BLUE FOLDER ITEM
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CITY COUNCIL MEETING
September 1, 2026
N.1 DISCUSSION AND FIRST READING OF AMENDMENTS TO REDONDO BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE SECTIONS 10-2.1524, 10-5.402 AND 1-
2.01(b) PERTAINING TO HEDGE-RELATED ORDINANCES
CONTACT: JOY A. FORD, CITY ATTORNEY
• Revised Amendment to 10-5.402
• Public Communications
____________________________________________________________________________________
PROPOSED REVISED ORDINANCE
§ 10-5.402 Definitions
Current definition in §10-5.402
"Visual obstruction"
shall mean a fence, hedge, tree, shrub, wall, structure, or other physical obstruction which limits the visibility of persons in motor vehicles or pedestrians approaching intersecting or intercepting streets, alleys, driveways, or other public rights-of-way.
Amend with following from §10-2.1524
Visual Obstruction shall mean any fence, hedge, tree, shrub, wall, structure, or other physical obstruction that limits the visibility of persons in motor vehicles, pedestrians, or the traveling public approaching intersecting or intercepting streets, alleys, paths, driveways, or other public rights-of-way.
Current definition in §10-5.402
"Wall" or "fence"
shall mean a structure forming a physical barrier. This shall include concrete, concrete block, wood, chain-link, wrought iron or other materials which are solid and are so assembled as to form a barrier.
Amend with following from §10-2.1524
“Wall” or “fence”
shall mean any artificially constructed barrier of wood, masonry, stone, wire, metal, or other manufactured material or combination of materials erected to enclose, screen, separate, or define areas of land.
Add following definitions to §10-5.402
Hedge shall mean a continuous living screen, barrier, or boundary marker formed by a row, series, or grouping of two (2) or more closely spaced woody shrubs, bushes, trees, or other vegetation planted, cultivated, or maintained in close proximity so as to form, or that has grown to form, a substantially continuous physical or visual obstruction to passage or view, having a height greater than twelve (12) inches.
Shrub shall mean a woody plant, generally smaller than a tree, typically with multiple stems branching from or near the ground.
Vegetation shall mean all types of plants, bushes, hedges, shrubs, and trees.
From: Julie Parrino
To: CityClerk
Cc: Zein Obagi; Scott Behrendt; Joy Ford
Subject: Item N.1, File #26-1049 — Support for introduction, with two requests before second reading Date: Tuesday, September 1, 2026 12:09:00 AM
You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important CAUTION: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.
To the City Clerk, for distribution to the Mayor and City Council regarding Item N.1, File #26-1049 (September 1, 2026):
Dear Mayor Light and Councilmembers,
I support introduction of the revised hedge ordinance. The bona fide complainant requirement, the good-faith provision, and the 60-day notice-and-cure period address precisely the enforcement problems residents have described since December, and I thank Councilmembers Behrendt and Obagi and the City Attorney's Office for the care evident in the text. I also support staff's recommended single-measurement definition of "height" over the "greater of" formulation.
I ask that two items be addressed before second reading:
1. A transition provision. The ordinance is silent on cases initiated before its effective date. I ask that it include a provision directing that pending notices issued on complaints that would not satisfy the new bona fide complainant standard, and that do not involve a Critical and/or Urgent Violation, be closed. The residents whose experience prompted this reform should be the first to benefit from its protections, not the last.
2. A cross-reference correction. Subsection (j) refers to "subsection (g)(6)" for Bona Fide Complainant and "subsection (g)(7)" for Critical and/or Urgent Violation; in the definitions section those terms appear at (g)(1) and (g)(2).
Thank you for your continued attention to this matter.
Respectfully,
Julie Parrino
1920 Huntington Lane
Redondo Beach, CA
Julie Parrino
(310) 621-0288
You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you ~ John Wooden
1 Emily Bodkin
From: Laura MacMorran <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2026 1:27 PM
To: CityClerk
Subject: Blue Folder Item for N1
Attachments: Fence etc standards recommendations.docx
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed
Categories: Emily, Khatirah
CAUTION: Email is from an external source; Stop, Look, and Think before opening attachments or links.
Greetings,
Would you please add this document to the Blue Folder for tonight's meeting? Thank you.
--
Yours,
Laura MacMorran
(310) 944-8858
You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important Proposed Friendly Modest Changes
to § 10-2.1524 Fences, hedges, walls, and obstructions in all zones and § 10-5.1524 Fences, hedges, walls, and obstructions in all zones by Laura MacMorran
(1) All residential zones.
a. Front setbacks. No fence, hedge, or wall over 42 inches in height shall be permitted within any required front setback.
b. Rear and side setbacks. Except as permitted in subsections (c) and (e) of this section, no fence, hedge, or wall greater than six feet in height shall be permitted within any required rear setback or side setback.
c. Reverse corner lots in residential zones. Notwithstanding subsection (b)(1)(b) of this section, no fence, wall, or hedge over 42 inches in height shall be permitted within a triangular area at the corner of the lot abutting the front setback of the key lot, which triangle shall be formed by the rear and exterior side lot lines and a diagonal line drawn between two points located 15 feet along the rear and exterior side lot lines from their point of intersection (see illustration below). d. All corner lots. All corner lots shall maintain for safety vision purposes a triangular area at the street intersection corner of the lot, which triangle shall be formed by the front and exterior side lot lines and a diagonal line drawn between two points located 15 feet along the front and exterior side lot lines from their point of intersection or, in the case of a rounded lot corner, from the point of intersection of such lot lines if extended. Within such triangular area, no tree, fence, shrub, or other physical obstruction higher than 36 inches above the established sidewalk grade shall be permitted and lower than seven feet, except for a tree trunk. e. Lots abutting alleys. Where a lot abuts both a street and an alley, a triangular area shall be maintained for safety vision purposes at the intersection of the street and alley, which triangle shall be formed by the lot lines abutting the street and alley and a diagonal line drawn between two points located 15 feet along each lot line from their point of intersection or, in the case of a rounded lot corner, from the point of intersection of such lot lines if extended. Within such triangular area, no tree, fence, shrub, or other physical obstruction higher than 36 inches above the Commented [LM1]: Moved this existing subparagraph
d. Maintenance of Visibility at Street and Alley Corners in All Zones, so that all height standards are grouped
together.
Added an exception to allow for a tree in the sight
triangle and clarify the minimum clearance for tree
branches. Recently, I was told by a Code Enforcement
OƯicer that someone could have their “tree branches” at any height.
Commented [LM2]: Separated d. Maintenance of
Visibility at Street and Alley Corners in All Zones provision into two provisions because some lots that abut an alley are not corner lots. By separating the alley provision from the corner lot provision, multiple situations are covered. established curb grade shall be permitted and lower than seven feet, except for a tree trunk.
(2) All nonresidential zones.
a. Front and exterior side setbacks. No fence, hedge, or wall over 42 inches in height shall be permitted within any required front or exterior side setback. b. Rear and interior side setbacks. Except as permitted in subsections (c) and (e) of this section, no fence, hedge, or wall greater than six feet in height shall be permitted within any required rear setback or interior side setback. c. All corner lots. All corner lots shall maintain for safety vision purposes a triangular area at the street intersection corner of the lot, which triangle shall be formed by the front and exterior side lot lines and a diagonal line drawn between two points located 15 feet along the front and exterior side lot lines from their point of intersection or, in the case of a rounded lot corner, from the point of intersection of such lot lines if extended. Within such triangular area, no tree, fence, shrub, or other physical obstruction higher than 36 inches above the established sidewalk grade shall be permitted and lower than seven feet, except for a tree trunk. d. Lots abutting alleys. Where a lot abuts both a street and an alley, a triangular area shall be maintained for safety vision purposes at the intersection of the street and alley, which triangle shall be formed by the lot lines abutting the street and alley and a diagonal line drawn between two points located 15 feet along each lot line from their point of intersection or, in the case of a rounded lot corner, from the point of intersection of such lot lines if extended. Within such triangular area, no tree, fence, shrub, or other physical obstruction higher than 36 inches above the established curb grade shall be permitted and lower than seven feet, except for a tree trunk.
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