To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: MARC WIENER, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
TITLE
title
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE GENERAL PLAN-LAND USE ELEMENT UPDATE WITH A FOCUS ON THE BUILDING INTENSITY (FLOOR AREA RATIO) LIMITS FOR THE PUBLIC/INSTITUTIONAL (PI) AND “OTHER” NON-RESIDENTIAL GENERAL PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATIONS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City is in the process of updating the Land Use, Open Space and Conservation, Safety and Noise Elements of the General Plan, and associated Zoning Ordinance amendments as required for consistency. The General Plan is composed of various State required elements and provides long-term policy direction to guide the physical development, conservation, and sustainability of the City.
In the fall of 2024, the City Council held a series of public hearings to consider the proposed focused General Plan Update. The project was segmented so that items related to implementation of the 6th Cycle Housing Element would be adopted first, in order to meet a State HCD deadline, while the remainder of the General Plan updates were deferred to a later date. At the November 5, 2024 City Council meeting, the Council approved minor amendments to the Land Use Element (LUE) and introduced (and later, on November 12, adopted) three associated ordinances amending Title 10 Chapters 1, 2, and 5 of the Redondo Beach Municipal Code (RBMC) implementing the City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element. The City Council also adopted a resolution certifying the associated Final Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for the comprehensive General Plan update. The certified EIR does not commit the City to any future policy decisions, but will cover the pending adoption of the remaining General Plan, Zoning Ordinance, and Local Coastal Program (LCP) Amendments.
During the public hearings that preceded approval of the Final PEIR, representatives from Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) requested that the City prepare additional environmental review/analysis to allow for consideration of a floor area ratio (FAR) cap of 1.25 for the BCHD campus property (current draft LUE sets at 0.75), located in the Public/Institutional (PI) Land Use Designation. Accordingly, the City Council directed staff and the City’s consultant to prepare the additional analysis. On December 3, 2024, the City Council adopted an Addendum to the Final PEIR that provides an option of, but does not commit the City to, approving up to a 1.25 FAR cap at the BCHD campus as a component of the Land Use Element update.
The focus of this Discussion item concerns the allowable building intensity FAR for the proposed PI General Plan Land Use Designation and all “other” non-residential FAR amendments, which were identified during the City Council’s initial public hearings on the focused General Plan Update and deferred in order to move ahead with Housing Element implementation. In summary, the “other” non-residential FAR amendments include properties within the AACAP (increasing the FAR from 0.60 to 1.5 as directed by the City Council at the August 6, 2025 meeting and reaffirmed at the January 6, 2026 meeting), the Industrial (I-1 and I-3) properties north of Manhattan Beach Boulevard increasing the FAR from 0.70 to 1.0 (not yet discussed by City Council), and some of the larger commercial shopping centers along PCH reclassified from a C-2 to C-4 designation, which would allow a FAR increase from 0.5 to 1.0 (also not yet discussed by City Council). In addition to modifying the FAR limits, the updated LUE would make minor changes to some of the land use designations for commercial properties along the PCH and Torrance Boulevard corridors by reclassifying them from a C-2 designation to a new Neighborhood Commercial (CN) designation, with no change in FAR.
This administrative report identifies the locations and the existing and proposed FARs of all PI and “other” non-residential properties with proposed building intensity (FAR) amendments. Additionally, this administrative report identifies the proposed amendments that fall under the definition of “Major Change of Allowable Land Use” and are subject to the provisions of Article XXVII of the City Charter and a subsequent City-wide election. City staff is seeking Council direction on the preferred allowable building intensity (FAR) for the proposed Public/Institutional (PI) and “other” non-residential General Plan Land Use Designations that were deferred from 2024, when the City Council approved amendments related to the implementation of the 6th Cycle Housing Element.
BACKGROUND
California Government Code Section 65302(a) stipulates that a general plan must designate the proposed general distribution, general location, and extent of the uses of the land for housing, commerce, industry, open space, education, and public facilities. It further requires that the Land Use Element include a statement of the standards of population density and building intensity for the land use designations that comprise the City’s land use plan.
The “building intensity” within the City’s General Plan and Zoning Ordinances is measured by population density (dwelling units per acre - DU/AC) for all residential designations and by FAR for the City’s non-residential designations. The FAR dictates how much floor area (enclosed space) can be constructed based on the size of the lot. For example, a 4,000 square-foot lot with a FAR of 0.5 would be allowed to construct a 2,000 square-foot building.
Public Institutional (PI) Building Intensity (FAR)
The City’s existing General Plan Land Use Element currently does not identify a building intensity FAR for the P (Public and Institutional) designation. However, the Zoning Ordinance does include FAR limits for some of the Public and Institutional zones, including the City Hall property (zoned P-CIV civic center zone) which has an existing zoning FAR of 1.25; and the P-ROW (right-of-way zone) and the P-PRO (parks, recreation, and open space zone) which have a zoning FAR of 0.10 and 0.25 respectively. All other existing Public and Institutional zones (P-SF school facility zone, P-CF community facility zone, and P-RVP riviera village parking zone) do not have an identified FAR cap (subject to Planning Commission Design Review).
State Law requires the establishment of “building intensity”, which is set by the FAR limits identified in the General Plan, for all land use designations, and as such, the updated Land Use Element proposes to apply/maintain the 1.25 FAR at the City Hall/Civic Center property and also apply this FAR to the City Police Annex property, and place a 0.75 FAR cap on all remaining PI designations. With the identification of the FAR on all PI properties, the proposed Land Use Element will be fully compliant with the applicable state law noted above.
Below is a summary table that presents the existing and proposed FAR for the “Public/Institutional (PI)”, “Public/Utility (U)”, and “Parks and Open Space (OS)” designations within Table 2.1 of the draft LUE. Changes from existing language are shown in strike through for deleted text and underlined for proposed language. Attached to this administrative report are maps that identify all the proposed “Public/Institutional (PI)” (Attachment 2 - Major Changes in Allowable Land Use), “Public/Utility (U)”, and “Parks and Open Space (OS)” locations (Attachment 3 - Minor Changes in Allowable Land Use).
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General Plan Land Use Designation - Existing/Proposed |
|
Land Use Designation - Existing/Proposed |
Maximum Density/Intensity - Existing/Proposed |
Description - Existing/Proposed |
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Public (P) Public/Institutional (PI) |
N/A Max. FAR 0.75 for all properties except: Max. FAR 1.25 at City Hall bounded by PCH, Broadway, Carnelian St, and Diamond St Max. FAR 1.25 at the Annex site on Northeast Corner of PCH and Vincent St Subject to Planning Commission Design Review |
Governmental administrative and capital facilities, parks, schools, libraries, hospitals and associated medical offices, public cultural facilities, public open space, utility easements, and other public uses. Provides for governmental administrative and capital facilities, schools, libraries, hospitals and associated medical offices, public cultural facilities, and other public uses, ancillary parks, recreation and open spaces. Sites that are allowed to develop up to a maximum 1.25 FAR are also subject to Planning Commission Design Review (PCDR). |
|
Public (P) Public/Utility (U) |
N/A Max. FAR 0.10 |
Governmental administrative and capital facilities, parks, schools, libraries, hospitals and associated medical offices, public cultural facilities, public open space, utility easements, and other public uses. Provides for utility uses including easements with public access for recreation and parking. Maximum FAR 0.10. |
|
Public (P) Parks and Open Space (OS) |
N/A Max. FAR 0.20 |
Governmental administrative and capital facilities, parks, schools, libraries, hospitals and associated medical offices, public cultural facilities, public open space, utility easements, and other public uses. Provides for public open space, passive park uses, sports fields, active recreation uses, and coastal-related recreational activities as well as accompanying public facilities such as restrooms, picnic pavilions, parking facilities, and lifeguard towers. Maximum FAR 0.20. |
Table 2.1 General Plan Land Use Designations in the Draft Land Use Element, included as Attachment 1, identifies all the proposed land use designations, the maximum density/intensity of all land use designations, and a description of each land use designation.
Planning Commission PI FAR Recommendations
The Planning Commission held multiple public hearings concerning the draft General Plan Update and associated amendments to the City’s Zoning Ordinances (required for consistency), local coastal program amendments, and the Draft EIR beginning on June 20, 2024 and concluding at their meeting on September 19, 2024. As part of the Planning Commission’s deliberative process, the FAR for the PI land use designation was rigorously debated.
In support of the Planning Commission’s deliberations (and future City Council discussions) staff conducted an extensive analysis of the City’s existing building intensity (FAR analysis) at all the City’s proposed PI properties. Two tables are attached, Attachment 4 - FAR Examples, which provides examples of site FARs for various developments throughout the City (provided for context), and Attachment 5 - FAR Comparison Analysis, presents an FAR analysis of all the proposed PI properties within the City. Staff has refined and updated the FAR Comparison Analysis for accuracy since it was last presented at a public hearing. The FAR Comparison Analysis includes data for several properties, and presents the existing building square-footage, the existing resulting FAR, and the maximum hypothetical building square footage for that property with a 0.75 FAR and a 1.25 FAR. Below is a section of the FAR Comparison Analysis table that includes some of the properties that garnered significant attention during the Planning Commission’s deliberations and subsequent City Council meetings.
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FAR COMPARISON ANALYSIS |
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Address |
Property Area SF |
Proposed GP (w/ notes on Existing use) |
Existing Building SF |
Existing FAR |
.75 FAR Maximum SF |
1.25 FAR Maximum SF |
|
2400 Grant Ave. |
30,089 |
PI- RBFD Station 2 |
10,555 |
0.35 |
22,567 |
37,611 |
|
200 Flagler Ln. |
58,239 |
PI - City Yard next to Dominguez Park |
9,395 |
0.16 |
43,679 |
72,799 |
|
514 N Prospect |
432,836 |
PI-BCHD |
251,900 |
0.58 |
324,627 |
541,045 |
|
415 Diamond St. |
290,576 |
PI-exemption site (City Hall) |
185,790 |
0.63 |
217,932 |
363,220 |
|
200/222 N. Pacific Coast Hwy. |
221,424 |
PI-exemption site (City Annex, RBUSD offices and auditorium) |
47,566 |
0.21 |
166,068 |
276,780 |
|
401 S Broadway |
22,652 |
PI- RBFD Station 1 |
11,070 |
0.49 |
16,992 |
28,315 |
|
801 S Pacific Coast Hwy. |
143,312 |
PI-Kensington |
82,471 |
0.58 |
107,484 |
179,140 |
At their public hearing on September 19, 2024 the Planning Commission recommended the following FARs for the City’s Public/Institutional (PI) General Plan Land Use Designation:
• Amend the General Plan FAR for the Public/Institutional (PI) land uses from 0.75 to 0.5 for all properties except: City Hall bounded by PCH, Broadway, Carnelian St, and Diamond St; The Annex site on Northeast Corner of PCH and Vincent St; and all City Fire and Police Station properties all of which would have an FAR of 1.25.
The Planning Commission’s additional recommendations concerning the PI designation were as follows:
• Eliminate the proposed Public/Utility (U) land use designation for the AES and SCE transmission tower corridor properties and maintain the existing land use designation of “P” Public or Institutional for these properties.
• Amend the land use designation from “OS” (Parks and Open Space) to “PI” (Public/Institutional) at the School District owned properties identified as: 1. Lincoln Elementary School Fields and Blacktop Area; 2. Alta Vista Elementary School Fields; and 3. The former Franklin School Site.
Staff supports the latter two of the commission’s recommendations (not the first bulleted item above) and will provide additional background information on these matters during the presentation at the January 20, 2025 City Council meeting.
Attached to this administrative report is the Planning Commission’s resolution (Attachment 6 - Planning Commission Resolution) that documents all of the Planning Commission’s actions and recommendations concerning the General Plan update and associated zoning ordinance amendments and the environmental findings within the now certified Final Environmental Impact Report.
“Other” Non-Residential Areas
In addition to changes required by the Housing Element and changes to the mixed-use areas/definitions (both completed in 2024), the Land Use Plan includes changes to commercial, industrial, and public/institutional uses.
Commercial changes are limited to Special Policy Areas (SPAs), and include increasing the development potential within select commercial corridors to allow for reinvestment and redevelopment of properties by allowing for projects with larger footprints and greater building intensity. The Land Use Plan also establishes a new Commercial Neighborhood (CN) land use designation (see Table 2.1 attached), applied to SPAs covering the City’s corridors and gateways (along PCH and Artesia, Aviation, and Torrance Boulevards). The CN designation aims to foster commercial districts with uses that support adjacent residential neighborhoods and provide goods and services for residents and businesses in a pedestrian-oriented environment.
Industrial changes are focused around existing and future metro stations. North of Manhattan Beach Boulevard (near the existing Metro station) the Land Use Plan preserves opportunities for new jobs to develop when market conditions allow by preserving existing industrial areas and increasing the amount of development that could occur by increasing the floor area ratio (FAR) from 0.7 to 1.0.
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General Plan Land Use Designation - Existing/Proposed |
|
Land Use Designation - Existing/Proposed |
Maximum Density/Intensity - Existing/Proposed |
Description - Existing/Proposed |
|
I-1 and I-3 (Industrial) (Areas North of Manhattan Beach Blvd) |
FAR 0.7 FAR 1.00 |
Light industrial, research and development, "office park" facilities, manufacture of spacecraft and associated aerospace systems, supporting commercial uses (e.g., restaurants, banks, copiers, and similar uses), educational and governmental facilities, and day care centers. |
|
C-2 Neighborhood Commercial (CN) (Locations within AACAP, along PCH North (east side of PCH), PCH Central (east and west side of PCH), and PCH South (west side of PCH), and along Torrance Boulevard and Catalina Avenue just east of Torrance Boulevard) |
Max. FAR 0.50 Max FAR 1.50 for Artesia and Aviation Boulevards Special Policy Areas |
Same uses as C-1 and movie theaters, and overnight accommodations; except Riviera Village where no “footprint” exceeding 30,000 square feet is permitted for a single use for food sales, retail goods, or other large volume use. C-1: Retail commercial, eating and drinking establishments, household goods, food sales, drugstores, building materials and supplies, professional offices, personal services, cultural facilities, and similar uses. Provides for commercial districts with uses that complement adjacent residential neighborhoods. Allowed uses include retail, restaurants, personal services, office, hotel*, kenneling*, and similar uses. The intent of this designation is to provide goods and services that meet the needs of residents and businesses Buildings in the CN districts should front the street with rear, alley loaded parking where feasible. Where CN designations contain existing residential uses, they shall be allowed to remain and shall be considered conforming; however, no new residential units are permitted Maximum FAR 0.50 (except for the Artesia and Aviation Boulevards Special Policy Areas, where the Maximum FAR is 1.50) *Conditionally permitted subject to zoning code |
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|
|
|
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C-2 C-4 (Locations along PCH North (west side of PCH), and PCH Central (east and west side of PCH south of Torrance Boulevard) |
FAR 0.50 FAR 1.00 |
Same uses as C-2 C-2: Same uses as C-1 and movie theaters, and overnight accommodations; except Riviera Village where no “footprint” exceeding 30,000 square feet is permitted for a single use for food sales, retail goods, or other large volume uses C-1: Retail commercial, eating and drinking establishments, household goods, food sales, drugstores, building materials and supplies, professional offices, personal services, cultural facilities, and similar uses. |
Attached to this administrative report is a map that illustrates all the proposed changes noted in the above table.
Planning Commission “Other” Non-Residential Recommendations
The Planning Commission’s additional recommendations concerning the “other” land use designations were as follows:
• Amend the General Plan FAR for the C-4 designated properties along Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) from 1.0 to 0.5 and develop a comprehensive plan for the PCH corridor.
• Within the MU Mixed-Use Zoning Districts for projects including both commercial and residential uses amend the proposed minimum commercial FAR from 0.35 to 0.4.
• Minor additional amendment to IM-LU-44 to require the exclusive use of native California drought resistant vegetation in all housing and commercial developments.
• Minor additional amendment to IM-LU-45 to amend the Heat Island mitigation tree coverage target percentage of 25% to 29%.
Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
At the meeting on November 5, 2024, the Program EIR for the entire General Plan Update project, inclusive of the proposed amendments to the PI FAR and “other” deferred non-residential amendments identified in this administrative report was certified by the City Council. Attached to this Administrative Report is Resolution No. CC-2410-105 (Attachment 7) which included all the necessary findings and exhibits required by CEQA for the certification of the Final Program Environmental Impact Report for the General Plan Update. The certified EIR does not commit the City to any future policy decisions, but will cover the pending adoption of the remaining General Plan, Zoning Ordinance, and LCP Amendments. If the City Council chooses to make additional amendments to the General Plan, Zoning Ordinance or LCP, the EIR may be updated accordingly, through an Addendum. An Addendum is required when there have been changes to the project, but the changes do not meet the conditions necessary to trigger a subsequent or supplemental EIR. It is used for changes or additions to the adopted EIR that would not significantly alter any of the project's impacts.
As such, an Addendum to the certified PEIR, was adopted by the City Council at their meeting on December 3, 2024 (Resolution No. CC-2412-111). The Addendum did not commit the City Council to a future policy decision, but rather, provides the option of approving up to a 1.25 FAR cap at the BCHD campus as a component of the Land Use Element update.
Article XXVII Major Changes in Allowable Land Use
Article XXVII requires that major changes in allowable land use, with the exception of those related to implementation of the Housing Element, shall be put to a vote of the people, only if first approved by the City Council. The following proposed FAR amendments constitute a major change in allowable land use and are subject to a vote (if approved by the City Council) pursuant to Article XXVII:
• The increase from 0.6 to 1.5 FAR in the AACAP area
• The increase from 0.7 to 1.0 in the I-1 and I-3 designations north of Manhattan Beach Boulevard
• The change from C-2 to C-4 (increases FAR from 0.5 to 1.0) within the PCH North and Central SPAs
• The identification of a FAR of 0.75 or 1.25 for the proposed Public Institutional (PI) locations, with the exception of the City Hall property, which currently has a zoning FAR cap of 1.25.
The required analysis will be prepared and posted thirty days prior to the City Council taking final action on the remainder of the General Plan, Zoning Ordinance, and LCP amendments.
Attached to this administrative report is a map that identifies all the proposed General Plan land use designation amendments that constitute a major change in allowable land use. Additionally, a map that identifies all those proposed amendments that constitute a minor change in allowable land use is also attached.
Staff is requesting the Council receive and file this report and also provide direction on the preferred allowable building FAR for the proposed Public/Institutional (PI) and “other” non-residential General Plan Land Use Designations that were deferred from 2024.
Staff is also seeking the Council’s direction on the process for the Article XXVII vote based on the following two options:
Option #1 - The General Plan - LUE Update would be adopted by the City Council and a special election would be held in late summer 2026. The ballot would include all LUE FAR changes that are subject to Article XXVII. Staff recommends this option, as it would be more efficient and reduce overall consulting costs.
Option #2 - Adoption of the LUE Update would be bifurcated, so the Council only approves amendments related to the AACAP FAR on March 3rd, which would be necessary to make the deadline for an election to be held in June 2026. The election would only include a ballot measure on the AACAP FAR. A second election would be held in late summer 2026 to vote on the balance of the LUE FAR changes. This would come at an additional election expense of approximately $300,000, but would allow for expedited implementation of the policy decisions pertaining to the AACAP.
COORDINATION
This report was prepared in coordination with the City Manager’s Office
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for the preparation of this report and zoning amendments is available in the FY 2025-26 Operating Budget for the Community Development Department. $280,000 of funding was approved in the Budget for Article 27 related election expenses. The $280,000 would cover a single special election held be the City. The cost to consolidate an election with Los Angeles County is $307,000.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
• Attachment 1 - Table 2.1 General Plan Land Use Designations
• Attachment 2 - Major Changes in Allowable Land Use
• Attachment 3 - Minor Changes in Allowable Land Use
• Attachment 4 - FAR Examples
• Attachment 5 - FAR Comparison Analysis
• Attachment 6 - Planning Commission Resolution No.
• Attachment 7 - Resolution No. CC-2410-105 Certifying FPEIR
• Attachment 8 - Resolution No. CC-2412-111 Adopting Addendum to EIR
• Attachment 9 - Draft General Plan - Land Use Element Link <https://cms2.revize.com/revize/redondobeachca/Documents/Departments/Community%20Development/PLANredondo/General%20Plan/2024_July/02_RB_LandUse_July2024.pdf?t=202408011210240&t=202408011210240>