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Brad Waller Newsletter — June 21, 2026
📬 Brad Waller, District 1 Newsletter, June 22, 2026
Hello again, Redondo,
I hope you had a good weekend and got to soak up some of this beautiful summer weather, and that the dads and father figures in your life felt appreciated on Sunday. These long, sunny days are one of the best parts of a South Bay summer.
Last Tuesday, Council adopted the budget that will fund our city for the year ahead, and for District 1 it protected a long list of things that matter close to home, from the string lights in Riviera Village to safer parks and a cleaner Esplanade. The budget passed on a 3 to 2 vote, and I want to be clear up front: that split was not about division on the Council. It was an honest disagreement about priorities and how much to put back into the General Fund. We wrapped up a little after 11 p.m., which for a Redondo budget night actually counts as an early evening.
That same night, the Council proclaimed June 19 as Juneteenth in Redondo Beach, recognizing the federal holiday we marked this past Friday, a day of freedom, dignity, and reflection worth honoring. There is a lot packed into this budget, so below I will walk you through it in plain terms: what we protected for District 1, what is changing for drivers, the investments going into our parks, our coastline, and accessibility, and a couple of new businesses worth a warm welcome.
🚨 Public Safety: Fairer Enforcement and Safer Streets
🔹 More officers to even the playing field on parking. The budget funds additional municipal service officers so the City can do more consistent parking enforcement. Yes, that means hiring, and a cost, but it is also expected to bring in revenue through steadier enforcement.
→ 🎯 My take: Let me be clear about the goal, because it matters. We are not trying to become Hermosa Beach, where it can feel like you get a ticket ten minutes after the meter expires. But I keep hearing from residents who pay the meters and follow the rules, and they want to know why the cars that never pay and never get cited seem to skate by. So expect more attention on the folks who ignore the meters, ignore street sweeping, or break parking rules over and over. This is about fairness for the people already doing the right thing.
🔹 A safety study is coming to Aviation Boulevard. The budget includes a study of parking, turn lanes, and other safety issues along Aviation Boulevard. I supported moving it forward because Aviation has real safety and quality-of-life concerns, and there may also be smarter ways to manage parking and revenue there.
🌿 Environment: A Cleaner Coastline and a Greener City
🔹 The Esplanade is getting more regular deep cleaning. The budget adds two extra power washes a year, which matters most in the warmer months when our coastline gets the heaviest use. You saw why recently: the last deep cleaning was supposed to take a single day, but there was so much built-up grime that one pass could not finish the job, so our Public Works crews went back out to do it right.
→ 🙏 Why I am grateful for this: Keeping the Esplanade cared for is close to my heart, and it is one of the most visible things the City does for residents, visitors, and the look of the whole waterfront. My thanks to the crews who put in the extra hours.
👉 See the Esplanade cleanup update
🔹 Ten thousand dollars more for planting trees. We added $10,000 to the citywide tree planting fund. It is a small line item with a long payoff: shade on hot days, more beauty on our streets, and healthier neighborhoods for years to come. This one has been a priority of mine for a while.
🔹 Lighting and a refresh for the North Redondo bike path. The budget covers new lighting, restriping, and refreshed pavement markers along the North Redondo Beach bike path. That corridor is an important route for both getting around and getting outside, and these upgrades will make it safer and easier to use.
🌳 Parks and Access for Everyone
🔹 Fixing what is worn out around District 1 parks. The fence above Alta Vista Park on Juanita Avenue has been in rough, frankly unsafe shape, with holes, broken pipes, and stretches that are becoming hazards. When the Council saw the photos, the need was obvious, and I was able to get the repair included. A few steps away at Camino Real and Juanita, the long-neglected dirt patch will get landscaping and the irrigation it needs first, after that item had been zeroed out in one proposal and I worked to restore it.
🔹 Opening more of our parks to more of our neighbors. Two accessibility wins stand out for me. First, $35,000 for an ADA wheelchair lift at the Perry Park Teen Center, so the stage can finally be used by everyone for performances and activities instead of leaving people out. Second, an all-terrain wheelchair for Wilderness Park, so residents with different mobility needs can reach far more of the park than they can today.
→ 💡 Why this matters to me: Access is not a nice-to-have. A stage that part of the community cannot get onto is not really the whole community's stage. These are the kinds of fixes that quietly tell people they belong here.
💼 Economic Development: Protecting the Village and Planning for What Is Ahead
🔹 The budget protected the heart of Riviera Village. A $96,000 plan to replace the Village string lights, which are about five years old and a real part of the area's character, had been proposed for removal, and I got it put back in. I also fought to keep our free week of holiday parking in the Village. I actually pushed for two weeks, and while I did not get there, I did get the one week restored, which helps our local businesses and the shoppers and visitors who fill the Village during the holidays.
🔹 New city signs, with bigger events in mind. Here is one where I changed my mind during the meeting. The budget includes $96,000 for monument and wayfinding signs, the ones you see coming into Redondo and moving around the city, many of them faded, outdated, or still showing the old logo. At first I thought we could wait. But with the World Cup, the Super Bowl next year, and the Olympics after that, a wave of visitors is coming to Southern California, and plenty will come here. First impressions are visual: the Esplanade, the Pier, the Harbor, our signs, the whole look of the place. I decided that putting our best foot forward this year was worth it.
🔹 Straight talk on what is changing for drivers. A few fees are going up, and you deserve to hear it plainly. Meter and harbor lot rates rise from $2.00 to $2.25 per hour. The annual Riviera Village meter parking permit, the sticker that lets you park at a meter, goes from $195 to $220. I tried to hold the line at $195, and when that did not hold, I at least brought the proposed $225 down to $220, which matches the same percentage as the meter increase and works out to roughly 100 hours of meter parking. Towing-related fees are also moving up toward the area average, since ours had been among the lowest around.
👉 View the June 16 City Council agenda
🔹 Two new businesses worth a warm welcome. More good news for the local economy: Martha's is set to open its second Riviera Village location in the next week or two, and The Gum Tree is opening its third South Bay spot right here in Redondo, joining its Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach locations. New businesses mean more places to enjoy, more reasons to visit, and more support for our neighbors who run them. Welcome, both of you. We are glad you are here.
👉 See the new businesses update
📅 Coming Up
🔹 The Riviera Village Summer Festival returns this weekend, Friday, June 26 through Sunday, June 28. The 48th annual festival fills the heart of the Village with more than 150 vendors, curated arts and crafts, an ocean-view beer and wine garden with live music all day, international food, and carnival rides for the kids, and as always, admission is free. Note the new Friday hours: the festival opens at noon and runs to 9 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Exhibits run along Catalina Avenue, Avenue I, Avenida del Norte, and Vista del Mar, one block from the ocean. A free shuttle runs from South High (4801 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance) Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The beer and wine garden at Avenue I and Catalina is for ages 21 and over, so bring your ID. This is the Village at its very best, and a great weekend to support the small businesses that make it special.
👉 See the full festival details
🥕 Weekly Markets
Farmers' Market by the Pier (Veterans Park), Thursdays, 8am to 1pm. 309 Esplanade.
Riviera Village Farmers Market, Sundays, 8:30am to 1pm. Triangle Lot, 1801 S. Elena Ave.
North Redondo Beach Farmers Market, Wednesdays, 2pm to 7pm. Green Lane at Artesia.
📱 Access Redondo
Need to flag a pothole, a burned-out streetlight, or any other issue around town? The Access Redondo app is still being rebuilt, so for now the quickest path is the City website, which works just as well from your phone. I spent my career building apps, so I would rather we get this relaunch right than push out something half-finished, and the new version should be ready later this summer.
🏖️ Redondo Roundup
A budget adopted after a long Tuesday night, real protection for the things that make the Village the Village, fairer parking enforcement for the folks already playing by the rules, a cleaner Esplanade, more accessible parks, and a Summer Festival ready to fill our streets this weekend. On a personal note, I also got to celebrate the world premiere of a friend's film over the weekend, a good reminder that the talent in this community reaches well beyond City Hall. Numbers filled the agenda last Tuesday, but what they really fund is the daily life of this city.
If anything in here sparked a question or something you want to share, hit reply. I read every message.
