Local restaurant damaged in 'very aggressive' incident
Pier Plaza restaurant suffers serious vandalism damage after disturbing early morning incident.
Opinion
New Hermosa Ave. Approval Raises More Questions About Coastal Commission Overreach
The Coastal Commission just approved a Hermosa Beach development — then attached conditions that read less like permit requirements and more like a property management contract.
8 min read
🏠
IN BRIEF :
- The Coastal Commission approved a redevelopment at 2464 Hermosa Avenue, replacing a 1953 triplex unit — but attached conditions that go well beyond coastal protection, and reflect a pattern of increasing overreach in Hermosa Beach by the Commission.
- Unusual special conditions require separate utility meters for each unit, specific garage access and layout for all units in perpetuity, and ten years of annual rental reports filed with the state disclosing tenants, rent charged, and how the units are being used.
- Hermosa Beach Councilmember Ray Jackson, who sits on the Coastal Commission, was present at the March 11 hearing, and approved all of these new conditions.
- The Coastal Commission approved a redevelopment at 2464 Hermosa Avenue, replacing a 1953 triplex unit — but attached conditions that go well beyond coastal protection, and reflect a pattern of increasing overreach in Hermosa Beach by the Commission.
- Unusual special conditions require separate utility meters for each unit, specific garage access and layout for all units in perpetuity, and ten years of annual rental reports filed with the state disclosing tenants, rent charged, and how the units are being used.
- Hermosa Beach Councilmember Ray Jackson, who sits on the Coastal Commission, was present at the March 11 hearing, and approved all of these new conditions.
At 2464 Hermosa Avenue, a 1953 triplex is coming down. In its place, the applicant wants to build a three-story, 5,513-square-foot structure with a main residence and two accessory dwelling units. The California Coastal Commission approved it this week, 270 feet from the beach, in a built-out residential neighborhood where this kind of redevelopment happens constantly.
So far, routine.
What isn't routine is what the Commission attached to that approval. Three of the eight special conditions imposed on this private development project are extraordinary in their reach — and together they form a picture of an agency that is no longer simply regulating the coastline. It is inserting itself into the internal operations of a private residential building.
Read next
CITY HALL SKETCH: The Low Hanging Fruit
Could a public-private partnership on fruit and vegetables be the answer to the city's budget crisis ?
Riding On The Right Side Of The Road
Spending time talking with a group of young e-bike riders shows that there are two sides to this high-profile local issue
SPECIAL REVIEW : The Coastal Commission Is Coming for Hermosa's Walk Streets
The Coastal Commission is quietly using building permits to force Hermosa Beach toward charging walk street and Strand homeowners annual fees for front yards they've maintained for generations. And finishing the city's Local Coastal Program is unlikely to save them.
Housing Development Under Scrutiny at Special Session
Review shows City lagging on critical affordable housing targets