📬 Brad Waller, District 1 Newsletter, May 4, 2026

Neighbors,

This Tuesday night will be one to watch. The City Council's first meeting of May lands a heavy agenda: a public hearing on the Housing Element, proposed changes to the Crossing Guard Program, the Athens franchise agreement heading toward its May 19 rate hearing, an update to the City's Strategic Plan, and a Public Works decision on a stop sign in District 1. Wednesday brings the formal ribbon cutting at the North Redondo Beach Farmers Market, which has already drawn over 2,000 visitors since opening day.

Below: what is actually changing in the Housing Element vote, why the Crossing Guard recommendations matter, where the Athens deal goes from here, and a few notes from the regional partnership work that quietly delivers real results back home.

🏛️ City Council, Tuesday, May 5

🔹 Housing Element amendment, public hearing. Tuesday's agenda includes a public hearing on amendments to the City's certified 2021-2029 Housing Element. The proposal replaces the "overlay" zoning approach on our identified housing sites with High Density Multi-Family Residential (65 du/ac) and Mixed Use designations (65 to 80 du/ac), and it requires future redevelopment of those sites to include at least 50% residential floor area. The amendment also removes the North Tech site from the City's housing sites list.

→ 💡 What this is responding to: The recent court decision in New Commune v. Redondo Beach opened a gap in housing law that put cities like ours at real risk. This Tuesday's vote is our response.

→ 🎯 My take: This is a serious change with serious detail behind it. The hearing exists so residents can weigh in before the Council decides. I will be reading every public comment that comes in, and I encourage anyone with concerns or support to send a comment or attend in person.
👉 Read the Housing Element item

🔹 S. Irena and Opal stop sign removal (H.11). Council will consider removing the northbound stop sign on S. Irena Avenue at Opal Street. The recommendation comes from the Public Works, Safety, and Sustainability Commission after engineering analysis at their March 23 meeting. The PWSSC also approved left-turn calming measures at the nearby Torrance Boulevard and S. Irena intersection, which are currently in procurement.

→ 🎯 My take: I know not every neighbor on Opal agrees with this one, and I respect the concern. The current configuration is genuinely unusual. One approach to a T-intersection is stop-controlled, while the other is not, which sets up exactly the kind of mismatched expectation that traffic engineers try to avoid. I believe removing the stop sign makes sense here, but if this matters to you, please come on Tuesday and weigh in.
👉 Read the S. Irena stop sign item (H.11)

🔹 Crossing Guard Program changes (N.1). The School Crossing Guard Subcommittee has spent months evaluating the City’s Crossing Guard Program. Tuesday’s recommended changes, if Council approves, would take effect at the start of the 2026-27 school year and are intended to create a more equitable, budget-conscious, data-driven, and sustainably staffed program..

→ ⚡ Why this matters: Crossing guards are one of the simplest and most visible safety services the City provides, but the current program has become increasingly expensive. The biggest challenge is staffing. When we cannot hire enough part-time City crossing guards, we have to fill those posts through a private contractor at a higher cost. The goal is to maintain student safety while reducing our dependence on contracted guards and building a program that the City can staff and afford over the long term.
👉 Read the Crossing Guard item (N.1)

🔹 Athens contract heads toward the May 19 rate hearing (N.2). The City's solid waste hauler, Athens Services, has negotiated a second amendment to its franchise agreement. Tuesday is the Council's review of the draft terms, including service bundling for multi-family and commercial customers and a reclassification of larger multi-family properties to commercial-style service. The actual rate decision happens at the May 19 Public Hearing under the Proposition 218 process.

→ 💡 What residents should watch: If a majority protest is not received by May 19, the new maximum solid waste rates and fees can move forward. The Council previewed the rate structure on January 20 and again on March 17, and the formal protest window runs into the May 19 hearing.
👉 Read the Athens item (N.2)

🔹 Strategic Plan adoption (N.3). The updated Strategic Plan, shaped by the Council at our March 31 planning session, comes back Tuesday for review and approval. It defines the city's three-year priority areas, our 12-month objectives, and the SWOT analysis underneath them.

→ 🎯 My take: I have said before that this document only matters when it translates into funding and follow-through. With budget season coming up, this is the framework I will be measuring proposed spending against.
👉 Read the Strategic Plan item (N.3)

🌿 Environment & Regional Partnerships

🔹 Groundwater Festival put what is under our feet on display. Saturday brought the Water Replenishment District's 16th Annual Groundwater Festival, where I joined neighbors and Congresswoman Linda Sánchez to see how WRD is investing in education, sustainability, and long-term water reliability for our region. Groundwater is one of those resources you do not see until it is gone, and events like this are the work of making it visible.

→ 🎯 My take: WRD invests in the kind of education and infrastructure that does not put up a ribbon, but that shapes whether South Bay communities have water reliability twenty years from now. As a Director with Clean Power Alliance, I work alongside agencies like WRD, and the lesson is the same in both rooms: cross-agency partnership is how the South Bay actually gets things done.
👉 View the Groundwater Festival post (Instagram)

🔹 Clean Power Alliance solar in Carson is now online. A new Prologis solar installation in Carson came online this past week, generating clean energy for roughly 500 homes while offsetting energy use at Carson City Hall. The project is part of CPA's PowerShare program, which now totals 10 projects, 9.4 MW, and 6 sites in Carson alone, with an estimated $75K per year in savings for that City Hall and 20% bill discounts for participating local customers. Prologis has now deployed over 1 gigawatt of solar across its broader portfolio.

→ ⚡ Why this matters here: As a CPA Director, my job is to make sure these projects actually deliver measurable value, not just press releases. Lower energy costs at public facilities, real bill savings for participating households, and infrastructure that scales across our region. That is what regional collaboration is supposed to produce, and it is the same model I want us applying back home.
👉 View the CPA solar update (Instagram)

💼 Economic Development & Local Business

🔹 NRB Farmers Market Ribbon Cutting, Wednesday, May 6. The official Ribbon Cutting for the North Redondo Beach Farmers Market happens on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. on Green Lane, and the celebration continues from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Georgia's Lounge on Aviation Boulevard. Georgia's is under new ownership and woman-owned, and they are rolling out a Farmers Market signature cocktail and elevated gastropub bites for the occasion. Mention the NRB Farmers Market at Georgia's any Wednesday for happy hour pricing all night.

→ 🎯 My take: I rode Beach Cities Transit Line 102 up from the pier last week to check out the market for myself. Easy trip, great vendors, and a real reminder that this side of the city has needed its own midweek market for a long time. Now we have one, and Wednesday's ribbon cutting puts a public stamp on something neighbors built together.
👉 RSVP for the Georgia's Lounge celebration
👉 Visit the NRB Farmers Market

🚨 Public Safety

🔹 Fire Service Day, Saturday, May 9. Reminder that RBFD opens both stations to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that Saturday. Station 1 is at 401 South Broadway and Station 2 is at 2400 Grant Avenue. Live equipment demos, paramedic and extrication gear, and a real chance to meet the crews who answer the calls in this city around the clock.

→ 💙 Bring the kids: I said it last week, and I will say it again. This is one of the best opportunities our firefighters have to get to know the neighborhoods they serve, and one of the best ways for families to see what the department actually does. If you have not been before, this is the year.
👉 Visit the Redondo Beach Fire Department

📅 Coming Up

🔹 Mayor Jim Light Town Hall, Wednesday, May 20, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Mayor Light is hosting a Town Hall at the Redondo Beach Main Library, second-floor meeting room, at 310 N. Pacific Coast Highway. He will deliver a state of the city, take questions, and make time for residents to share ideas and concerns directly.

→ 🎯 My take: Town halls are how a city stays honest with itself. If you have wanted to ask a question or share an idea about where Redondo is headed, this is your moment.

🔹 Refuse Rate Public Hearing, Tuesday, May 19. The Proposition 218 hearing on the proposed Athens solid waste rates and fees happens at the May 19 City Council meeting. If a majority protest is not received, Council can act on the new rate structure that night.
👉 View the City Council calendar

🥕 Weekly Markets

Farmers' Market by the Pier (Veterans Park), Thursdays, 8am to 1pm. 309 Esplanade.
👉 Read more

Riviera Village Farmers Market, Sundays, 8:30am to 1pm. Triangle Lot, 1801 S. Elena Ave.
👉 Read more

North Redondo Beach Farmers Market, Wednesdays, 2pm to 7pm. Green Lane at Artesia.
👉 Read more

📱 Access Redondo

Do you have a problem or need to report an issue to the city? Use the Access Redondo App.
👉 Download App

🏖️ Redondo Roundup

Tuesday's agenda is dense, and the Housing Element public hearing is the most consequential item on it. The NRB Farmers Market gets its formal ribbon-cutting on Wednesday. Carson is generating clean power because of CPA partnerships, and the Groundwater Festival was a useful reminder of how much South Bay infrastructure depends on agencies that work together. Fire Service Day lands Saturday, and the May 19 refuse rate hearing and May 20 Town Hall are already on the calendar. A real week of decisions, with the chance to weigh in before they happen.

If anything in here sparked a question or something you want to share, hit reply. I read every message.

"I believe progress isn't one headline — it's how we treat each other at games, how we welcome visitors to our beach, and how we keep showing up for small, unglamorous work. Thanks for doing that work with me. 🤝"

Brad Waller
City Council Member, Redondo Beach
brad.waller@redondo.org