BLUE FOLDER ITEM
Blue folder items are additional back up material to administrative reports and/or public comments received after the printing and distribution of the agenda packet for receive and file.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
JUNE 6, 2023
L.3 CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE FISCAL YEAR 2023-2024 PROPOSED
BUDGET, FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, AND ASSOCIATED BUDGET
RESPONSE REPORTS
CONTACT: WENDY COLLAZO, FINANCE DIRECTOR
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
From: Barbara Epstein
To: CityClerk; Bill Brand; Nils Nehrenheim; Todd Loewenstein; Zein Obagi; Paige Kaluderovic; Scott Behrendt; Mike Witzansky; Michael Klein; Cameron Harding; Brandy Forbes; Eugene Solomon Subject: June 6 Council Agenda Item L-3, City Budget
Date: Sunday, June 4, 2023 6:38:57 PM
CAUTION: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.
Dear City Leaders,
I have scanned the proposed budget. Thank you for all the hard work and for putting it in an easy to read format.
Knowing that resident input is helpful to you, I’d like to offer a few thoughts.
Community Garden #2
Our first community garden is almost ready for our members to plant. Be sure to put June 21, 4:30 PM on your calendar for the Ribbon Cutting! Alta Vista Park.
When applications numbered around two-hundred fifty for our twenty-six plots, it became more urgent, to me, for us all to start long-range planning for our second community garden in North Redondo. I originally had high hopes for the large fenced area at Dominguez Park, the “Bone Yard”, as a perfect site, but found the police dog training already had that space promised.
I would like to invite the city to think ahead with the budget, and work with us to identify possible North Redondo garden sites for the future.
Historic Library
We participated in planning for the future of the Historic Library in Veterans Park, and saw endless possibilities for enhanced public use and access.
Aside from catering companies use, it would be spectacular to repeat the charming art exhibit again. I can see many other delightful events coming there.
It would be spectacular to have our Redondo High students showcase their many artistic talents at the old library.
Thinking of afternoon High Tea and student music, or visual art, or? AES
Thinking ahead, hoping for a plan for acquiring the entire site, with conservation funding, grants, etc.
South Bay Parkland Conservancy was created to some day restore this special wetland to a natural state with parkland. SBPC has proven itself immensely capable to help.
When Covid hit, people here got desperate to get outdoors and exercise. Jack and I were regulars at Madrona Marsh and trails in Palos Verdes. We wouldn’t have had those options if visionaries in Torrance and Palos Verdes hadn’t preserved them for us.
Redondo Beach can do the same here. It is our duty.
Most people benefit from being outdoors. It is good for the mind and the spirit. It is healthy in every imaginable way.
Where others see dollar signs, the rest of us see the potential beauty of nature.
Park Hours
Once again, I would like to see Wilderness Park’s summer hours extended from the beginning of Daylight Savings Time, March/April to the end, October/November. It will be a cost that future budgets might plan for.
Thank you all again for all you do on our behalf.
Barbara Epstein
Sent from my iPad
From: Brianna Egan
To: Bill Brand; Nils Nehrenheim; Todd Loewenstein; Paige Kaluderovic; Zein Obagi; Scott Behrendt Cc: CityClerk
Subject: Public comment for L.3 City budget
Date: Tuesday, June 6, 2023 1:50:27 PM
Attachments: RB-budget-2023-BEcomments.pdf
CAUTION: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.
Good afternoon Mayor Brand, Mayor Pro-Tem Nehrenheim, and Councilmembers Loewenstein, Kaluderovic, Obagi, and Behrendt:
Thank you for taking the time to deliberate on the city’s budget and your interest in seeking input from the community. As an advocate for active transportation, environmental sustainability, and healthy communities, I would like to share several ideas for CIP projects and budget requests. You can probably assess the feasibility of these better than I can, but I wanted to share these as a “wishlist” nonetheless and am hopeful you can consider them. See attached PDF for my comments. Thank you!
Brianna Egan
District 1 resident
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Brianna J. Egan, MPH, RDN
June 6, 2023 Re: Item L.3
To Mayor Brand, Mayor Pro-Tem Nehrenheim, and Councilmembers Loewenstein, Kaluderovic, Obagi, and Behrendt:
Thank you for taking the time to deliberate on the city’s budget and your interest in seeking input from the community. As an advocate for active transportation, environmental sustainability, and healthy communities, I would like to share several ideas for CIP projects and budget requests. You can probably assess the feasibility of these better than I can, but I wanted to share these as a “wishlist” nonetheless. Thank you!
- Brianna Egan, District 1 Resident
1. Revenue opportunity (Community Services): Charging for photo permits at Wilderness Park, Veterans Park, and other city-owned parks.
1. Wilderness Park is a popular location for wedding, engagement, and holiday photos for families. As far as I know, there is no professional photo permit process that the city has and it could be missing out on significant revenue.
A permit process can be administered by the city website, Community Services, and park staff. Even if done on the honor system, the city could charge $100/photo session and generate significant revenue yearly.
2. See Laguna Beach's professional still photo permit as an example ($100 for 2 hours):
https://www.lagunabeachcity.net/government/departments/parks-recreation/parks-a nd-open-space/permits/film-photography-permits
2. Digital bicycle counter: The city has a fantastic amenity in the Harbor Drive bike path, and we should celebrate and quantify ridership along this path. Collecting data using a digital bicycle counter will allow the city to demonstrate ridership trends and provide a basis for installing additional protected bike lanes.
1. Suggested locations: at the pier bike path above the International Boardwalk or along the Harbor Drive bike path.
1 3. Protected bike lanes: The proposed CIP program in the budget includes bicycle facility projects at Beryl St, N and S Catalina, Lilienthal, and Torrance Blvd. The design and class of these bike facilities is not detailed. I would like to request that for best usage of funds, that these are designed/built as protected Class IV bike lanes wherever possible– exceeding plans outlined in the Bicycle Master Plan. This will ensure that more people can safely replace car trips with bikes.
1. Especially on Torrance Blvd, the parking lane is underutilized and should be replaced with a protected bike lane. This is a major thoroughfare leading to the beach, Prospect Ave, and the city of Torrance and potentially a high-injury zone. We want people to be safe on bikes.
2. Bollards, planters, and concrete curbs make bike lanes much safer than just paint alone, and are especially needed on high-speed streets for traffic calming. Studies show that protected bike lanes enhance safety for ALL road users.
3. For an example, check out what Santa Monica has been doing recently with adding new miles of protected bike lanes. They have also deployed a vehicle that easily lays concrete curb for bike lanes.
4. Bicycle corrals at city parks: Many parks are parking-impacted on game days for Little League and AYSO, including Alta Vista Park. Can we install bike corrals at city parks (like the popular ones in Riviera Village) so that parents and kids can ride and safely park their bikes at parks? This would reduce parking pressure and VMT.
Can Public Works create a program where
residents can request bike racks/corrals at
specific locations, and they respond based
on # of requests?
2 5. Bulbouts or curb extensions for traffic calming and pedestrian safety: Certain commercial and coastal zones in our city see a lot of pedestrian activity and we should work to keep people and kids safe on foot when they are crossing the street. Bulbouts help facilitate this by giving pedestrians a larger area to wait before crossing a street, slowing down cars, and reducing the time/distance needed for pedestrians to cross.
1. Suggested locations for 4-way bulbouts (District 1 & 2-specific): N Catalina Ave and Beryl St, Pearl St and S Catalina Ave, Torrance Blvd and S Broadway, Vista Del Mar and S Catalina Ave.
2. Several of the above intersections are also part of the speed limit reductions for adoption this week. Curb extensions can be coupled with native plant bioswales.
6. Riviera Village Pedestrian Street or Car-Free Catalina Ave: I know the extension/permanent-ization of the dining decks in Riviera Village awaits Coastal Commission approval, but I'd like to suggest folding it in with a larger vision to turn portions of Catalina Ave into a pedestrian-only zone. This would be a cool place-making project that would give families a place to come and gather (like The Point) and boost business. It's ideal because Esplanade runs parallel so car mobility would not be impacted.
1. Check if the Riviera Village BID is interested and run a few pilots.
2. See Main Street Moves in Downtown Ventura.
3. Suggested location: From Vista Del Mar to Ave I on S. Catalina Ave or S. Catalina Ave from PV Blvd to Ave I. (This section is also pending adoption of speed limit reductions.) 3