RaF /
May 9, 2023 Redondo Beach City Council meeting, Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items The Redondo Beach Sailing Club (RBSC) formed a 501c7 recreational club in 1973 as "a non-profit organization dedicated to educating Redondo Beach residents in the art of sailing and sailboat handling, and to help educate the membership in general water safety rules." A successful informal arrangement with the city allowed club members to sail city boats for informal sailing instruction and practice over the succeeding decades.
In 2006, the Portofino's development permit was approved by the Coastal Commission with the following specific clause: "Upon completion of the construction of the marina...Lessee shall reserve two slips within the marina for exclusive use by a non-profit equal opportunity sailing club, deemed acceptable by the Executive Director of the Coastal Commission in consultation with the City of Redondo Beach, that promotes public recreational sailing."
In August 2020, the city informed RBSC that it would no longer be permitted to use city sailboats. Since the city's sailing school had ceased using the slips and the boats in the Portofino marina several years previously, the boats have had no use or care in over three years.
In October 2020, the Coastal Commission determined that the city, for 14 years, violated the Portofino lease terms by assuming control of the two slips reserved for exclusive use by a non-profit equal opportunity sailing club. RBSC brought this to the attention of City Staff, City Council, and the Rec & Parks Commission.
In May 2022, RB Comm Dev Dir Brandy Forbes wrote to Brandon Strauss, about a proposed real estate development subject to jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission rejecting the application "because nothing in the Housing Accountability Act relieves the City from its obligation to comply with the California Coastal Act..."
Nothing relieves the City of its obligation to comply with the California Coastal Act and the terms of the Portofino development agreement, period. The public expects the city to be as scrupulous and consistent in upholding its obligation to comply with the California Coastal Act as it requires of others. I ask the Council to direct city staff to immediately and fully comply with the Portofino lease by assigning the slips to RBSC.
Sara Martin
Redondo Beach Sailing Club Secretary
Redondo Beach D1 Resident