Beach Cities Health District Plan

By Laura Emdee | March 5, 2020

The Beach Cities Health District is in the process of transforming its Redondo Beach property into a modernized Healthy Living Campus.

The Campus will be an intergenerational hub that focuses on wellness, prevention and community-based health research for current and future Beach Cities generations.

Here are the pictures of the current campus vs the master plan concept:

The Proposed Master Plan Concept includes:

  • Community Wellness Pavilion
    • Flexible presentation & community meeting spaces
    • Blue Zones Café & demonstration kitchen & garden
    • Rooftop gathering spaces for exercise classes, mindful practice & small events
    • Learning/visitor center for health resources and interactive education
    • BCHD’s Community Services
  • Residential Care for the Elderly (RCFE) with approximately 420 units (around 500 residents)
  • Modern community fitness Center
  • Active green/gathering spaces for community use
  • Improved connectivity to the local community and city park.

There will be a study session on March 19, 6:30 pm with a hard stop at 10:30 pm

Crown Plaza Hotel, 300 N Harbor Drive, Redondo Beach

For more information: https://www.bchdcampus.org/

Some of you are asking about the process and asking when this project will come to the Council. Redondo is not the lead agency on this project so this will not be coming to Council until they get into the Land Entitlement phase.

Click here to read about the process

CEQA LEAD AGENCY

Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) is the lead agency for the CEQA review of the project. That means they are in charge of the EIR process for the project and it is ultimately up to their board to certify the EIR and move the project forward. CEQA specifies BCHD as the lead agency and the City as a responsible agency. Here are definitions of each and the section that qualifies BCHD as the lead agency:

CEQA Regulations

§ 21067. LEAD AGENCY

“Lead agency” means the public agency which has the principal responsibility for carrying out or approving a project which may have a significant effect upon the environment.

§ 21069. RESPONSIBLE AGENCY

“Responsible agency” means a public agency, other than the lead agency, which has responsibility for carrying out or approving a project.

CEQA Guidelines

15051. CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFYING THE LEAD AGENCY

Where two or more public agencies will be involved with a project, the determination of which agency will be the Lead Agency shall be governed by the following criteria:

(a) If the project will be carried out by a public agency, that agency shall be the Lead Agency even if the project would be located within the jurisdiction of another public agency.

CEQA APPEAL

The Galleria EIR appeal went through the City Council because the City was the lead agency. That is the City’s CEQA appeal process when we are the lead agency. However, in this situation with BCHD as the lead agency certifying the EIR, any appeal of the EIR would go through the court system rather than to City Council.

ENTITLEMENT PROCESS

Even though BCHD is the lead agency, that does not mean they are exempt from having to obtain necessary land use entitlements.

After the EIR is certified by BCHD, they would need to submit an application to the Planning Commission for entitlements. The project they submit to the City for review could be what they are proposing as part of the EIR or any of the number of alternatives that the EIR might be studying. The City Council requested in the comment letter on the Notice of Preparation that BCHD consider multiple alternatives in their EIR review.

The timeline for submittal to the Planning Commission after the EIR is completed is up to BCHD. Considering their EIR timeline has shifted/extended multiple times since issuing the Notice of Preparation, and to date they have not issued a Draft EIR, I cannot predict when they might be prepared to submit to the Planning Commission.

It is expected that any project that BCHD chooses to move forward will require a Conditional Use Permit and Planning Commission Design Review. The City comment letter on the Notice of Preparation does explain the regulations for the zone(s) the site and the criteria for the entitlements.

Once the project is submitted to the Planning commission for the land use entitlements. The Planning Commission decision (approval or denial) can be appealed to the City Council.

The City Council is not the appeal body for the EIR in this circumstance, but they are still the appeal body for the land use entitlements.

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