To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: LUKE SMUDE, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
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DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE CITY'S STRATEGIC PLAN, PRIORITY AREAS, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On February 17, 2026 the City Council directed staff to schedule and conduct a City-led strategic planning session on March 31, 2026. The session is designed to bring the Mayor, Council, City staff, and community members together to discuss the Priority Areas, Goals, and Objectives that comprise the City’s Strategic Plan.
The meeting will open in the City Council Chambers at 2:00 P.M., then convene in the Main Library Meeting Room, located in Redondo Beach at 303 N. Pacific Coast Highway on the second floor.
Attached to this report is the agenda for the Strategic Planning Session, the ninth, and final, update to the current Strategic Plan which, covered the period June 2025 through March 2026, proposed draft updates to the new Plan and input received from various Commissions.
BACKGROUND
Since 1998, the City of Redondo Beach has been committed to the strategic planning process, which allows the City Council to establish goals and objectives for both short and long-term horizons. For this installment, Council has directed staff to guide the process to update the current Strategic Plan.
The City Council last held a dedicated Strategic Planning Session on April 29, 2025, and voted to update the format of the Strategic Plan to include Priority Areas that house more specific Goals and Objectives:
Priority Area 1: Economic Vitality
• Goal 1.1: Enhance the Waterfront
• Goal 1.2: Revitalize Artesia Boulevard
• Goal 1.3: Position Redondo Beach as a Destination for Business Investment
• Future Goal 1.4: Revitalize the Pacific Coast Highway Corridor
Priority Area 2: Public Safety and Community Well-Being
• Goal 2.1: Implement Measure FP (Reconstruct City Fire and Police Facilities)
• Goal 2.2: Strengthen the City’s Mental Health Response and Community Support Systems
• Goal 2.3: Further Enhance the City’s Approach to Addressing Homelessness
• Goal 2.4: Continue to Leverage Technology to Enhance Public Safety, Emergency Response, and Community Resilience
Priority Area 3: Infrastructure and Public Spaces
• Goal 3.1: Rehabilitate City Roads and Critical Public Facilities
• Goal 3.2: Expand and Enhance Public Spaces, Amenities, and Programs
• Goal 3.3: Enhance Alternative Transportation Options
• Goal 3.4: Develop Long-Range Plans to Modernize City Facilities, Including the Public Works Yard and City Hall
Priority Area 4: Customer-Centered Service Delivery
• Goal 4.1: Improve Customer Service by Expanding the City’s Use of Digital Tools and Online Services
Priority Area 5: Community Stewardship
• Goal 5.1: Advance Environmental Sustainability and Climate Resilience
• Goal 5.2: Preserve and Promote the City’s Historic Resources and Neighborhood Character
The Priority Areas and Goals have been carried over into the Draft Strategic Planning Matrix to maintain a framework that Council can use to develop objectives that are specific and quantifiable. Staff has also proposed an additional goal, minor edits to an existing goal (each marked with an asterisk), and new Objectives the Council may wish to include in the final document.
As part of this Strategic Planning Session, staff will facilitate a discussion of the process and accomplishments from the previous ten-month period. The group will then be led through an abbreviated SWOT review to provide an opportunity to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of note, if any, followed by a discussion of the City’s three-year Priority Areas and Goals. The Council will then determine the timeline to be applied to the new Strategic Plan. The previous plan covered a 10-month period. After the timeframe is in place, the meeting will move to reviewing carryover objectives (items that are still critical from the prior plan), next cycle objectives (logical next steps from a previously completed objective), as well as any new objectives that the Mayor and Council would like to see added to the Strategic Plan from staff’s recommendations or their own suggestions. There will be a few opportunities for public comment, coming as part of the discussion of the framework for the Strategic Plan, as well as during discussion of the specific objectives to be included in the Plan.
Following these discussions, staff is requesting that the Council provide direction on the date that the Strategic Plan should be returned to the City Council for consideration of formal adoption.
COORDINATION
The City Manager’s Office coordinated the preparation of this report with contributions from all City Departments.
Staff liaisons for the City’s Commissions were notified of the upcoming Strategic Planning Session. Based on their meeting schedule, not all Commissions were able to submit formal recommendations to the City Council. Included with this report is a letter adopted by the Youth Commission as well as a report and recommendations coming from two individual Public Amenities Commissioners. The Public Works, Safety, and Sustainability Commission met on March 23 and the Cultural Arts Commission met on March 25. Both agendized the Strategic Plan for discussion at their meetings, and letters from these Commissions will be included as Blue Folder items in the final agenda packet, if provided.
FISCAL IMPACT
Preparation of this report and facilitation of the Strategic Planning Session is included in the City’s Adopted FY 2025-26 Budget.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
• Strategic Planning Session Agenda
• DRAFT Strategic Planning Matrix
• March 31, 2026 Strategic Planning Update
• Letter - Youth Commission
• Report and Letters - Public Amenities Commissioners Galassi and Lang