June 16, 2026
To: City of Redondo Beach
From: King Harbor Association, Board of Directors
Supported by: Riviera Village Association, Board of Directors Re: Strong Opposition to current Seaside Lagoon Renovation Plan Dear Members of the Redondo Beach City Council and Mayor Light, As a collective body of businesses that drive the economic wellness of the Waterfront which represents approximately $100 million dollars in revenues annually that the City of Redondo benefits from, the King Harbor Association is vital to the long-term sustainability and success of the Redondo Beach Waterfront. As such, we are writing to urge you to reconsider your recent decision regarding the Seaside Lagoon construction effort that you tentatively set in motion for 2027. This letter represents collective feedback from over 14 businesses and the intention of this correspondence is based in our Mission: advancing the commercial, recreational, social, and cultural welfare of the Redondo Beach Harbor area. This includes, but is not limited to, physical improvements, beautification efforts, advertising and promotion, volunteer activities, events and the involvement in the City and community development efforts.
Many of us are long-time tenants that have seen the progress, or lack thereof, in the Waterfront over the last several decades. Instead of responsible redevelopment or maintenance of the area, the many decisions made by past City Councils have ultimately resulted in a Waterfront that currently lacks cohesion and a sense of place that is so direly needed to drive economic progress. From a business perspective, the Seaside Lagoon project is a legacy opportunity for the City of Redondo Beach to buck the historical trend and start creating unique and lasting attractions to drive foot traffic, revenue, and attention to the area. We are all cognizant that this project executed in the coming years will most certainly stay with the community for the next several decades. Further, we all understand that your actions are perceived as prudent and practical, with the result being to reduce current fines and spend the earmarked money that was provided by Senator Ben Allen. However, even the Senator who earmarked these contributions is urging you to reconsider your current path:
“Several years ago, Mayor Bill Brand asked my office to invest in the City of Redondo Beach’s future by way of earmarking $10 million dollars of state funds to the redevelopment of the Seaside Lagoon. Our conversations centered around a commitment to redesign around the highest and best use of the land with the City and County providing a commitment of funds as well. Additionally, we agreed that integrating long-term economic stability and maximizing community and regional recreation and enjoyment would be critical underlying principles justifying the state’s investment. We did not contemplate a ‘fix’ of the current park but instead sought to inspire a fresh vision after years of deferred maintenance and reduced community use. The current plan does not seem to contemplate this commitment, and my hope is that the current City Council will circle back to execute the due diligence necessary to better integrate community, economic, and creative direction.” Below we have outlined several key reasons why initiating a hastily planned construction project in 2027 is not only ill-timed but disadvantageous to the business community without more due diligence and exploration.
Highest and Best Use of Property
The Seaside Lagoon represents some of the most beautiful coastline land in Southern California and has the potential to be the center point of the Harbor: a unique, economically sustaining attraction that brings foot traffic and commerce to the area like never before. We are seeing cities throughout California go through this creative process including but not limited to San Diego, San Pedro, and Long Beach to name a few. In the current plan, there is vague (if any) reference to the Amenities Plan, and we question if renovating the bottom of the lagoon (adding concrete) with some minimal topical aesthetic renovation with a severely limited budget is the highest and best use of this land.
Rather, this renovation appears to be a hurried action driven by the fines being levied against the City due to water pollution. The fines have been a normal course of practice for decades it would appear but have recently created a reactionary impulse to fix the current isolated problem and have become the main impetus for what would appear to be an under-funded and ill-timed renovation. This may result in the fines ceasing, but will effectively prevent and limit and further creativity into the site for decades to come, and will not result in increased foot traffic, events, or economic increase.
Difficult Project Timing
Even if this project was the highest and best use of the land, the proposed project timing (April 2027 – May 2028, which is less than 10 months away) should cause great concern. Reportedly, the City has spent 20% (over $2m) of its budget with an out-of-town design firm that has solicited no business feedback from our Association and in over 2 years of work has delivered a project that is underwhelming, lacks creativity, and is difficult to execute. With construction adjacent to the water-table, a prudent project manager would add contingency time & money to the plan, especially since history would suggest that delays are not only possible but probable (see timetable for the delay in the nearby sewage project). In this case, if an overage occurs and the project delays, there is a real chance that the City of Redondo will not be ready for the LA28 Olympics. Additionally, there has been zero discussion on incremental improvements that would increase event use or Olympics use. Instead of doing construction, why not plan to bring Olympic-adjacent events & parties to the area to promote commerce? Why not work with local businesses and associations to brainstorm how the Lagoon should be used during the Olympics? Why not engage with the Senator to ask for a small amount of the state funds to be used to aesthetically improve the park? With a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity coming to Los Angeles, is this worth the risk to rush the project to completion? Additionally, the project was being managed by a capable Waterfront Director, Greg Kapovich, for 2 years, who abruptly resigned. The project has been reassigned to a busy Community Development Department out of necessity, but the complexity of this project deserves more planning, more contingency time, and should not be placed in priority of a potential Olympics activation.
Lastly, this proposed project seems set to displace BeachLife Festival in 2027, a locally-owned event that has a proven track record of creating significant economic activity for the Waterfront area in a traditionally slow time. Recent city-originated reporting shows that BeachLife Festival has “economic impact that is meaningful” to the surrounding businesses and area, and we cannot be supportive of the displacement of such an event until the KHA is sure that the result of such displacement will outweigh the short-term loss.
Proposed Solutions
The business members of the KHA want solutions that are long-term and economically sustainable, and that will help drive real results in terms of foot traffic, hotel room reservations, harbor use, and restaurant covers. Your current plan does not accomplish nor even contemplate this. As an alternative, the KHA proposes that you delay the current project for 18-24 months (a small amount of time considering this is a 60-year old relic) and set forth a deliberate path towards getting community approval, and which:
1) Avoids the potential pitfall of construction during the Olympics, and helps fuel Olympic planning; 2) Avoids the BeachLife 2027 quagmire and allows both parties to plan for a 2029 alternative; 3) Allows the KHA to help execute a third-party, city-approved study that will guarantee objective results showing what the majority of Redondo residents, and others, want out of this acreage. This study would explore the real economic impacts of different options, not only to the City but surrounding businesses and hotels (How many bed nights does the current Seaside Lagoon operation drive? How many restaurant visitors does the current operation drive?) The KHA is committed to funding and helping transparently manage this survey and community outreach, which would be unlike any past outreach. 4) Engages key partners and stakeholders in the discussion such as Surfrider, Heal the Bay, Culture Club, Lanakila, and other community, environmental, and cultural partners to be a part of the creative process.
What is the downside of a delay? Seemingly minimal when you juxtapose it with the finality of the future of this public park for the next few decades and the economic outcome of the area.
Summary
We, as representatives of the business community, see the potential – it’s why we have invested our time, resources, and lives in this area. With continued lack of commercial or economic cohesion and adverse business conditions increasing in the area, the King Harbor Association has become a unified voice whereby we are resolute in making our collective Voice heard to the City Council and Mayor. Every project should be studied through a highest and best lens – community value, economic & commercial impacts, and ability to make the Waterfront of Redondo Beach a more highly trafficked area. In most cases, the City has percentage rent models which align economic interests to create real and lasting improvements to the area. Creative & fresh though, new business partnerships, and breaking out of the mold that has proven unsuccessful is something that we are excited to champion, and this is one such example where we believe there is a better path forward than the one currently being forged. We urge you to invite the King Harbor Association into the fold, to empower our association and hold us accountable to what we are proposing: to be a valuable partner to the City and a bellwether to the business interests of the area, while maintaining the character of Redondo that we all cherish. We pledge our time, resources, and positive attitudes towards a collective resolution forward, and we strongly discourage the future path and are intent on making change.
Please do not move forward with the 2027 construction plan as currently projected.
Our South Bay culture and community is depending on you to be more creative, responsible, and inclusive.
You get one shot at this, with the outcome being felt for decades – let’s show our children we can dream too.
Respectfully,
Board of Directors, King Harbor Association
Jeff Jones, Quality Seafood
Cameron Thomas, Port Royal
Daniel Vidales & Mike Zislis, Shade
Drew Berry, Portofino Hotel
Edward Torices, Redondo Beach Hotel
Allen Sanford, BeachLife Festival & California Surf Club George Loren, R10 & Riviera Cantina
Chris Bredesen, Captain Kidds
Jacob Mark, Redondo Beach Glass Bottom Boat & Rentals
Jeff Ginsburg, King Harbor Marina
Joe Smith
Jonathan Dragone
Randy LaFaye
Craig Stanton, Concord Management
Remee McNulty, Crystal Cove Apartments
Officially Supported through Board Motion by:
Riviera Village Association, Board of Directors