City of Redondo Beach General Plan Annual Progress Report 2025 The General Plan Annual Progress Report (APR), excluding Housing Element information, is not required to be prepared in any particular format or on any standardized forms. OPR has issued general guidelines (July 11, 2007) to assist local governments with the development of the General Plan APR but the guidelines are intentionally general to allow maximum flexibility in form and content. OPR’s stated purpose of the General Plan APR is to “… explain how land use decisions (during the 12-month reporting period) relate to adopted goals, policies, and implementation measures of the General Plan. The General Plan APR is not required to incorporate all of the elements and “need not be an elaborate and time-consuming task.”
In keeping with the general parameter’s outlined in OPR’s “Guidelines”, the scope of the “2025 General Plan APR” briefly presents a summary of the following topics:
1. Status of the City’s Current General Plan
2. Prior updates to the General Plan since 1992
3. Current General Plan updates (Ongoing)
4. Development Projects Summary 2025 (Planning Division) This report demonstrates that the existing General Plan continues to be applied and implemented while an update of the City’s General Plan nears completion.
1. Status of the City’s Current General Plan
The City’s current General Plan was largely adopted on May 26, 1992. As measured against all applicable General Plan statutory requirements, the City of Redondo Beach’s current General Plan is legally compliant, internally consistent, complete, and adequate. This includes the City’s Housing Element. The City’s Housing Element was adopted by City Council on July 5, 2022. In a letter dated September 1, 2022, the California Department of Housing and Community Development affirmed that the City’s Housing Element is in full compliance with state law.
2. Prior updates to the General Plan since 1992
To remain compliant with General Plan statutory requirements, both the Housing and Circulation Elements have been updated since their original 1992 adoption. The Housing Element and Circulation Elements were comprehensively updated in November 2009, and the Housing Element was further updated and certified by the state in 2014 and 2017, and again most recently on July 5, 2022.
3. Current General Plan updates (Ongoing)
On October 4, 2016, the City Council authorized updates to the “Land Use Element” and the “Open Space and Conservation Elements” of the City’s General Plan and the preparation of the required environmental documents (EIR). The scope of the General Plan update has since been broadened to also include an update of the City’s Safety and Noise Elements, the City’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (adopted 2020), and the development of the “Artesia/Aviation Corridor Area Plan” (adopted 2020).
On November 15, 2016 the City Council adopted a Resolution forming a 27-member General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) which set forth its composition, duties, and responsibilities in support of the General Plan Update. Since their initial meeting on April 27, 2017, the GPAC conducted twenty-eight (28) meetings, with their final meeting on January 31, 2024.
Following the GPAC’s work, multiple community wide public workshops, and multiple Planning Commission public hearings the City Council directed staff to separate out and prioritize the General Plan land use, zoning map, and zoning ordinance amendments required to implement the City’s certified 6th cycle 2021-2029 Housing Element and other amendments regarding residentially designated properties ahead of the overall General Plan update in order to ensure schedules as required by State Housing Law were met.
At their meeting on November 5, 2024, the City Council approved and adopted the following “Resolutions” and “Ordinances” intended to implement the City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element and other residential amendments:
• Resolution Certifying the GPU FEIR;
• Resolution Amending the existing Land Use Element and Land Plan to implement the City’s Certified 6th Cycle Housing Element and other Residential amendments not identified as program actions in the Housing Element;
• Resolution Amending the Local Coastal Program to implement the City’s Certified 6th Cycle Housing Element and other Residential amendments not identified as program actions in the Housing Element; and
• Zoning Ordinances Amending Title 10 Chapters 1, 2, and 5 of the Redondo Beach Municipal Code intended to implement the City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element.
In the fall of 2025, the City Council conducted multiple public meetings concerning the Floor Area Ratios (FARs) for the Public/Institutional land use designation and the Artesia and Aviation Corridors (AACAP) and provided the following directions.
• Public/Institutional (PI)
o Max. FAR 0.75 for all properties except:
Max. FAR of 1.25 at City Hall bounded by PCH, Broadway, Carnelian St, and Diamond St; the Annex site on Northeast Corner of PCH and Vincent St; and the Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) Campus
• Artesia and Aviation Corridors (AACAP)
o Max. FAR of 1.25
o No parking required for new development
If provided, locate in rear if feasible
o Study appropriate development standards to limit impacts on surrounding residential neighborhoods
o Study roof top dining standards
In late 2025, City Council also provided policy directions concerning the City’s Historic Preservation efforts that included establishing future outreach and education promoting historic preservation in the City and ensuring the City’s continued preservation efforts are voluntary. City Councils directions will be implemented with the adoption of the Land Use Element Update in 2026.
The following “tasks” are the remaining outstanding General Plan update action items that will occur in 2026:
• The formal adoption of a consistently formatted comprehensive General Plan document with a new Introduction, updated text, Goals, Policies, and Implementation Measures for the Land Use, Open Space and Conservation, Safety, and Noise Elements; • The implementation of all non-residential amendments to the City’s General Plan land use map, zoning map, zoning ordinance, and local coastal program; o This includes the formal adoption of directed FAR increases for the “PI” and AACAP land uses.
• Additional residential amendments to the City’s General Plan land use map, zoning map, and zoning ordinance required for consistency with a proposed Housing Element update; o Includes the change in the General Plan land use designations and zoning for the City’s designated “Housing Sites” from an “overlay” zone to a “mixed-use” zone o Also includes increased densities at designated “Housing Sites”. • Additional Article XXVII required tasks that include traffic impact analysis, buildout data reporting, and land use mitigation recommendations to address the implementation of all non-residential amendments proposed with the General Plan update;
• Potentially, additional CEQA related work (Addendum to the certified Final Program Environmental Impact Report is anticipated).
Upcoming GPU schedule milestones are noted below:
• April-June 2026 – City Council Pubic Hearings
o Land Use Element Adoption – To Include:
PI FAR increases
Artesia and Aviation FAR increases
Revised/Updated Housing Element “Housing Site” designations/densities Historic Preservation policies promoting education/outreach and voluntary participation
Other Land Use Element Policies
o Safety Element Adoption
o Open Space & Conservation Element Adoption
o Noise Element Adoption
o Consistency Zoning Ordinance Adoption
Nonconforming Use/Structure Standards
• June 2026 – Article XXVII Analysis/EIR Addendum if Necessary • September 2026 – Special Election Ballot
o PI FAR
o AACAP FAR/Other Amendments
4. Development Projects Summary 2024 (Planning Division) Over (120) projects were formally processed and approved by the Planning Division (lead agency) during calendar year 2025 (127 in 2024, 150 in 2023, 146 in 2022, 207 in 2021, 172 in 2020, 161 in 2019 and 145 in 2018). All of the 2025 projects were deemed consistent with applicable General Plan and Zoning Ordinance requirements.
In addition to the formally processed projects noted above, hundreds of other projects were reviewed by the Planning Division in 2025 as part of its support of ministerial permits issued by other departments, most notably the City’s Finance Department (Business License reviews), Building Division, and the Public Works Department. Additionally, the Planning Division responds to 10-15 daily general inquiries from residents, business owners/operators, and the general public (via phone, in person at the Planning Division front counter, and emails submitted to [email protected]) in their provision of public information services.
In support of the City’s issuance of business licenses, building, and encroachment permits, and the provision of public information services, the Planning Division routinely applies the applicable policies and development regulations within the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance.