The first Council meeting of the new fiscal year worked through a heavy agenda: direction on the city's General Plan and Housing Element overhaul and whether to put a land-use question before voters this November, more than $3.5 million in Measure FP design-build contracts for the new police and fire facilities, a public hearing on Police and Fire user fees, first reading of higher parking meter rates, and closed-session negotiations with Nike over the waterfront. Because the meeting was Tuesday and the minutes are still in draft, formal vote tallies are not yet in the public record — we note below where results await finalization.
Key outcomes
General Plan Update — direction toward a November ballot measure
The most consequential item on the agenda. Staff asked Council for two things: to direct that the latest Housing Element update be folded into the Article XXVIIArticle XXVII of the Redondo Beach City Charter requires a traffic-impact analysis and, in many cases, a public vote before major intensifications of land use. It is the mechanism residents added in 2008 to give voters a check on large developments. traffic analysis accompanying the proposed General Plan changes, and to give direction on the scope of the Land Use Element and Zoning Ordinance modifications to be considered for administrative approval by August 4, 2026, along with the corresponding ballot measure for the November 2026 general election.
The stakes are hard to overstate. Redondo Beach has spent years in conflict with the state over its Housing ElementA city's General Plan is its constitution for land use — the legally required blueprint that governs what can be built where. The Housing Element is the state-mandated chapter that plans for the city's share of regional housing need. after a court ruling forced the city to plan for far more density than many residents wanted. This item is where Council sets how much of that plan goes to a public vote versus administrative approval — a choice that runs directly into the city's own Article XXVII voter-approval rules. The August 4 administrative-approval deadline and the window to place a measure on the November ballot make the timeline tight.
Watch this alongside the closed-session litigation below: Californians for Homeownership, Inc. v. City of Redondo Beach (Case 26STCP02197) is a live lawsuit that keeps the housing fight very much active. The finalized minutes will record the exact direction Council gave staff.
Measure FP police and fire facilities — $3.57M in design-build contracts
Council took up two progressive design-buildProgressive design-build is a project delivery method where a single contractor is hired early to handle both design and construction, collaborating with the owner to develop the design and price in phases before committing to a fixed construction cost. agreements with Swinerton Builders for Phase 1 of the Measure FPMeasure FP — a bond measure approved by Redondo Beach voters to fund new public safety facilities, including a new police headquarters and fire stations. program. The first covers Fire Stations 1 and 2 at a cost not to exceed $1,664,815 through January 25, 2027. The second covers the police facilities subproject at a cost not to exceed $1,906,592 through February 14, 2027 — a combined $3.57 million.
Measure FP was budgeted at roughly $92.9 million in new capital appropriations in the FY 2026-27 budget Council adopted in June. These design contracts are the first big drawdown — the point where the bond stops being a line item and starts becoming buildings. This is the largest public-safety building program in a generation for the city.
Public hearing: Police and Fire Department user fees
Council opened a public hearing, took testimony, and considered Resolution CC-2607-047 amending the Police Department user fee procedures. The public-safety fee update is the next chapter in the broader user-fee rebalancing that ran through the budget process, where a cost study found many city fees recover only a fraction of what services actually cost to deliver. It follows the Community Development and Community Services fee overhaul Council adopted in June.
Naming the new Herondo open-space park
Council discussed the naming of the new open-space park at Herondo Street and Catalina Avenue, at the northern edge of the city near the Hermosa Beach line. Park-naming decisions tend to draw genuine public comment. Whether Council settled on a name or continued the item for further input will be reflected in the finalized minutes.
Parking hits your wallet twice
Two consent-calendar items raise what drivers pay. H.11 was the first reading of Ordinance No. 3313-26, amending the municipal code section that sets parking meter hourly rates — the ordinance staff promised to bring back in July after Council approved the meter-rate increase through the budget. As a first reading, it requires a second reading before it takes effect (30 days after that second reading).
H.12 adopted Resolution CC-2607-049 increasing the civil penalty for parking during street-sweeping hours from $55 to $79 — a 44% jump on one of the most common tickets residents receive.
The Nike question
Nike appeared twice on this agenda. On the consent calendar, H.10 approved a license agreement with Nike, Inc. for the Nike After Dark Run half marathon scheduled for October 24, 2026. That is the visible part.
The less visible part was in closed session: F.4, a real-property negotiation with Nike over portions of the Seaside Lagoon and Redondo Beach Marina parking lot, plus a long list of public streets — Harbor Drive, Pacific Avenue, Catalina Avenue, Torrance Boulevard, Esplanade and more. The city's negotiators were City Manager Mike Witzansky and Community Services Director Elizabeth Hause; Nike was represented by Englander Knabe & Allen. “Price and terms” were under negotiation. Any reportable action from that discussion will appear in the finalized minutes.
Other items decided
Sixteen items sat on the Consent CalendarA batch of routine items voted on together in one motion. Any Council member or member of the public can pull an item for separate discussion., voted as a single bundled motion (any member or member of the public can pull an item for separate discussion), including accounts-payable and payroll demands. The notable ones:
Consent Calendar highlights
- ·H.7 — 43-unit condo project on PCH Approval of Final Tract Map No. 84401 for a 43-unit residential condominium project at 122 and 126 N. Pacific Coast Highway and 208 Central Court — a concrete example of the housing that keeps arriving as the density debate plays out.
- ·H.14 — $260,000 for homeless housing beds A budget modification (requiring a 4/5 vote, Resolution CC-2607-046) appropriating $260,000 in South Bay Cities Council of Governments and county affordable-housing funds toward single-room-occupancy and motel beds.
- ·H.16 — A new director-level position Two resolutions reworking the city's org chart — creating a Waterfront and Community Services Director position (CC-2607-050) and amending the Community Development Director class specification (CC-2607-051). Given the Nike waterfront negotiations, a dedicated waterfront directorship signals where the city's attention is going.
- ·H.6 — Kosmont bond-reporting agreement A five-year agreement with Kosmont Financial Services for city bond reporting — $18,500 in year one, not to exceed $62,500 total through June 2031.
- ·H.9 — Citywide curb-ramp improvements Plans and specifications approved for the Citywide Curb Ramp Improvements Project (Job No. 40399), authorizing the City Clerk to advertise for competitive bids.
- ·H.13 — Speed cushions on Avenue F Installation of speed cushions on the 300 block of Avenue F between Pacific Coast Highway and Palos Verdes Boulevard.
- ·H.5 — Contracts under $35,000 A bundle including a ZOLL Medical AutoPulse warranty ($7,876), an elevator-maintenance assignment to Liftech, a higher per-meal rate for county inmate food service ($3.36 to $3.52), and a Maximus cost- allocation amendment.
- ·H.8 & H.15 — Civic proclamations and a tax waiver A resolution proclaiming September 13 as “Open Water Swim Day” for the Swim the Avenues event (CC-2607-048), and a business-license tax waiver for the Riviera Village Summer Festival.
Presentations
The meeting opened with two recognitions: D.1, the Mayor's commendation to the 2026 Redondo Beach South Bay Medal of Valor awardees, and D.2, a ceremonial presentation by Congressman Ted Lieu of a $250,000federal Community Project Funding check for the city's affordable Housing to Lease project.
Closed Session
Council convened a 4:00 p.m. closed session on four items: the two existing-litigation matters — Californians for Homeownership, Inc. v. City of Redondo Beach (Case 26STCP02197) and Mehta Mechanical Company v. City of Redondo Beach(Case 25TRCV00677) — one anticipated-litigation item tied to a June 16, 2026 letter from the firm Rand Paster & Nelson LLP, and the Nike real-property negotiation (F.4) described above.
Minutes are not yet finalized, so any reportable actions from Closed Session are not yet in the public record.
What to watch next
Four things on the runway from this meeting:
- ·General Plan / Housing Element deadline — the direction given tonight drives an August 4, 2026 administrative- approval deadline and the window to place a land-use measure on the November 2026 ballot. Expect follow-up items in the next few weeks as staff finalizes scope and ballot language.
- ·Parking meter ordinance second reading — H.11 was only a first reading. The rate increase requires a second reading before it takes effect, 30 days after that vote.
- ·Measure FP design work begins — with the Swinerton agreements in place, Phase 1 design of the fire stations and police facilities kicks off, running through early 2027.
- ·Next meeting: July 14 — the next regular City Council meeting is Tuesday, July 14, 2026, with Closed Session at 4:00 p.m. and Open Session at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chamber, 415 Diamond Street.
For the full before-and-after, see our July 7 preview. Finalized minutes with official vote tallies will be posted to Legistar in the coming weeks.