Name:
Brent Maille
Comment - 03/26/2025 09:04 AM: ( No Vote )
From:
BM
Date:
Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 10:45
PM
To:
[email protected]
<
[email protected]
>
Subject:
CDEC Committee: Direction on the Appropriated Resource Contributions FRUSTRATED 20+ YEAR RESIDENT BUT AVID DECORATOR… LOVE A LOT ABOUT OUR ANNUAL SPECTACLE BUT WE – AND THE CITY– ARE AT A BREAKING POINT.
To: Committee Members, Council Members, and City Staff
Each year, the City is shocked and surprised by the money spent the past December to support the neighborhood and its holiday light displays. Year after year, expenditures increase — and year after year, the situation in the neighborhood seems to worsen.
It may be time for the City to reconsider its current approach. Perhaps existing traffic mitigation strategies and City-supported efforts are unintentionally contributing to the problem. Encouraging and facilitating visitor access may, in fact, be part of what’s exacerbating the chaos. Introducing a bit of difficulty — some friction — in navigating the neighborhood might actually discourage excessive crowds and help restore balance.
Resident vending is a major factor.
While well-intentioned, this past City-approved activity shifted the character of the event. What was once a charming, mostly drive-through holiday experience has, over the past 7–8 years, taken on a carnival-like atmosphere. These changes closely align with the City’s involvement and, in particular, its decision to temporarily allow resident vending.
On a
micro level
, I see this daily. My street has several resident vendors. As a result, my driveway and even my vehicles become makeshift picnic spots. Visitors congregate to eat and drink, using car trunks, bumpers, and hoods as tables and chairs — often leaving trash behind as souvenirs.
On a
macro level
, this vending contributes significantly to crowd density, litter, traffic gridlock, and rising tension between residents and visitors. It’s clear the City is investing more money and resources every year to manage these effects — and it’s still not enough. I worry that both the City and the neighborhood are reaching a breaking point. The sentiment among neighbors is shifting; more and more, I hear, “Why do we still do this?” And honestly, there are nights I ask myself the same question. Are we at risk of losing this tradition to neighborhood fatigue? Maybe that’s the goal — consciously or not.
Another observable change over the past several years is the shift from drive-through to walk-
through traffic.
Sidewalks are now overcrowded, and pedestrians flood the streets and intersections, slowing vehicle flow to a crawl if not turning the streets into a parking lot. Ironically, efforts meant to manage traffic have pushed it — and all its side effects — into adjacent neighborhoods. Residents there are surely noticing the overflow of parked cars and foot traffic.
5. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
5B.
City Manager – Review and Provide Direction on Appropriated Resource Contributions and Cottage Food Ordinance related to the Neighborhood Coordinated Seaside Ranchos Holiday Lights Display. Expenditure: None
If the City is concerned about rising costs for a “non-City” event, perhaps it’s time to ask the hard question:
Why
have things worsened despite increasing investment? I have my own theories to share, and I’d be interested in hearing others. But we cannot continue down this same path each year, spending more to manage something that feels increasingly unmanageable.
Resident vending is a major contributor
, but another possible factor is the City’s traffic mitigation strategy itself. Has it worked? Or has it amplified attention and drawn even larger crowds? Maybe we shouldn’t be making it easy for visitors to find and access the neighborhood. A little inconvenience might deter some — and that’s not a bad thing.
In short, perhaps it’s time to explore a
policy of retreat
. Scaling back, not expanding. Eliminating
vending and reintroducing mild friction for visitors could help return the event to its original character: a calm, family-friendly, drive-through experience. The benefits are clear — better pedestrian movement, less trash, reduced congestion, fewer conflicts, and perhaps most importantly, fewer City resources required.
What was once a magical neighborhood tradition has, in recent years, morphed into a 25-day street festival — more reminiscent of Wilson Park’s Saturday Farmers Market than a holiday light tour. It may be time to restore the balance — for the sake of both residents and the tradition itself.
Thank you for your time.
Brent Maille
I realize this is after the 5:30pm deadline so will not be posted to public record before the CDEC meeting.
But please get a copy submitted as part of public record post meeting. Thank you!
Name:
Brent Maille
Comment - 03/26/2025 09:05 AM: ( No Vote )
From:
BM
Sent:
Tuesday, March 25, 2025 10:45 PM
To:
CityCouncil <
[email protected]
>
Cc:
Le, Jamie <
[email protected]
>; Ramirez, Michelle <
[email protected]
>
Subject:
CDEC Committee: Holiday Lights/Cottage Food - 2024 Wrap Up
First, I want to express how truly special it is to live in Torrance. My interactions with City staff have consistently been outstanding. While I may not always like the answers, I deeply appreciate the effort and the promptness with which replies are provided.
Below are selected excerpts from a summary I previously shared with City staff regarding this past December’s holiday lights experience… at least from one residents perspective.
Additionally, I’ve included updated statistics from my earlier message, thanks to helpful follow-up from City staff:
• 11 citations were issued to homeowners, and 2 to outside vendors. • Of the 11 citations issued to homeowners, 7 were issued to a single resident.
Thank you again for your time and continued engagement.
I realize this is after the 5:30pm deadline so will not be posted to public record before the CDEC meeting.
But please get a copy submitted as part of public record post meeting. Thank you! From:
BM
Date:
Friday, February 14, 2025 at 1:43
PM
To:
Ramirez, Michelle <
[email protected]
>, Le, Jamie <
[email protected]
>
Subject:
Holiday Lights/Cottage Food - 2024 Wrap Up
Good afternoon Michelle and Jamie,
I hope you’re both doing well.
I wanted to check in to see if there have been any City debriefs regarding the past holiday season in Seaside Ranchos. Additionally, do you have any updates on when and how any Cottage Food ordinance modifications will be addressed? I’d appreciate any insights you can share.
As I mentioned in my November/December emails, I’m happy to participate in any City discussions that involve neighborhood input.
Cottage Food (CF) Ordinance Adjustments
I hope the City will soon consider refining the language in the CF ordinance, particularly around the term "sales." You previously mentioned to me a significant distinction between "vend" and "sales":
•
Using "vend" would prevent sales disguised as donations. •
It would allow the City to enforce restrictions that confine food vending to inside the home and during certain hours, aligning with the original intent of the Cottage Food ordinance. •
Currently, if a resident solicits offers—for example, offering a bag of popcorn for a "suggested donation"—they can operate with unlimited hours and locations (I assume only within the confines of their property????), effectively bypassing the ordinance provisions controlling hours and location.
0. There are plenty other parts of the ordinance that are still effective such as type of foods, number of customers and nuisance provisions that could be enforced even in a “suggested donation” situation.
•
Fortunately, the Sidewalk Vending Ordinance 3851 already uses the term "vend," which could serve as a model for CF revisions.
How does the City distinguish between Cottage Food operations and Sidewalk Vending when the vending occurs in a driveway?
If a homeowner is selling in their driveway, you treat this as a Cottage Food matter? Why not sidewalk vending? I don't know if it matters… I need to bounce this around in my head.
Understanding this distinction would be useful for future discussions.
Strengthening Enforcement & Fines
There’s a clear need for greater alignment between the CF ordinance and the Sidewalk Vending ordinance language as well as penalties and enforcement. Based on data compiled, several residents continued selling despite, I assume, many citations, as I am certain their nightly earnings far exceeded the fines. Their behavior did not change, even if they did voice complaints to the City or the CEOs.
Citation & Enforcement Data
While CEOs were present at least 90% of the nights (probably even more), there were at least 38 instances of driveway food sales on Reese Road alone. I’m curious how the number of citations compares to actual violations.
Can you share any data on the number of citations issued this past December?
Observations on Holiday Trends
As mentioned in my late December email, the season started well, with notably very little trash in the gutters, streets and sidewalks —something I am able to observe on my daily 6 a.m. walks. However, as December progressed, the last week/week and a half, vending activity increased, along with associated issues. Trash was spilling out of the City provided receptacles, and significantly more trash was now present every morning in the gutters, streets and sidewalks. This late start of the trash issues could be due to unpredictable visitor patterns with visitors holding off their tour of the neighborhood to the latter part of December, but more likely, it reflects the fact that we lost the vending battle those last few weeks and the bad behaviors of others became contagious! And with more vending comes more trash.
I appreciate both of your efforts on this issue. Whether or not this ever gets to a “happy place,” your efforts are so greatly appreciated.
Looking forward to any updates you can provide.
Best regards,
Brent