The Hermosa Beach City Council this week unanimously approved a state-required plan to build affordable housing in the densely populated coastal town.
While numerous residents spoke against the Housing Element and the council lamented about strict requirements that have to be met by all California cities, Mayor Raymond Jackson said the eventual approval is a “good day for our city.”
“We can create affordable housing for people that care about this community, that want to remain in this community,” Jackson said at this week’s packed council meeting. “And they’re going to be part of our economic development and vitality moving forward.”
The state has said Hermosa Beach must build 558 units by 2029, distributed among various income categories, and across the nearly 1.5-square-mile city. These units, Jackson said, could potentially be used for people who work in the city, including firefighters or teachers, who can’t afford the city’s expensive housing.
But with a potential housing development at St. Cross Episcopal Church, approximately 40 speakers addressed their concerns about over-development and a change in zoning to allow construction to exceed the city’s prevalent height limit, which is between 30 to 35 feet.
“I bought my house in 1981,” resident Greg Tucker said on Tuesday, Aug. 8. “A college graduate making nothing bought an old house that was built in 1940. When I added on to my house, I made (expletive) sure that I didn’t block my neighbor’s view. I built up to their windowsill. I could have built another 10 feet up, but it didn’t do that. Because that’s not right.”
But some speakers said buying property in Hermosa Beach, or even renting, is virtually impossible and will continue to be without more affordable housing.
“How can Hermosa be the best little beach city,” resident Greg Woodburn said, “if it becomes only accessible to those with the highest incomes and the largest inheritances?
The council’s Tuesday approval culminated a nearly three-year journey.
Housing Element planning is currently in its sixth cycle, 2021-29. The fifth planning cycle ran from 2013 to 2021.
The city needed to determine how it would meet the state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment, which is determined by the Southern California Association of Governments.
As part of its requirements, Hermosa developed an inventory of land parcels around the city that could be developed for housing based on density and other issues to meet the RHNA allocation of 558 units during the 2021-2029 cycle.
The 558 housing units included those for very low (232), low (127), moderate (106) and above moderate (93) incomes. But, according to Hermosa Beach Community Development Director Carrie Tai, the city had surpassed that, with more than 600 units in the Housing Element
Currently, those 15 lots include the church, 18 residential units and parking lots, according to a staff report.
The church requested to be on the inventory list, Tai said in an earlier interview.
Rev. Stephen Smith said at Tuesday’s meeting that although church officials have been exploring the possibility of redeveloping the residential properties next to St. Cross, they have not made any plans for development — and won’t “without community input.”
“It’s true that some of the residential properties that church owns are old and need replacement and refurbishment,” Smith said. “Being included in the city’s Housing Element helps Hermosa Beach meet the demand put on it by the state of California and may provide St. Cross with flexibility in terms of what we may be able to do to develop on parcels that are already residential and need redevelopment.”
The church has been a good neighbor and community partner, since before Hermosa Beach was incorporated in 1907, Councilmember Justin Massey said.
“St. Cross is 10% of our RHNA allocation,” Massey said. “The bulk of it is on our commercial corridors and otherwise distributed throughout the city.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, the council voted to rezone the St. Cross site.
“They can still improve their property; they can still provide low-income housing to the neighborhood,” said Councilmember Rob Saemann, adding that the church will need to stay under the rezoned height limits. “It spreads out the low-income housing a bit.”
Spreading out the housing and meeting RHNA requirements was aided when the council also approved adding the Mitsubishi property to its sites inventory.
The Hermosa Beach side of the Mitsubishi property is 0.7 acres and is located on Pacific Coast Highway. It qualifies for lower-income RHNA, according to a city staff report.
“The property owner submitted a letter of interest,” the report said, “indicating that this site was not encumbered by the remainder of the dealership with the Redondo Beach city limits.”
While the council voted to finalize its Housing Element, it still needs to be certified by the California Department of Housing & Community Development.
“We will work with our consultant and provide whatever we can to ensure that HCD has what it has what it needs from us,” City Manager Suja Lowenthal, “but it’s still out of our hands.”
