Tem Michael Keegan remembered Schmeltzer as a regular at the bakery Keegan used to own, and recalled the two of them working together to organize the campaign against oil drilling in town, right down to signing the paperwork to form the campaign committee at the bakery's counter.
The most moving tribute came from Planning Commissioner Steve Izant, a close friend of Schmeltzer's for decades, who choked up recounting the pair's travels together around the world, including two treks to Everest base camp in Nepal, trips through the Indian Himalayas, and journeys to Syria, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Spain and Turkey. He shared photos from the road, including one of the two of them holding a "Keep Hermosa Hermosa" sign at Everest base camp, a nod to the local movement they'd fought alongside each other to stop oil drilling in town. Izant closed by describing a framed photo he'd signed "pals forever" and brought to Schmeltzer just before he was hospitalized in his final days.
The consistent theme, from colleagues and rivals alike, was that George Schmeltzer simply never stopped participating in his town, and that Hermosa Beach was better for it.
The council also took up one of the thorniest issues on its plate this year: what to do about short-term vacation rentals, like Airbnbs, in the coastal part of town.
For years, Hermosa has banned most short-term rentals near the beach. But a court ruling earlier this year found that the city never properly got that ban approved by the California Coastal Commission, which regulates development along the coast, meaning the prohibition can't be enforced right now. Rentals have effectively been operating in a gray area ever since, with the city unable to collect much in the way of taxes or fees from them.
That lawsuit, brought by a property owner cited for running an unpermitted rental, was formally put to rest earlier in the same meeting: the council reported it had settled the case, agreeing to cover the owner's legal costs in exchange for closing out the litigation. It was a quiet coda to the case that forced Tuesday's bigger policy debate.
After a lengthy debate, the council voted 3-2 to allow short-term rentals to continue in the coastal zone, but under new rules requiring owners to register with the city, get a business license, and pay hotel taxes, with staff enforcing basic noise and nuisance standards. The council plans to revisit the policy in six months to decide whether tighter restrictions, such as caps on how many rentals can operate or how close together they can be, are needed.
Staff and some councilmembers pointed to Manhattan Beach as a model for the approach. That city lost a similar court fight a few years ago, allowed short-term rentals in its own coastal zone while keeping them banned elsewhere, and has since collected roughly $1.5 million a year in hotel taxes, apparently without the issue spiraling into the neighborhood problems some feared.
Supporters argued the move simply brings a widespread, already-happening practice into the light, giving the city real oversight and an estimated $1 million a year in new tax revenue it wasn't collecting before. The two council members who voted no argued the city was moving too fast on an issue that touches neighborhood character and the housing supply, and would have preferred more community input before loosening the rules further. Residents on both sides packed the meeting to weigh in, with some worried about losing long-term rental housing to vacation rentals and noisy "party houses," and others, including at least one local host, saying responsible short-term rentals bring visitors and revenue without disrupting neighborhoods.
Councilmember Rob Saemann (a coastal zone resident himself), who made the motion that ultimately passed, said the old ban had left the city with no real way to keep tabs on what was happening in its own neighborhoods. "That ban gave us no registry, no clear idea who was operating, nothing from the platforms, no one to call when a house on our street is out of control," he said. "It felt like we were protecting people, but in reality, I don't think we were."
In a somewhat lighter moment, the council heard an update on the Hermosa Beach Lawn Bowling Club, the volunteer-run green tucked into the Clark Building complex that's been part of the city since the 1930s. The item was driven by an earlier motion by council to review the use of the space, in light of a major repair needed to the clubhouse building which is city property.
Club members packed the chamber to both celebrate the club's 90th anniversary and make the case for its future, and the council responded warmly, voting unanimously to back continued lawn bowling at the site rather than repurposing the space for something else. Club leaders shared that membership has more than doubled in the past six years to nearly 100 members, and pointed to a busy calendar ahead, including a Labor Day weekend tournament expected to draw some of the country's top bowlers and a senior center night planned for next month.
The club recently took over day-to-day upkeep of the green from the city, and members said they're looking to expand free lessons, youth programs and partnerships with local schools. The one open question is the clubhouse roof, which needs to be replaced; one resident urged the club to lead the fundraising for that project rather than leaning on the city. Council members praised the group's spirit and self-sufficiency and voiced hope the club will still be going strong for its 100th anniversary.
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