REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Minutes
Redondo Beach City Council
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Closed Session – Adjourned Regular Meeting 4:30 p.m.
Open Session – Regular Meeting 6:00 p.m.
4:30 PM - CLOSED SESSION – ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING
A. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
An Adjourned Regular Meeting of the Redondo Beach City Council was called to order at 4:30 p.m. by Mayor Light in the City Hall Council Chambers, 415 Diamond Street, Redondo Beach, California.
B. ROLL CALL
Councilmembers Present: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt, Mayor Light
Councilmembers Absent: None
Officials Present: Mike Witzansky, City Manager
Joy Ford, City Attorney
Melissa Villa, Analyst
C. SALUTE TO THE FLAG AND INVOCATION - None
D. BLUE FOLDER ITEMS – ADDITIONAL BACK UP MATERIALS - None E. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS ON CLOSED SESSION ITEMS AND NONAGENDA ITEMS Analyst Villa reported no eComments and no one on Zoom.
F. RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION – 4:36 P.M.
F.1. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
City of Redondo Beach, et al. v. California State Water Resources Control Board Case Number: 20STCP03193
F.2. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The
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Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
In re 9300 Wilshire LLC Bankruptcy C.D. Cal.
Case Number: 2:23-bk-10918-ER
F.3. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case: 9300 Wilshire, LLC v. City of Redondo Beach; City Council of the City of Redondo Beach; City of Redondo Beach Department of Community Development; and DOES 1 through 100, inclusive Case Number: 23STCP02189
F.4. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
In re 9300 Wilshire, LLC (9300 Wilshire, LLC et al. v. AES-Redondo Beach, LLC) Bankruptcy C.D. Cal.
Case Number: 2:23-ap-01163-ER
F.5. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
Yes in My Back Yard, a California nonprofit corporation; SONJA TRAUSS, an individual v. City of Redondo Beach; City Council of the City of Redondo Beach; City of Redondo Beach Department of Community Development, and DOES 1 through 25 inclusive
Case Number: 23TRCP00325
F.6. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
New Commune DTLA LLC v. City of Redondo Beach; City Council of the City of Redondo Beach; and DOES 1 through 100, inclusive Case Number: 23STCV10146
F.7. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The
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Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
New Commune DTLA, LLC and Leonid Pustilnikov v. City of Redondo Beach and City Council of the City of Redondo Beach
Case Number: 22TRCP00203
F.8. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
New Commune DTLA, LLC v. City of Redondo Beach; City Council of the City of Redondo Beach; City of Redondo Beach Department of Community Development, et al.
Case Number: 23STCP00426
F.9. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
AES Southland Development, LLC and AES Redondo Beach, LLC v.
California Coastal Commission
Case Number: BS157789
F.10. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege - Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
David Poirier v. City of Redondo Beach
WCAB No: ADJ16707384
F.11. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege - Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
Chad Smith v. City of Redondo Beach
WCAB No: Unassigned
F.12. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR - The Closed Session is authorized by the Government Code Sec. 54956.8.
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
AGENCY NEGOTIATORS:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
Luke Smude, Assistant to the City Manager
PROPERTY:
3007 Vail Ave., Redondo Beach, CA 90278
(a portion of APN: 415-001-7931)
Parking Lot at the Corner of Felton Ln. and 182nd St., Redondo Beach, CA 90278
(APN: 415-803-3900)
715 Julia Ave, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
(portion of parcels APN: 750-702-0900 and APN: 750-702-1900) 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach, CA 90278
(APN: 404-900-8903)
807 Inglewood Ave., Redondo Beach, CA 90278
(a Portion of APN: 408-302-4900)
200 N. Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
(a portion of APN: 750-500-9902)
NEGOTIATING PARTIES:
Dr. Nicole Wesley, Superintendent
Redondo Beach Unified School District
UNDER NEGOTIATION:
Both Price and Terms
Analyst Villa read titles to items that would be covered in Closed Session.
City Manager Witzansky announced the following would be participating in Closed Session: City Manager Mike Witzansky, City Attorney Joy Ford, Assistant City Attorney Cheryl Park, Community Development Director Marc Wiener Outside Legal Counsels Janetta Giovinco and Diana Verrett, Human Resources Director Diane Strickfaden, and Outside Attorney Caroline Belizo.
Motion by Councilmember Kaluderovic, seconded by Councilmember Waller, to move to Closed Session at 4:36 p.m.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
G. RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION – 6:00 P.M.
REGULAR MEETING
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Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Mayor Light reconvened to Open Session at 6:00 p.m.
H. ROLL CALL
Councilmembers Present: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt, Mayor Light
Councilmembers Absent: None
Officials Present: Eleanor Manzano, City Clerk
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
Joy Ford, City Attorney
Melissa Villa, Analyst
I. ANNOUNCEMENT OF CLOSED SESSION ACTIONS
City Manager Witzansky announced no reportable action for Closed Session.
J. ADJOURN TO REGULAR MEETING
Motion by Councilmember Waller, seconded by Councilmember Castle, to adjourn to the Regular Meeting at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
6:00 PM – OPEN SESSION – REGULAR MEETING
A. CALL TO ORDER
A Regular Meeting of the Redondo Beach City Council was called to order at 6:01 p.m. by Mayor Light in the City Hall Council Chambers, 415 Diamond Street, Redondo Beach, California.
B. ROLL CALL
Councilmembers Present: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt, Mayor Light
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Councilmembers Absent: None
Officials Present: Eleanor Manzano, City Clerk
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
Joy Ford, City Attorney
Melissa Villa, Analyst
C. SALUTE TO THE FLAG AND INVOCATION
Mayor Light recognized any veterans and active-duty military for their service; invited Morgan Walther up to the podium to lead in the salute to the flag.
Morgan, 6
th Grader at Adams Middle School, led in the salute to the flag.
Mayor Light asked all to remain standing for a moment of silent invocation.
D. PRESENTATIONS/PROCLAMATIONS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/AB 1234 TRAVEL
EXPENSE REPORTS
D.1. MAYOR’S COMMENDATION TO THE AYSO 17 NORTH REDONDO GIRLS 12U TEAM FOR WINNING THE 2025 AYSO NATIONAL GAMES CHAMPIONSHIP Mayor Light announced a presentation to commend the AYSO 17 North Redondo Girls 12U team for winning the 2025 AYSO National Games Championship in Irvine in July; noted that the team went undefeated for all seven matches, scoring 22 goals, and only allowed one, the championship game ended in a penalty shootout of 5-3; reported the awards given to the coaches and team members; each athlete was awarded a certificate given by the Mayor.
Head Coach Christopher Walther spoke about the team’s dominating season, noted they went 23-0 and scored 122 goals and only allowed in 9 goals throughout the whole season.
Mayor Light provided a short highlight video and words from Elizabeth Eddy of Angel City FC soccer who congratulated them and gave them tickets to one of their next games.
Mayor Light announced he received a letter from LA Courts asking for any volunteers for grand jury, which is a year-long commitment; reported that himself and Councilmembers Waller and Kaluderovic attended the Back-to-School Rally at Redondo Union; spoke about a meeting he attended earlier that day with several mayors with the Consul General of Mexico regarding helping any Mexican nationals that are concerned about ICE and border patrol; announced the City Manager and himself will be talking with the Southern California Association of Governments on Thursday about the RHNA process; reported the ground-breaking for Wilderness Park’s restoration of the old lower pond.
Councilmember Waller spoke about attending Dine-Around-Artesia and announced the
REGULAR MEETING
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next one is on September 10th, 5:00 to 8:30 p.m.; attended the Back-to-School Rally at RUHS; announced the Riviera Sidewalk Sale starts August 23rd and August 24th; and his next in-person Community Meeting is Wednesday, August 27th from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the Veteran’s Park Senior Center.
Councilmember Castle reported that it would be the 100th year celebration for Beryl Heights Elementary School in District 2; mentioned the Wilderness Park groundbreaking ceremony would be held on Monday at 1:30 p.m.; reported the Mayor and himself met with the Lanakila Outrigger Canoe Club and the King Harbor Association to talk about activating the Waterfront and expanding the events held there; announced the first openwater water polo starting on September 20th in the Harbor (thanks to Councilmember Kaluderovic’s husband).
Councilmember Kaluderovic stated her next District 3 Community Meeting would be announced in her newsletter.
Councilmember Obagi thanked the RBPD for their quick response and arrests to the robbery on Matthews and for being present at the Dine-Around-Artesia; gave a shout out to Providence Little Company of Mary Medical’s Labor and Delivery ward and announced a new addition to the Obagi family.
Mayor Light congratulated Councilmember Obagi.
E. APPROVE ORDER OF AGENDA
City Manager Witzansky asked to push Item H.15 on the agenda to the September 2nd meeting and remove it from the Consent Calendar.
Motion by Councilmember Waller, seconded by Councilmember Castle, to approve the order of the agenda as modified.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
F. AGENCY RECESS – 6:21 P.M.
Motion by Councilmember Kaluderovic, seconded by Councilmember Castle, to recess to the Redondo Beach Housing Authority.
ROLL CALL:
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AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
F.1. SPECIAL MEETING OF THE REDONDO BEACH HOUSING AUTHORITY CONTACT: ELIZABETH HAUSE, COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR
RECONVENE TO REGULAR MEETING FROM AGENCY MEETING – 6:24 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Councilmembers Present: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt, Mayor Light
Councilmembers Absent: None
Officials Present: Eleanor Manzano, City Clerk
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
Joy Ford, City Attorney
Melissa Villa, Analyst/Liaison
G. BLUE FOLDER ITEMS - ADDITIONAL BACK UP MATERIALS
G.1. For Blue Folder Documents Approved at the City Council Meeting City Clerk Manzano reported four Blue Folder items: H.20, J.1, N.1, and N.2 Motion by Councilmember Waller, seconded by Councilmember Kaluderovic, to receive and file the Blue Folder items.
Roll Call:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
H. CONSENT CALENDAR
H.1. APPROVE AFFIDAVIT OF POSTING FOR THE CITY COUNCIL ADJOURNED AND REGULAR MEETING OF AUGUST 19, 2025
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MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
CONTACT: ELEANOR MANZANO, CITY CLERK
H.2. APPROVE MOTION TO READ BY TITLE ONLY AND WAIVE FURTHER READING CONTACT: OF ALL ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS LISTED ON
THE AGENDA
CONTACT: ELEANOR MANZANO, CITY CLERK
H.3. APPROVE THE FOLLOWING CITY COUNCIL MINUTES: NONE
CONTACT: ELEANOR MANZANO, CITY CLERK
H.4. PAYROLL DEMANDS
CHECKS 30336-30356 IN THE AMOUNT OF $24,232.99, PD. 8/1/25 DIRECT DEPOSIT 298509-299144 IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,376,926.79, PD. 8/1/25 CHECKS 30357-30371 IN THE AMOUNT OF $15,212.44, PD. 8/15/25 DIRECT DEPOSIT 299145-299793 IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,471,145.17, PD. 8/15/25
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE DEMANDS
CHECKS 120871-121177 IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,557,278.79
REPLACEMENT DEMANDS 120868-120870
CONTACT: STEPHANIE MEYER, FINANCE DIRECTOR
H.5. APPROVE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE PALLET SHELTER EXPANSION 2025 PROJECT, JOB NO. 2200/2201, AND AUTHORIZE THE
CITY CLERK TO ADVERTISE THE PROJECT FOR COMPETITIVE BIDS CONTACT: ANDREW WINJE, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
H.6. ADOPT BY 4/5 VOTE AND TITLE ONLY RESOLUTION NO. CC-2508-061, A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING A 2024-2025 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET
MODIFICATION TO TRANSFER $1,100,000 OF PROPOSITION C FUNDS FROM THE AVIATION BOULEVARD RESURFACING PROJECT, JOB NO. 41440 TO THE MANHATTAN BEACH BOULEVARD RESURFACING -
AVIATION BOULEVARD TO INGLEWOOD AVENUE PROJECT, JOB NO. 41160 IN EXCHANGE FOR $1,747,973 OF STPL FUNDS ALLOCATED TO THE
MANHATTAN BEACH BOULEVARD RESURFACING PROJECT
ACCEPT AS COMPLETE THE MANHATTAN BEACH BOULEVARD
RESURFACING - AVIATION BOULEVARD TO INGLEWOOD AVENUE
PROJECT, JOB NO. 41160, AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY ENGINEER TO FILE
A NOTICE OF COMPLETION FOR THE PROJECT WITH THE LOS ANGELES
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
COUNTY REGISTRAR-RECORDER AND RELEASE THE RETENTION
PAYMENT UPON EXPIRATION OF THE 35-DAY LIEN PERIOD AFTER SAID
RECORDATION AND NO CLAIMS BEING FILED UPON THE PROJECT
CONTACT: ANDREW WINJE, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
H.7. ACCEPT AS COMPLETE THE INGLEWOOD AVENUE AT MANHATTAN
BEACH BOULEVARD INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS (SOUTHBOUND
RIGHT TURN LANE) PROJECT, JOB NO. 40960, AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY
ENGINEER TO FILE A NOTICE OF COMPLETION FOR THE PROJECT WITH
THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY RECORDER AND AUTHORIZE RELEASE OF THE RETENTION PAYMENT UPON EXPIRATION OF THE 35-DAY LIEN
PERIOD AFTER SAID RECORDATION AND NO CLAIMS BEING FILED UPON
THE PROJECT
CONTACT: ANDREW WINJE, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
H.8. ADOPT BY TITLE ONLY ORDINANCE NO. 3296-25 AN ORDINANCE OF THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA,
AMENDING TITLE 3, CHAPTER 6, SECTION 3-6.03 OF THE REDONDO
BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO PARKING METER LOCATIONS
AND HOURLY RATES FOR THE INSTALLATION OF NEW PARKING METERS
ON HERONDO STREET BETWEEN NORTH PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY AND
NORTH FRANCISCA AVENUE, FOR SECOND READING AND ADOPTION CONTACT: JOE HOFFMAN, CHIEF OF POLICE
H.9. APPROVE AN AGREEMENT WITH PHOENIX GROUP INFORMATION
SYSTEMS FOR FALSE ALARM PERMIT MANAGEMENT AND FEE
COLLECTION SERVICES FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 16% OF THE FEES COLLECTED FOR THE TERM AUGUST 19, 2025 TO AUGUST 19, 2027 CONTACT: JOE HOFFMAN, CHIEF OF POLICE
H.10. Pulled by Councilmember Kaluderovic
H.11. APPROVE THE THIRD AMENDMENT TO AN AGREEMENT WITH FLOCK GROUP, INC. DBA FLOCK SAFETY TO IMPLEMENT TWO ADDITIONAL
AUTOMATIC LICENSE PLATE READER CAMERAS IN THE HARBOR/PIER AREA FOR AN INITIAL AMOUNT OF $5,720 FOR THE TERM AUGUST 19, 2025 THROUGH JANUARY 18, 2026 AND $4,820 PER YEAR THEREAFTER
FOR UP TO TWO YEARS, INCREASING THE TOTAL ANNUAL NOT TO
EXCEED AMOUNT OF THE AGREEMENT, INCLUSIVE OF ALL
AMENDMENTS, TO $29,820
CONTACT: JOE HOFFMAN, CHIEF OF POLICE
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
H.12. APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF 114 BODY-WORN CAMERAS, LICENSES,
ACCESSORIES, AND EXTENDED WARRANTIES FROM AXON ENTERPRISE, INC. UTILIZING A COOPERATIVE PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH
SOURCEWELL, FOR A FIVE-YEAR TERM BEGINNING OCTOBER 15, 2025 THROUGH OCTOBER 15, 2030, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $789,722 CONTACT: JOE HOFFMAN, CHIEF OF POLICE
H.13. APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO THE AGREEMENT WITH SHARP
PERFORMANCE INC. FOR THE CONTINUED PROVISION OF
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEES FOR A NEW NOT TO EXCEED TOTAL OF $151,200 AND AN EXTENDED TERM THROUGH NOVEMBER 30, 2026
CONTACT: JOE HOFFMAN, CHIEF OF POLICE
H.14. APPROVE A TRANSIT SERVICE OPERATION AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY
OF MANHATTAN BEACH TO PROVIDE OPERATION OF BEACH CITIES TRANSIT LINE 109 FOR A ONE-YEAR PERIOD, FROM JULY 1, 2025 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2026, FOR A FEE OF $25,326 APPROVE A TRANSIT
SERVICE OPERATION AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF EL SEGUNDO TO PROVIDE OPERATION OF BEACH CITIES TRANSIT LINE 109 FOR A ONEYEAR PERIOD, FROM JULY 1, 2025 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2026, FOR A FEE OF $60,132 ADOPT BY TITLE ONLY RESOLUTION NO. CC-2508-063, A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING A FISCAL YEAR 2025-26 BUDGET
MODIFICATION TO ALLOCATE $25,326 FROM THE CITY OF MANHATTAN BEACH FOR BEACH CITIES TRANSIT LINE 109 COST SHARING TO TRANSIT FUNDS ADOPT BY TITLE ONLY RESOLUTION NO. CC-2508-062, A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING A FISCAL YEAR 2025-26 BUDGET
MODIFICATION TO ALLOCATE $60,132 FROM THE CITY OF EL SEGUNDO FOR BEACH CITIES TRANSIT LINE 109 COST SHARING TO TRANSIT FUNDS CONTACT: ELIZABETH HAUSE, COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR
H.15. Pulled by City Manager Witzansky to be brought back on September 2, 2025.
H.16. ADOPT BY TITLE ONLY RESOLUTION NO. CC-2508-064, A RESOLUTION OF
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA,
LEASING CERTAIN PROPERTY TO ZOILA NORWOOD, AN INDIVIDUAL
APPROVE A LEASE WITH ZOILA NORWOOD FOR ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE SPACE AT 111 W. TORRANCE BLVD., SUITE 100, FOR THE TERM AUGUST 19, 2025 TO AUGUST 18, 2030
CONTACT: GREG KAPOVICH, WATERFRONT AND ECONOMIC
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
H.17. Pulled by Councilmember Kaluderovic
H.18. RECEIVE AND FILE THE CITY TREASURER’S FOURTH QUARTER, FISCAL YEAR 2024-25 REPORT CONTACT: EUGENE SOLOMON, CITY TREASURER H.19. APPROVE THE CITY'S STATEMENT OF INVESTMENT POLICY 2025, AS
AMENDED
CONTACT: EUGENE SOLOMON, CITY TREASURER
H.20. APPROVE THIRD AMENDMENT TO CLEAR MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING FOR SERVICES RENDERED FROM JULY 1, 2024 to JUNE 30, 2025 AND TO EXTEND THE TERM TO JUNE 30, 2026 AT A RATE OF $110,000 ANNUALLY, NOT TO EXCEED $220,000
CONTACT: JOY A. FORD, CITY ATTORNEY
H.21. RECEIVE AND FILE THE MONTHLY UPDATE TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN OBJECTIVES ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL ON JUNE 10, 2025 CONTACT: LUKE SMUDE, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
H.22. AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO SIGN A LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR SENATE BILL 812, WHICH, IF APPROVED BY THE STATE, WOULD EXPAND
COVERAGE FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE SERVICES
OFFERED AT QUALIFIED YOUTH DROP-IN CENTERS
CONTACT: JANE CHUNG, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
Mayor Light noted that H.15 has already been pulled from the Consent Calendar to be brought back on September 2nd.
Councilmember Kaluderovic pulled items H.10 and H.17.
Motion by Councilmember Castle, seconded by Councilmember Waller, to approve the Consent Calendar with the exception of H.15, H.10 and H.17.
City Clerk Manzano reported two eComments in support of H.14, four eComments opposed to H.16, and two eComments in support of H.21 and no other public comment.
ROLL CALL:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt NOES: None
ABSENT: None
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
Analyst Villa read item H.6 adopt by 4/5 vote and by title only Resolution No. CC-2508- 061, item h.8 adopt by title only Ordinance No. 3296-25, item H.14 adopt by title only Resolution No. CC-2508-063 and adopt by title only Resolution No. CC-2508-062, and item H.16 adopt by title only Resolution No. CC-2508-064.
I. EXCLUDED CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS
H.10 APPROVE THE RETIREMENT OF POLICE CANINES “ACE” AND “BALTON” AND THE ASSOCIATED CANINE TRANSFER AGREEMENTS
AUTHORIZING THE HANDLERS, OFFICER DANIEL HALEY AND SERGEANT
DAVID ARNOLD, TO PURCHASE THE CANINES FROM THE CITY FOR ONE
DOLLAR EACH
CONTACT: JOE HOFFMAN, CHIEF OF POLICE
Councilmember Kaluderovic pulled this item to recognize the canines for their service, pet them, and hear from their handlers and families.
Captain Michael Martinez, RBPD, introduced the handlers and the canines; explained the K9 partners bring a valuable service to the community; spoke about the special bonds between the handlers and the dogs; told some great “dad jokes” related to the dogs; gave some background about K9 Balton including being 10 years old, serving for 9 years on the force, specializes in detecting explosives, and has done so at many events; mentioned that Balton gets to spend retirement with Sergeant David Arnold; gave some background on Ace including he is 7 years old, served for 5 years, assisted in finding criminal suspects, explosives, and contraband, and will retire and live with Officer Daniel Haley; congratulated both canines and pictures were taken.
Captain Martinez announced they have the ceremonial dollar coin for the purchase of the dogs; Councilmember Kaluderovic accepted the payments from the handlers.
City Clerk Manzano reported no eComments and no one online.
Motion by Councilmember Kaluderovic, seconded by Councilmember Waller, to approve the retirement of police canines “Ace” and “Balton” and the associated canine transfer agreements authorizing the handlers to purchase the canines from the City for one dollar each.
ROLL CALL:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt NOES: None
ABSENT: None
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
H.17. ADOPT BY 4/5 VOTE AND BY TITLE ONLY RESOLUTION NO. CC-2508- 065, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA, APPROPRIATING $34,750 FROM THE UNALLOCATED GENERAL FUND BALANCE TO THE CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
CONTRACTUAL AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ACCOUNT APPROVE AN
AGREEMENT WITH FAIRBANK, MASLIN, MAULLIN, METZ & ASSOCIATES, INC. TO CONDUCT PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY RESEARCH ASSOCIATED WITH THE CITY’S COMMERCIAL RETAIL CANNABIS REGULATORY PROGRAM IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $34,750 FOR THE TERM AUGUST 19, 2025 TO AUGUST 18, 2026
CONTACT: JANE CHUNG, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
Councilmember Kaluderovic pulled the item just so the Council could vote separately on it.
Jim Mueller stated the contract has so many red-flags that he wondered how its gotten this far; it’s an exception to the City’s procurement standards, its sole sourced (no competition was invited), no justification for going sole sourced, and they are not unique professional services; spoke of the cost being higher than other companies, that they are heavily biased towards cannabis, FM3 has a reputation for helping cities convince residents to accept cannabis retail; referenced last week’s discussion with FM3 and gave details about the meeting; questioned whether the polled 500 survey will actually reflect the will of the 60,000 residents with no bias; felt this item, which was once about a source of revenue for the City, has become an obsession and a distraction to the City; urged Council to reject the contract.
Jonatan Cvetko felt deciding on this item is premature and urged Council to wait for new information coming out of Sacramento which will affect the tax issues and hemp bills that will change the scope with regards to selling the products; urged Council to hold off.
Robin Eisenberg spoke about contamination and provided numerous suggestions to battle contamination within the shops, such as: the ability to have a company with vendor compliance screening that only partners with brands and manufacturers that have a clean compliance history, or a company that also does voluntary batch retesting, sends random samples for independent third party batch testing, or have a company that offers a shorter shelf life, or a company that also implements internal expiration policies that exceed the state timelines to avoid carrying aged products, or have in-house quality control programs, internal quality assurance team and compliance that review, or have transparent brands that curate shelves with brands that publicly share full data, and provided more options to ensure product safety; felt the Council is being pressured by certain people.
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Joan Irvine stated she reviewed the contract and wanted to make sure there was a start date and a completed date; did not want this to be “kicked down the road” any longer; reported the length of time everyone has already spent on it and asked the contract to be more specific.
Mayor Light asked the City Manager if the intent is to do this quickly; City Manager Witzansky stated that is what they are hoping for, they will work with the vendor to prepare the questionnaire, have public discussion, and initial the survey by Fall; spoke highly of FM3.
Melissa DeChandt (via Zoom) stated she hoped the survey would be more inclusive of the whole City and with a vendor not immersed in the cannabis industry; spoke of the regulatory failure at the Department of Cannabis Control is a regulatory failure; stated data showing retail cannabis protects the youth is completely untrue; felt disgusted that members who have a stake in the cannabis industry continue to state it will protect the children.
Marcie Guillermo questioned if this is so good for the City why the City’s neighboring cities such as Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach are not following suit; spoke about sole sourcing shows they did not do it correctly, asked about how it will be implemented, how it will be enforced, and how will they protect the residents; felt they are protecting special interests and not the residents of the City; mentioned District 1 residents are opposed to retail cannabis.
Mayor Light spoke about the long history of this topic and it predates the present Council; gave some background that led to the current process and ordinance; mentioned that the current Council heard from many residents that they were never asked if they wanted retail cannabis dispensaries in the City so that is why they have voted to put the survey out; reported tonight is the second reading of the item and that it was pulled so they can re-vote on it.
Motion by Councilmember Obagi, seconded by Councilmember Waller, to adopt by 4/5 vote and by title only Resolution No. CC 2508-065.
ROLL CALL:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt
NOES: Kaluderovic
ABSENT: None
Motion carried by roll call vote, 4-1.
Analyst Villa read adopt by 4/5 vote and by title only Resolution No. CC 2508-065.
J. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
J.1. For eComments and Emails Received from the Public
Ron Maroko, District 3, spoke of the Public Amenities Commission agendizing a discussion on having Wilderness Park designated as a historic landmark in December 2025 and commented that it is now August and it still has not made it to the agenda; asked the Council to agendize support and authorized signing of the application to move this item forward; stated he had materials to pass out.
Motion by Councilmember Behrendt, seconded by Council Castle, to receive and file the material from Ron Maroko.
ROLL CALL:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
Ron Maroko moved on to a second item; spoke of the Public Amenities Commission voting to delist a property on Harper Ave; noted it will most likely be demolished, but it was built in 1914, it’s the fourth oldest property in North Redondo Beach; hoped Council would consider preserving the house, repurpose it, and create a necessary visual arts center for the community.
Councilmember Kaluderovic asked for clarification on the exact address of the house.
Ron Maroko responded 1224 Harper Ave.
Mayor Light asked City Manager Witzansky if the whole Council was needed to apply for a historic designation for a park.
City Manager Witzansky said the application would be a City application; suggested if Council wanted staff to consider it the Council would make a referral for staff to have a discussion.
More discussion followed.
Jim Mueller stated when places are full of people walking, going in and out of businesses, sitting and relaxing in public spaces it is a sign of a thriving community center; asked why the Artesia corridor is not thriving and opined it’s because it is cramped, noisy, and unsafe; noted potential dangers of the area; recommended the City should discourage through traffic by reducing speed limits, enforcing violators, or diversion and mentioned the same for 190th St; asked if the traffic engineers could figure out a solution and offered some suggestions; stated the art consultant for Artesia art projects said that the chosen art can only be on public property but there is very little and wondered if portable art could be
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Tuesday, August 19, 2025
offered so that it could be moved if property is sold.
Georgette Gantner, District 2, reported cars park on her street during street sweeping on Fridays and her street never gets swept; noted there are visible signs but no one pays attention to them; stated the bigger problem is the street where Joe’s is located does not indicate a violation or hours so it is filthy and a health issue; wondered how it could be rectified.
Joan Irvine, District 1, representing Keep the Esplanade Beautiful and announced on October 22nd they will be having their annual community mixer; stated they would be announcing projects in the works, honor a Public Works employee, and honor a Volunteer-of-the-Year; spoke about their efforts to keep garbage from going out to the sea and encouraged groups that want to participate in First Saturday Sweep to contact them.
City Clerk Manzano reported no eComments and no one online.
K. EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS - None
L. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None
M. ITEMS CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS AGENDAS - None
N. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION PRIOR TO ACTION
N.1. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING APPROVAL OF THE
CONCEPTUAL PLANS FOR THE REDONDO BEACH BOULEVARD ACTIVE
TRANSPORTATION PROJECT AND THE NORTH REDONDO BEACH
BIKEWAY EXTENSION TO GRANT AVENUE & MOBILITY HUB PROJECT APPROVE FUNDING AGREEMENT #9200000000MATC1104 BETWEEN THE
CITY OF REDONDO BEACH AND THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY
METROPOLITAN TRANSPORATION AUTHORITY FOR THE REDONDO
BEACH BOULEVARD ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PROJECT
APPROVE AN AGREEMENT FOR CONSULTING SERVICES WITH
CRASSOCIATES, INC. FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,119,485 TO
PREPARE FINAL PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE TWO PROPOSED
PROJECTS
CONTACT: ANDREW WINJE, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
Public Works Director Winje provided background information regarding the project and mentioned it is two projects converging together; stated the first project was a request from the community to connect the north part of the City with the beach via a bike path; explained the other project was initiated by Metro and, out of 25 priority corridors in LA
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County, Redondo Beach was awarded one of the 10 grants for the Redondo Beach Blvd corridor (which was renamed Grant and Ripley) and from that the project to connect Dominguez Park with El Camino College was created; reported the City has been working on the conceptual design for a couple of years; stated they have three requests for the Council: 1) to approve the conceptual plans for both projects and authorize them to move forward, 2) to approve the funding agreement with Metro for the MAT project, and 3) to approve an agreement with the consultant to complete the design, development, and final plans and specifications for all of the projects moving forward.
Traffic Engineer Ryan Liu provided a PowerPoint presentation on the two projects; the first slide gave some background into the two projects; spoke about the first project being a further extension of the bikeway down to Grant Ave and redevelopment of the green space at the southeast corner; clarified it is the NRBB extension to Grant and a native planting space and mobility hub at the Inglewood/Grant intersection; explained the second project was the MAT project and that both projects depend on each other at the Inglewood and Grant intersection; noted that both the projects are funded through full design and partial construction from regional Measure M funds and they are seeking additional funding from the Metro board so they can complete the projects through Measure M funds; went into more detail regarding the first project, the NRBB extension and native planting mobility hub; noted one of the conditions for City ownership of that land is to provide a mobility hub for active transportation users; provided a slide with design components such as native habitat, shade structures, etc; asked if anyone had any questions regarding the first project.
Councilmember Kaluderovic asked (on behalf of Councilmember Obagi) if there was a pollinator fountain in the design.
Traffic Engineer Liu said they could include one.
Councilmember Waller asked about the timeline for the projects.
Traffic Engineer Liu stated, if Council approved the funding agreement and the conceptual plan that evening, they would spend the year in final design, then a few months for procurement, put it out for bid, and then construction (estimated 12 to 18 months).
Councilmember Waller asked the City Manager if he foresaw any issues if Fire Station 2 needed to be relocated to that spot.
City Manager Witzansky said if they had to delay construction to accommodate that use they would.
Mayor Light asked if the slide of Design Components were required components.
Traffic Engineer Liu responded that they are staff ideas except for the mobility hub features, which are requirements based on the conditions of the land agreement and the funding used to acquire the land.
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Director Winje added that there is a project included in the item that Council approved regarding the screening of the cemetery.
Discussion followed regarding what is required, concerns over public wi-fi, and other options to consider.
Councilmember Obagi requested a container refill station be included so both birds and bike riders could get rehydrated at the location.
Traffic Engineer Liu stated they are requesting a water bottle filling station; moved on to the second project included in the item; reported the City received approximately $8 million from LA Metro to provide low stress biking and walking facilities along the Redondo Beach Blvd corridor between El Camino College and Dominguez Park; noted they are currently at 15% design, some of the $8 million has been spent on the conceptual design and community outreach, and the first phases were led by LA Metro; stated that Lawndale and LA County Public Works oversee El Camino Village or the unincorporated area near Alondra Park and are full agency partners on the project and Torrance declined but was willing to accommodate the project at the time of conceptualization; reported Torrance is currently not in support of the project due mainly to a loss of parking within and outside of their city; reported Redondo Beach is currently the lead agency.
Mayor Light asked, since Redondo Beach is the lead agency, do we get all the money, do all the contracting, and get all the approvals of all the cities.
Traffic Engineer Liu responded yes.
Public Works Director Winje added Lawndale and the LA County will also sign on to the funding agreement as full agency partners, they will authorize the City to work in their agency jurisdiction, and they will be a part of the selection of vendors, etc; noted RB will contribute the most administrative effort from a staff level and the money is defined per the Metro grant but the City expends the money and gets reimbursed quarterly through the life of the project.
More discussion followed regarding Torrance and their part in the project, their concerns over loss of parking, and solutions the City has offered.
Public Works Director Winje stated Torrance could prevent the City from building in their jurisdiction but not close the project.
Traffic Engineer Liu continued his presentation; provided a summary of the community outreach methods performed over the past 3 years which included focus groups, surveys, community events, and open houses; noted Lawndale, LA County and Torrance were also involved in the surveys; reported staff brought the project to the PWSC in 2023 and 2025; stated the consensus was strong support for the project especially for the separated and protected bike lanes.
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Councilmember Behrendt asked for an explanation of the legend shown on the slide and questioned why the numbers were so low.
Traffic Engineer Liu noted that was just for one engagement; continued with his presentation, showed a slide with the proposed bike lanes on 190th and Lilienthal Lane instead of Ripley due to the route being flatter; provided more detail regarding the bike lanes and the route.
Councilmember Behrendt commented that more people use e-Bikes now and that maybe Ripley should be reconsidered.
Traffic Engineer Liu stated that the intent of the project was to provide facilities for people who didn’t have access to a bike but could still safely traverse on a flatter street; explained that Ripley Ave is narrow, has a lot of driveways, does not have room for protected bike lanes, and the project would take away a lot of parking.
More discussion followed between Councilmember Behrendt and Traffic Engineer Liu regarding e-Bike use, that the City is not discouraging options for other routes just offering a better one for all users, and the extensive use of the Beryl/Flagler intersection as well as other streets; noted Beryl sees between 100 to 500 bikes per day.
Mayor Light provided his insights of the bike traffic; commented that he likes that it goes all the way to El Camino College.
Traffic Engineer Liu noted that this project does not build the connection along the Galleria.
Public Works Director Winje provided more information; stated the transit center project included two phases and the second was widening Kingsdale north of Grant Ave; spoke of some uncertainty they have with the owner of the Galleria and that is causing a gap in the section of Artesia between Kingsdale and Redondo Beach Blvd; mentioned a temporary work around of using one of the three lanes on the eastbound side as a bike lane.
More discussion followed.
Director Wiener stated that the Galleria is already committed to the Kingsdale piece and for contributions towards the City to connect to the bikeway to the west; mentioned Metro Measure M is an excellent source for active transportation projects and, if needed, the City will look there first.
More discussion followed concerning the Galleria’s position and action of the project; questioned whether they could ask to use some of their parking area.
Traffic Engineer Liu continued with his presentation; noted that the 15% plans, which reflect all of the agency comments since 2024, have been included in the agenda as a
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Tuesday, August 19, 2025
link and have been available on the City’s website for several months; stated, if the Council approves the 15% concept plans for both the NRBB and the MAT project, staff will then start preparing the final plans and specs for construction, the consultant for the MAT project will provide a revised exhibit showing zero parking lots in Torrance and will be sent to Torrance for consideration; stated some form of agreement needs to be made with RBUSD for school property along Lilienthal, they may need MOUs with each agency, and they have applied for the full construction funding vis Metro Measure M; stated staff recommendations as follows:
- Approve MAT Project and NRBB + Mobility Hub Project concept plans - Approve Metro Funding Agreement for MAT Project cost reimbursement (Lawndale and LA County co-signing)
- Approve Professional Services Agreement with CR Associates to prepare plans/specs for MAT Project
City Manager Witzansky added that if Council would like staff to provide a progress report, since the 15% level doesn’t offer a lot of detail, staff could come back with a 50% or higher plan so Council could provide some final course corrections.
Mayor Light asked if that is for the Public Works and Sustainability Commission.
City Manager Witzansky stated they have and would continue to work through that Commission as they advance the drawings but wanted to offer progress updates if Council desired.
Mayor Light asked if there would be any value if Council wrote a letter to Torrance asking them to consider approving the project.
Public Works Director Winje stated that it has been purely staff to staff communication with Torrance.
Discussion followed about contacting the local district councilmember with Torrance, the Mayor requested that he and the affected neighbor Councilmembers be involved and informed, the option to design around it but have a black hole in the middle, and thoughts of other alternatives.
Traffic Engineer Liu felt they have enough budget and scope for the consultant to prepare the exhibit.
Mayor Light spoke of the project being great and is in support of anything that connects people as far inland down to the beach from North Redondo.
Councilmember Behrendt referenced the area next to Washington Elementary School and noted that utilities are along that strip; wondered how they planned on using the area.
Public Works Director Winje stated they are going to ask SCE to consolidate and
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Tuesday, August 19, 2025
relocated the poles; reported there are vertical structures on the other side of the street where they could relocate the power lines; noted they do need to formally ask Edison but staff has not gotten that far into the conversation with them; explained how situations like these work with the utility companies.
More discussion ensued between Councilmember Behrendt and Director Winje.
City Manager Witzansky added that they have some arguments to make that SCE has the obligation to allow but noted it may delay the project.
Councilmember Behrendt asked what plan B would be if it results in a long delay.
Public Works Director Winje stated that they have considered an alternative that involves squeezing in a facility between the City, the School District’s wall, and the pole line; noted it might not be considered an official bike route per MUTCD standards, but it could be a multi-use path.
City Manager Witzansky mentioned they have more concepts to plan for and that is why they haven’t pursued a formal agreement with the district but district officials have been supportive so far.
Mayor Light asked if anyone had spoken to the government affairs rep from SCE.
Discussion followed regarding giving Mayor Light enough information to broach that topic with the government affairs rep; both Director Winje and City Manager Witzansky said yes and they would appreciate the help.
Councilmember Waller voiced support for the route along Lilienthal and Ripley with a twoway lane that is on the same side of the street; asked if there is any chance the plans will change again and mentioned the SB Bicycle Coalition and others have given feedback in support of that route.
Public Works Director Winje spoke about constraints around parking and what the bike coalition may prefer may not be appropriate, but they are pushing to get the best product possible.
More discussion ensued about the design still being at a level that can be re-worked and not set in stone.
Public Works Director Winje stated that Metro’s goal is to provide high quality bike and pedestrian facilities so that is what the design approach has been and if it is limited it is limited due to significant factors.
Councilmember Waller reported he had a meeting with Councilmember Sheikh from Torrance District 3 and offered to be the interface with Torrance; asked if they should agendize for the school subcommittee to talk with on a future meeting.
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City Manager Witzansky stated they are already in communication, and they have a lot of support.
Councilmember Obagi was in support of having staff update them on project design since there has been so much excitement in the City about the progress on bike lanes; appreciated all the re-design around the steepest parts of Ripley; spoke about the issues of other cities not agreeing to progress on micromobility safety, while Redondo Beach is doing so well, and asked what the City or groups can do to get the other cities to go along with the Bicycle Master Plan.
City Manager Witzansky suggested one on one communication with their peers at the other cities; spoke more on the bike paths ending once a biker leaves Redondo Beach and that the City of Torrance seems more concerned about losing parking than bike lanes.
More discussion ensued regarding reasons Torrance was not in support of the construction; Director Wiener mentioned the project conflated with the health district campus-wide discussion and felt the bike lanes were an unfortunate victim of the outcome; Traffic Engineer Liu added they are proposing a simple class-two bike lane on the Torrance side; City Manager Witzansky stated Torrance’s complaint is the 190th connection; discussion continued to follow.
Councilmember Obagi asked if the bike lane on the portion of Ripley would be slurried or repaved completely; thanked staff and the COG for all their hard work thus far.
Traffic Engineer Liu stated the current cost estimate is a pavement rehab but there may be other funds in their normal slurry and rehab program to potentially supplement and just pave once.
Motion by Councilmember Waller, seconded by Councilmember Kaluderovic, to approve the MAT project and the NRBB Mobility Hub Project concept plans, as stated by City Manager Witzansky, approve Metro Funding Agreement for the MAT project cost reimbursement, approve Professional Services Agreement with CR Associates to prepare plan specs for the MAT project, and request staff come back at an appropriate price point to Council.
Mayor Light invited public comment.
Liam Walsh, District 5 and volunteer at South Bay Bicycle Coalition, asked to submit and file their letter in support of the project.
Motion by Councilmember Kaluderovic, seconded by Councilmember Waller, to receive and file.
ROLL CALL:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt
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MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
Liam Walsh thanked the Council for their leadership with the proposed class for protected bike lanes throughout Redondo; mentioned they have encountered a lot of difficulties with Torrance as well and voiced concern over conversations just between staff levels in Torrance and other cities; felt it would be a good idea to work with city elected officials one on one; supported the item.
Rod Kuttns spoke in support of the item and felt it would make a great difference; gave reasons why it also benefits businesses; stated people that live in the South Bay can bicycle more which improves money, health, and housing while also easing traffic congestion; looked forward to the opportunities as the project goes forward.
Andrew Blakeney, Lawndale, thanked the Redondo Beach City Council for creating the bicycle infrastructure to make it easy to get around; noted he rides to Redondo Beach more often because they have made it easier and he finds he spends more money in RB than his own city; felt the projects are a vital step for connecting communities together; hoped Redondo Beach could urge his city to provide safer bike routes especially near the on and off ramps to 405; offered to help in communications with his councilmembers; noted he spoke to Ryan Liu and that it was a very good conversation unlike speaking to his own Public Works.
Brianna Egan (via Zoom) voiced her support for the project; echoed the comments of the City Council and others; thanked the City for the project and the specifics of the project; spoke about the importance of all the cities cooperating since it is a multi-jurisdictional project; referenced the letter that was submitted and opined their suggestions are all feasible from an engineering perspective and just need the political support of the other cities; asked the Redondo Beach City Council to push to connect with the other councils to push them forward.
City Clerk Manzano reported no one else on Zoom and four eComments in support.
Mayor Light called the vote.
Roll Call:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
N.2. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING UPDATES TO THE
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES - CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
REDONDO BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE TO REGULATE SMOKE SHOPS AND A REVIEW OF THE CITY’S CURRENT TOBACCO RETAIL PERMIT
REQUIREMENTS
CONTACT: MARC WIENER, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
City Manager Witzansky reported that Marc Wiener and Captain Mike Martinez would be handling this item.
Community Development Director Wiener provided a presentation outline of what he would be covering which included:
1. Background
2. Initial Council direction
3. Draft ordinance – permitting and operations
4. Draft ordinance – concentration and location
5. Draft ordinance – enforcement provisions
6. Planning Commission recommendations
7. Concentration and location
8. Tobacco Retail Permit/License
9. Enforcement history
Community Development Director Wiener went into detail on the background of tobacco and the health issues the Center For Disease Control (CDC) and other agencies have documented; reported it has been in the recitals of the resolutions to City Council before as part of this ordinance; noted there has been compliance issues with smoke shops that are well documented, including the sale of illegal products; stated there are 16 smoke shops in Redondo Beach, City Council last reviewed this draft ordinance in April and provided input and directed staff to prepare an emergency ordinance that would place a temporary moratorium on new smoke shops while staff worked on the permanent ordinance; stated that the moratorium was extended through June 2026; provided a slide with Council’s direction from the April meeting, which has since been incorporated into the draft; reviewed the five items Council gave direction on; stated any changes could be discussed that evening; provided a slide and overview of the draft ordinance that was before the Council that evening; noted the goal is getting it down to five smoke shops over time as the existing legal nonconforming ones close or go out of business.
Mayor Light asked if there was anything illegal about the decision to cap smoke shops at five.
Director Wiener deferred the question to Assistant City Attorney Cheryl Park.
Assistant City Attorney Park stated there is no hard and fast rule regarding phasing out businesses but more a question of due process; reported case law provides that business owners need to be given sufficient time to recoup their investment, so it depends on how much money was invested in a business.
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Discussion followed regarding what reasonable time meant and that the City felt five years was reasonable.
Community Development Director Wiener continued his presentation; explained the operational standards and standard conditions for any future CUPs written in the draft ordinance, which would go into effect upon adoption; provided detail on concentration and location standards, noting it was pretty much copied from the cannabis ordinance; mentioned there is room for flexibility; explained the enforcement provisions which allows for inspections of shops, identifies criminal penalties, identifies businesses can not sell any illegal substances, and identifies the revocation of business license or CUP as part of the enforcement process; reported the Planning Commission reviewed the draft on July 17th and were unanimously in support of the Council adopting it; stated they did make some recommendations for modifications: 1) limiting hours from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., 2) smoke shops be located 150 ft from all parks and from all residential uses (noted this is problematic and would explain later), and 3) flexibility in the display area for convenience stores and grocery stores (based on public comment during the Commission meeting); mentioned staff including language that would provide the director with some flexibility on the display area; spoke about the City having that as a tool to address situations where a business is trying to open up and posing as a different type of business, like a gift shop, but selling tobacco products.
Councilmember Behrendt referenced the ancillary sale definition and asked if it’s not an ancillary sale then those businesses would be subject to the smoke shop ordinance and also asked if staff has gone out and determined whether any existing RB supermarkets/grocery stores would inadvertently be swept up into this smoke shop situation.
Community Development Director Wiener answered the first question with a “correct” and stated the second question was based on an ordinance another city adopted; noted staff could, with the provision allowing for discretion, allow some tolerance to that display area; mentioned they could do more research and come up with numbers to support what is in the ordinance to see how it matches up.
Discussion followed between Councilmember Behrendt and Community Development Director Wiener regarding defining ancillary use so it does not endanger certain types of convenience stores such as CVS or small grocery stores, and that the main focus should be on smoke shops or retail businesses which primarily sell tobacco and nicotine products.
Councilmember Behrendt requested that they take that part out for now, come back if needed, have the other Councilmembers weigh in, and refine it by some other metric.
Community Development Director Wiener agreed and added the enforcement of it would be challenging.
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City Manager Witzansky felt Councilmember Behrendt brought up good points and felt if changes are needed to make it clearer, they should work on that to ensure everyone understands it.
More discussion ensued about the intent of the ordinance and the focus being the primary product is tobacco and nicotine.
Councilmember Kaluderovic stated a list she found from 2019 reported 44 tobacco retail licenses in Redondo Beach; she doesn’t just want to target the 16 smoke shops but she wants to reduce the number of places that sell tobacco in the City.
More discussion followed.
City Manager Witzansky felt there was more concern beyond just the 16 related to retail tobacco proliferation in the community and that is a different issue.
More discussion followed on what the City is trying to limit, what defines ancillary use, possibly put in a revenue amount, and how to determine the use of space for tobacco products; ultimately decided it could not be decided tonight and needs to be brought back for consideration of adoption or approval.
City Manager Witzansky warned they need to be careful about the definition, because if it is too restrictive, they will bring in a completely different group of businesses; stated staff could bring it back in Sept but wouldn’t be prepared to give Council and introduction for first reading on Sept 2nd; noted they have the moratorium until June.
More discussion ensued.
Councilmember Castle asked if they could look at the existing 16 shops to see what percentage of their floor area is used for tobacco sales.
Further discussion followed; Councilmember Kaluderovic stated she preferred to be more aggressive with it and amend if needed; Councilmember Castle voiced concern that it is not just smoke shops they are banning.
Community Development Director Wiener continued his presentation; stated that the Planning Commission recommended that the City excludes cigar lounges, smoke lounges since those are an activity-based use and not a retail store, noted that the resolution attached to the report had the red line changes recommended by the Planning Commission.
Councilmember Waller spoke about hookah lounges being in the same realm as cigar and smoke lounges; reported there are two that are included in the maps and should not be according to this discussion.
City Manager Witzansky noted that some lounges sell the product, but you enjoy the
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product on site; mentioned that is why some locations have been flagged.
Community Development Director Wiener reported that the Planning Commission recommended hookah lounges being excluded.
Councilmember Obagi asked Director Wiener if they could subject hookah lounges and cigar lounges to CUPs, not the same as smoke shops but separate CUPs; provides situations where the police were called due to the hookah lounge on Artesia Blvd allowing people to bring in alcohol and then becoming nuisances.
Community Development Director Wiener stated that if the City is going to require a CUP of those businesses as well it makes sense to address it in the land-use table for the commercial zones; mentioned staff planned on bringing it to Council but for now they can have something in the section of the ordinance that addresses the CUP requirements; continued with the Planning Commission’s recommendations which discussed the enforcement process; stated he met with the City Attorney and currently they enforce through the criminal process, for a business in violation it would be a misdemeanor; spoke of potentially amending the section of the code that addresses infractions and categorize the violation as an infraction, which has a progression of fines (addressed in the staff report); explained the benefits of keeping the process intact vs the administrative citation process.
City Attorney Ford stated there have been many discussions in the past of reasons not to go to an administrative citation process and benefits of doing it by way of criminal citations; suggested they could make it a wobblette, which would give the police the discretion of citing it as either an infraction or a misdemeanor; noted that Council has the discretion to put that in the ordinance.
Discussion followed between Mayor Light and City Attorney Ford regarding what the ordinance would permit if written that way, that it is directly tied to the ability to suspend their permit, and that any violation of the code or state law could be a basis for revocation, revocation of the CUP, or even their business license.
City Manager Witzansky voiced support for the wobblette, strongly believed they should stick with the framework that they have through criminal prosecution and/or infraction; mentioned the administrative process would require a significant infrastructure on a staffing basis and went into more detail of how extensive that process would be; stated adding the option for infraction addresses the suggestion from the Planning Commission and he is in support of it.
Community Development Director Wiener reported the Planning Commission also asked about an option to require a bond of smoke shop businesses; explained the concerns staff had with that request and recommended against that; moved on to the slide of Concentration and Location; explained what the Planning Commission recommended, namely to require 150 ft from all residential uses and parks; reported staff pulled together the featured table along with maps to Council earlier via Blue Folder; stated the Staff
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Report had recommended to avoid making all of them nonconforming would be to eliminate the 150 ft from residential requirement; mentioned it would be too restrictive and went into more detail; suggested if Council wanted to provide direction that evening they could give them guidelines.
City Manager Witzansky stated if the City creates an overly restrictive ordinance, they may subject themselves to challenges later on; strongly suggested not to include the 150 ft residential buffer, and suggest they reduce the other smoke shop buffer.
More discussion followed about the buffer distances.
Councilmember Obagi wondered why they would be concerned about elementary schools or daycares, commented that toddlers aren’t going to be walking in buying product; felt they should focus on the provision that does not allow minors to enter the smoke shops; read that the ordinance currently says: “Store owners shall not willfully allow” and his concern was it shouldn’t be “willfully” but should be “should not” and how is that enforced and what are the penalties.
City Attorney Ford stated as it is written now, any violation is a misdemeanor.
Councilmember Obagi wanted the language to be corrected to be more specific about not allowing minors into smoke shops.
More discussion followed regarding the language in the ordinance, provision for minors to enter smoke shops, the ability to mandate checking IDs, and unintended consequences.
Assistant City Attorney Park stated they could write something in the ordinance that if it is a convenience store or grocery store that is selling tobacco products as an ancillary sale then they are not subject to that requirement to check ID.
More discussion followed regarding what was considered ancillary, needing a clear definition of smoke shops, and the prevention of minors entering smoke shops.
More discussion ensued regarding ancillary paraphernalia.
Councilmember Obagi thought they were using the 600 ft just from the high school and the youth centers; mentioned the youth center definition needed to include wellness.
Councilmember Waller and Councilmember Obagi reported meeting to discuss issues; provided a slide with their recommendations; felt that the youth center, Allcove and its type of service should be specifically included; read what they wrote as the definition for Youth Center.
Discussion followed on what types of activities were under “wellness” and if gyms or dance studios were included; City Manager Witzansky said staff can go over it and come
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back with something that would work better.
Councilmember Waller continued and stated they discussed the “exclusion zone”; felt high schools, youth centers and smoke shop separation should be 600 ft. and 150 ft from parks.
Councilmember Obagi added if they make the CUP and the ordinances strong enough, they would regulate the smoke shop stringently enough and it would not matter where they are located.
Councilmember Waller continued and stated they were not comfortable with the definition of e-cigarette; showed a slide with the definition Councilmember Obagi authored that they felt would be more comprehensive and continue into the future; noted if the City wanted to fix the Youth Center definition, they could do that in code 10-2.1626 as opposed to having it in the smoke shop ordinance.
Councilmember Behrendt spoke about the definition of smoke shop, as proposed, and since it includes tobacco paraphernalia and that includes e-cigarettes, asked if that would then draw into the ordinance any potential cannabis shop in the future.
Discussion followed. Mayor Light left the chambers at 9:18 p.m.
Councilmember Behrendt pointed out that they don’t want to capture in the smoke shop ordinance cannabis shops where there is a whole different kind of statutory framework; asked if they should cross out the cannabis from the definition of e-cigarettes so they keep it at tobacco and nicotine.
City Manager Witzansky said that would be the easiest solution.
More discussion followed regarding whether vape pens could be sold but without the cannabis, that cannabis is a separate section of the ordinance that prohibits the sale of cannabis under the operation of a device, and ultimately the best solution would be to just remove the word “cannabis”.
More discussion followed on the specifics of the wording and what they want included or not included regarding tobacco, cannabis, and other vape type of product.
Councilmember Waller stated their point is to make it broad enough to carry into the future; spoke of when he worked with the legislative group for California State PTA they were dealing with some of these issues and they tried to figure out how to have a resolution to cover all the scenarios.
More discussion followed.
City Manager Witzansky summarized what he heard as they want to make sure a more expansive definition to the extent possible is in the provision; felt the existing draft provision is expansive and they may want to keep some of the existing draft and build on
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the more illustrative examples that are listed in Councilmembers Obagi and Waller’s proposal; stated staff will update the provision to exclude cannabis and make clear that e-cigarettes and anything that resembles e-cigarettes is considered paraphernalia and would be protected.
Community Development Director Wiener continued his presentation; provided a slide that covered the current process for any business selling tobacco products; stated the City requires a tobacco retail permit or license (TPR); reported what the City required that evening was a zoning ordinance that would regulate smoke shops, noted the process is under Sanitation and Health in the municipal code; noted that not every city issues a permit but they do to regulate it in addition to any CUP and provided more detail regarding the TPR; mentioned that there is also an enforcement process laid out in the code, several enforcement tools to enforce against the businesses in violation, and a requirement that the license be renewed annually; turned the floor over to Captain Martinez.
Captain Martinez went over the enforcement history from March 2025; reported they started receiving complaints at that time of smoke shops selling flavored tobacco products and ones that contained THC; stated they contacted the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and they inspected some locations in Redondo Beach and found two locations in violation; noted they were handled by CDTFA and did not know the results; reported in April 2025 the RBPD conducted their own inspections at 15 smoke shops using guidelines under RBMC and issued seven correction notices, ordered one business to close immediately due to no business license, and follow up inspections confirmed that all seven locations removed the flavored tobacco products; mentioned, on July 16th, a resident stated he purchased illegal items at three stores so code enforcement went to the three shops and found two were in compliance and one was in violation and issued a correction notice; noted code enforcement will continue doing inspections and any business that has received a correction notice already will receive a citation or a complaint report will be filed and forwarded to the City Attorney’s Office for a consideration for prosecution.
Mayor Light asked if their licenses could be pulled.
City Attorney Ford stated she would prefer to have an actual conviction before they do that but they could try.
Mayor Light asked how people are able to buy the product but code enforcement does not find the product during the inspection.
Captain Martinez recited the municipal code section (5-9.208 subsection 2) that authorizes them to conduct inspections; reported they can only check items on the shelves for display for sale and not backrooms per the code’s use of “reasonable inspections”.
Discussion ensued regarding how they could inspect backrooms and stock merchandise; spoke about undercover detectives or undercover sting operations and how Council could
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assist.
Councilmember Kaluderovic asked the City Attorney what she would need for conviction material to result in suspension and eventual license revocation.
City Attorney Ford stated she would need a report that a violation was committed; mentioned an undercover buy would be sufficient; noted there is a fine line between what needs to be covered by an inspection warrant and what is a reasonable inspection, and she would need to research that.
Councilmember Castle stated, in terms of inspection, he felt it should be reasonable to search inventory and storage area of a retail store and not just what is in front; noted that it would be easier to do an inspection than to organize sting operations.
More discussion followed regarding not violating the rights of owners, research needing to be done by the City Attorney, what definitions they can include in the new smoke shop ordinance or CUPs.
City Manager Witzansky warned that proper search and seizure is a very protected area of the law.
Discussion followed regarding the police canines and if they could sniff out narcotics; Captain Martinez and City Manager Witzansky both reported the City does not have any dogs trained in narcotics and that they specialize in bomb detection.
Mayor Light spoke of the delay in the cannabis ordinance because of the inability to enforce what is currently in the books.
Discussion ensued.
Councilmember Obagi pointed out the unreasonable amount they are asking the RBPD when they had a BRR in the last budget cycle that indicated how many vacancies the RBPD has; noted negotiations with the Police Officers Association would take place later this year and opined the more police officers the City has the more work they can get done; opined that halting a revenue generator that has been eight years in the making is senseless; voiced support for the survey to be done so they could hear from the residents.
Councilmember Kaluderovic asked if synthetic flavored tobacco could be included or was included in the definition.
Discussion followed and the City Manager stated he would check on it and make sure the definition is clear on it.
Councilmember Behrendt spoke about the Planning Commission’s recommendation to require smoke shops to open at 10:00 a.m.; felt the smoke shops were being singled out and wondered if that was even legal.
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City Attorney Ford stated the City’s ordinance has hours starting at 9:00 a.m. and the resolution for the cannabis ordinance does say that the state allows local cities to regulate businesses; felt it would be difficult to defend the 10:00 a.m. time and recommended if they are going to limit the hours it should be closer to school hours and provide reasons for it.
Discussion followed on setting the hours to be more similar to most businesses or just having the hours in the CUP.
City Manager Witzansky stated that staff has been given enough discussion that evening to come back with a clean draft with the changs and provisions for the Council to review and then introduce it for consideration of approval.
Councilmember Kaluderovic read over the items to make sure everything was covered and nothing was missed; spoke about wanting the number to be five and not ten within five years; listed enforcement, buffer zones, signage and design review for the CUP, prevention of glaring lights, and being very specific on the definition of ancillary and ecigarette.
Discussion followed.
Mayor Light invited public comment.
Tom Bakaly, BCHD, offered the BCHD as a resource to the City; spoke about the health issues smoking causes and applauded all the efforts the City has taken with its tobacco control policies; gave some background on the actions Redondo Beach has taken in the past; stated they participated in local, statewide, and national efforts to assist with smoking policy; spoke about actions Hermosa and Manhattan Beach have taken to control the sale of tobacco or other smoking products; asked that they look at areas of 1,000 ft as determined by the Public Health Law Center from youth locations and that they consider shortening the nonconforming smoke shop period to accelerate impact in Manhattan Beach; noted they gave retailers 18 months to prepare for the tobacco ban.
Mayor Light asked Tom Bakaly if they would take a look at the proposed ordinance and redline it with their comments; Tom Bakaly stated they could do that and provide public input as well.
Karen Cull, Redondo Beach Council of PTAs, was there to express their support for the smoke shop ordinance in the City; spoke of the RB Council of PTAs seeks to protect the public, especially the youth, from all the products spoken about tonight, including delivery systems, and to restrict the sale and marketing of hemp derived products containing psychoactive cannabinoids; noted they have found smoke shops selling illegal products including flavored additives to all cannabis formulations; thanked the Council for bringing the ordinance forward and urged law enforcement to effectively monitor the businesses.
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City Clerk Manzano reported no one online and no eComments.
Councilmember Kaluderovic asked if staff could provide a number of how many retail tobacco licenses the City has.
City Manager Witzansky responded affirmatively.
Motion by Councilmember Behrendt, seconded by Councilmember Castle, to take a fiveminute break at 9:55 p.m.
Motion carried by voice vote, 5-0.
ROLL CALL – 10:03 P.M.
Councilmembers Present: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt, Mayor Light
Councilmembers Absent: None
Officials Present: Mike Witzansky, City Manager
Joy Ford, City Attorney
Melissa Villa, Analyst/Liaison
N.3. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE CITY’S CROSSING
GUARD PROGRAM
APPROVE AN AGREEMENT WITH ALL CITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
FOR CROSSING GUARD SERVICES IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
$138,158 AND THE TERM AUGUST 19, 2025 TO JUNE 30, 2026
RECEIVE AND FILE INFORMATION REGARDING THE LOCATIONS IN THE
CITY THAT RECEIVE CROSSING GUARD SERVICES AND PROVIDE
DIRECTION ON THE NUMBER AND TYPE OF SERVICES TO BE
PROGRAMMED IN THE COMING SCHOOL YEAR AND BEYOND
CONTACT: JOE HOFFMAN, CHIEF OF POLICE
JANE CHUNG, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
Assistant to the City Manager Chung provided a PowerPoint presentation regarding the discussion and possible action of the City’s Crossing Guard Program; noted Traffic Engineer Ryan Liu and Captain Martinez were also there for any questions; provided an outline of the presentation, background of the program, and the agreement from 2021 with All City Management Services (ACMS) for “as needed” crossing guard services; noted that evening’s agenda included a proposed agreement with ACMS for the 2025- 2026 school year, which includes a “not to exceed” estimate of $138,158, which is an
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hourly rate of $37.81; reported staff presented the agreement at the August 12th City Council meeting where ACMS proposed modified language to the City’s standard indemnity provisions and the City Council directed staff to reject it and prepare recommendations for potential crossing guard locations to vacate; reported ACMS since agreed to the City’s original indemnity requirements; noted the crossing guard subcommittee is comprised of two City Councilmembers, the City Traffic Engineer, and representatives from the City Manager’s Office and RBPD; reported the subcommittee met on August 13th and conducted a comprehensive data driven review of all 27 locations.
Traffic Engineer Ryan Liu provided a list of criteria that the subcommittee used to prioritize and assess the City’s existing crossing guard locations; explained what actions the City took to gain the data which included traffic volumes during a 90 minute period during the morning school drop off, the data considered other factors such as the complexity of the intersection, whether a traffic signal was present, and if a child needs to negotiate gaps in traffic; stated they also reviewed the California Manual and Uniform Traffic Control Devices suggestions on where adult crossing guards are recommended and took knowledge from each member of the subcommittee’s own experience with each location; showed a chart that listed all of the City’s existing crossing guard locations and explained the chart’s information; reported the subcommittee targeted 12 locations that they felt were good candidates for the AAA School Safety Patrol Program and provided the list of 12 locations.
Mayor Light asked if the data collection was different than the BRR collection.
City Manager Witzansky stated it is an expansion of the BRR collection.
Traffic Engineer Liu explained they took the PD data with the bicycle, pedestrian, and car volumes and ran it through the recommendations given in the MUTCD.
Discussion followed regarding accompanied children and how that factored in.
Assistant to the City Manager Chung clarified that the 12 locations are the ones with the lowest need and also potential candidates for the AAA School Safety Program; provided some history on the AAA School Safety Patrol Program; explained that typically 5th to 8th graders are considered patrollers and they help classmates safely navigate school areas, patrollers are supervised and accompanied by an adult; noted that the program does require the School District to participate; stated the subcommittee plans to formally engage with the RBUSD to propose a collaborative partnership and opportunities to implement the AAA Program in Redondo Beach.
Traffic Engineer Liu added that the California MUTCD has specific criteria and standards for the School Safety Patrol Program and felt it is a program worth pursuing.
Assistant to the City Manager Chung presented staff’s four options for City Council consideration; noted that the first three require School District collaboration; the four options were:
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1) Option 1: Limited School Safety Patrol pilot at 1 or 2 sites by early 2026 2) Option 2: Moderate School Safety Patrol pilot at 5 sites in the 2026-2027 Academic Year, which would reduce the number of funded sites would go from 27 to 22 3) Option 3: Phased and expanded School Safety Patrol Program at up to 12 sites 4) Option 4: Phased Program reduction
Mayor Light stated that the options are not mutually exclusive and can build on each other.
City Manager Witzansky agreed with his observations.
Assistant to the City Manager Chung stated that staff’s recommendations are to approve an agreement with ACMS for crossing guard services in the amount not to exceed $138,158 and the term August 19, 2025 to June 30, 2026, to receive and file information on the locations in the City that receive crossing guard services, and to provide direction to staff on the number and type of services to be programmed in the coming school year and beyond.
Mayor Light felt direction was given already since to implement the program they have to work with the RBUSD; requested to hear from the two subcommittee members.
Councilmember Kaluderovic thanked the staff for providing the objective data and mentioned there is some subjective data that is immeasurable and gave an example of her kid’s crossing guard knowing who they are and because of that there is a level of trust that needs to be considered; noted that eliminating 12 sites may eliminate a school’s entire crossing guard program; recommended they evaluate and create a policy in the City of implementing crossing guards going forward; spoke of steps they need to take in engagement with the School District; stated they budgeted for the contract already and they should prepare themselves and the District for the changes coming.
Councilmember Behrendt echoed what Councilmember Kaluderovic said; added that they could have recommended to just cut five crossing guard locations tonight; spoke of the ACMS contract and stated there is no guarantee that it won’t be different next year; stated that education and outreach to residents is important and it is about a half million plus budget item which is not sustainable; felt the AAA Safety Patrol Program is a win and that pursuing implementation of it would be a good step towards eliminating the need to use ACMS; spoke about the data driven metrics and the possibility of reducing the crossing guard numbers at some of the 12 locations identified; felt each school should at least have one crossing guard.
Mayor Light recapped what he heard as receive and file, approve the contract at full strength to start, engage the School District on starting up a Safety Patrol Program, starting public engagement, targeting early 2026 test case and deriving and recommending a policy to set up for the future.
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Councilmember Waller spoke of the data that was given and mentioned Councilmember Kaluderovic’s point of the relationships between a crossing guard and the residents they help; hoped to start the pilot program sooner than 2026 and eliminate the need for the contract with ACMS or even to pay for crossing guards.
Councilmember Castle was in support of approving the ACMS contract since the school year starts immediately; wanted to stress to the RBUSD that the AAA Safety Patrol Program is a great development mechanism for students in terms of leadership at a young age; suggested that more students need to be assigned in case of absences and start at the middle schools where the students are older.
Councilmember Kaluderovic interjected that they discussed that and due to different start times for elementary and middle schools it would not work out.
More discussion followed.
Councilmember Castle suggested to start in the Spring semester and possibly start with five posts; asked that the subcommittee speak to the School District.
Councilmember Obagi asked if they have any indication that the School District was even interested in cooperating or participating with crossing guards.
Councilmember Kaluderovic reported she had spoken to the superintendent about the AAA Program but she did not talk to them about requiring their supervision and a designated administrative person for each school; said they have mentioned it to them but not presented the program fully.
More discussion followed on what options they would recommend and most likely it would be a hybrid of the options, exploring support of the AAA Program by the City and the best way to present the program to the School District; highlighted the benefits of kids participating in the program and that it would work towards their advantage in the future.
Motion by Councilmember Castle, seconded by Councilmember Kaluderovic, to receive and file what was presented, approve the contract and have the City Clerk get that over to the Mayor for a signature immediately since it is due on the 19th, to direct the subcommittee to engage with the School District and set up a program of public engagement, and a recommendation back to the Council for final rollout and/or a report back and any policy that should be established.
Mayor Light invited public comment.
City Clerk Manzano reported no one online and no eComments.
Captain Martinez noted that the 22 City employee crossing guards are excited to start the school year but that since the contract was not signed already the other five intersection will not be staffed by crossing guards; stated they will do everything they can to make
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sure they are staffed with cadets and parking enforcement officers tomorrow and hoped that the contract could get to ACMS by the end of the week.
Mayor Light called the vote.
Roll Call:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
O. CITY MANAGER ITEMS - None
P. MAYOR AND COUNCIL ITEMS - None
Q. MAYOR AND COUNCIL REFERRALS TO STAFF
Mayor Light stated he had four listed; mentioned he received emails from the Budget and Finance Commission and from the City’s Finance Director resurrecting an old recommendation on reserves and that the Council take it up; asked the City Manager when they can discuss it.
City Manager Witzansky felt mid-year would be a good time to have a contextual discussion regarding the item; noted that policy statement could be made but the effect of that change has to happen through budgetary action.
Councilmember Kaluderovic suggested doing a BRR and City Manager Witzansky agreed that would work.
More discussion followed.
Councilmember Castle reported last year the Budget and Finance Commission made a recommendation that they increase the reserve, thought that the extra money that they put in this year was to build toward that number.
City Manager Witzansky spoke about the previous Council’s decision and stated the Council gets to have this discussion each and every budget cycle; spoke of the data being prepared by staff and presented to the Commission prior to their recommendation; spoke of mid-year or next 26-27 budget cycle would be the time to discuss.
Discussion followed to have a BRR on it and bring it back with next year’s budget.
Mayor Light asked for support on the historic designation for Wilderness Park.
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Discussion followed on the best steps to pursue the designation.
Motion by Councilmember Obagi, seconded by Councilmember Kaluderovic, for a referral for a primary discussion about the options to historically designate Wilderness Park.
Roll Call:
AYES: Waller, Castle, Kaluderovic, Obagi (via Zoom), Behrendt NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Motion carried by roll call vote, 5-0.
Mayor Light spoke about the historic homes but that he does not know enough about it yet.
City Manager Witzansky noted that the Public Amenities Commission took up the action so that item would have to be appealed to Council for your consideration.
Mayor Light stated they could decide on it later after they have read more about it; stated the last one was regarding a global tobacco policy which was from Councilmember Kaluderovic.
Councilmember Kaluderovic felt they discussed it earlier and it was covered.
Councilmember Waller asked for a BRR for a report to be prepared on parking revenue generated from the Riviera Village triangle area on regular weekends to be able to compare those numbers to when there are weekend events in the Village such as Summer Festival, the July 4th 5K, etc.
R. RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION - None
R.1. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
City of Redondo Beach, et al. v. California State Water Resources Control Board
Case Number: 20STCP03193
R.2. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
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In re 9300 Wilshire LLC
Bankruptcy C.D. Cal.
Case Number: 2:23-bk-10918-ER
R.3. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
9300 Wilshire, LLC v. City of Redondo Beach; City Council of the City of Redondo Beach; City of Redondo Beach Department of Community Development; and DOES 1 through 100, inclusive
Case Number: 23STCP02189
R.4. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
In re 9300 Wilshire, LLC (9300 Wilshire, LLC et al. v. AES-Redondo Beach, LLC) Bankruptcy C.D. Cal.
Case Number: 2:23-ap-01163-ER
R.5. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
Yes in My Back Yard, a California nonprofit corporation; SONJA TRAUSS, an individual v. City of Redondo Beach; City Council of the City of Redondo Beach; City of Redondo Beach Department of Community Development, and DOES 1 through 25 inclusive
Case Number: 23TRCP00325
R.6. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
New Commune DTLA LLC v. City of Redondo Beach; City Council of the City of Redondo Beach; and DOES 1 through 100, inclusive
Case Number: 23STCV10146
R.7. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
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Name of case:
New Commune DTLA, LLC and Leonid Pustilnikov v. City of Redondo Beach and City Council of the City of Redondo Beach
Case Number: 22TRCP00203
R.8. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
New Commune DTLA, LLC v. City of Redondo Beach; City Council of the City of Redondo Beach; City of Redondo Beach Department of Community Development, et al.
Case Number: 23STCP00426
R.9. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege, Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case:
AES Southland Development, LLC and AES Redondo Beach, LLC v.
California Coastal Commission
Case Number: BS157789
R.10. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege - Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case: David Poirier v. City of Redondo Beach
WCAB No: ADJ16707384
R.11. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION - The Closed Session is authorized by the attorney-client privilege - Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
Name of case: Chad Smith v. City of Redondo Beach
WCAB No: Unassigned
S. RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION
T. ADJOURNMENT – 10:52 P.M.
Motion by Councilmember Castle, seconded by Councilmember Kaluderovic, to adjourn the meeting at 10:52 p.m.
Motion carried by voice vote, 5-0.
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The next meeting of the City Council of the City of Redondo Beach will be an Adjourned Regular meeting to be held at 4:30 p.m. (Closed Session) and a Regular meeting to be held at 6:00 p.m. (Open Session) on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, in the Redondo Beach City Hall Council Chamber, 415 Diamond Street, Redondo Beach, California.
Respectfully submitted:
Eleanor Manzano, CMC
City Clerk