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Brad Waller Newsletter — October 12, 2026
📬 Brad Waller, District 1 Newsletter, October 12, 2026
Good day, Redondo,
This week moved at walking speed, and I mean that as a compliment. Wednesday morning I walked to Beryl Heights Elementary with dozens of students and families for Walk and Roll to School Day; Thursday opened with a water-wise business breakfast in North Redondo; and Saturday filled the Redondo Union parking lot with classic cars and food trucks. Today is Indigenous Peoples' Day, a moment to honor the first stewards of this coastline and the contributions their communities continue to make across our region.
And circle tomorrow night: the Council meets Tuesday, October 13, at 6:00 PM, with $93 million in voter-approved public safety bonds, tax questions headed for the March ballot, and a preview of the half marathon coming our way on October 24. Plus a book sale, a pier-to-pier walk, and my case for Measure ART. Let's get into it.
🏛️ Tomorrow Night at Council: Bond Dollars, Hotel Taxes, and Gas Station Groceries
🔹 Measure FP moves from ballot box to bank (N.2). The Council will consider authorizing the issuance of up to $93,350,000 in Series 2026 general obligation bonds under Measure FP, the public safety facilities measure Redondo Beach voters approved.
→ 💡 What this means: A bond measure is only a promise until the bonds are actually sold. This resolution is the step that turns your votes into real financing for new fire and police facilities.
→ 🎯 My take: My job now is stewardship. You approved this investment, and I want every dollar tracked, every bid competitive, and every milestone reported back to you in plain English.
👉 Read the bond item (N.2)
🔹 A visitor-paid tax heads toward your March ballot (N.3). The Council will also discuss the language of the City's utility user tax and transient occupancy tax ordinances, and the proposed wording for corresponding ballot measures planned for our March 2027 election.
→ 💡 What this means: The utility user tax has become outdated. We all pay it for natural gas, electricity, telephone, and cable TV for the few who still have it. Streaming services are not collecting the tax, and we want the ability to collect that as well. The transient occupancy tax is paid by visitors staying in our hotels, not by residents. Growing city revenue without reaching into residents' pockets is exactly the kind of economic development I ran on, so I am in favor of this one.
👉 Read the agenda item (N.3)
🔹 Also on the agenda: a public hearing on updating zoning rules for food sales at service stations (L.1), plus a consent item on curb ramps that I cover in the safety section below. If something on this agenda matters to you, say so: in person, over Zoom, through eComment, or by email.
👉 View meeting details
🚸 Public Safety: Safer Steps and Smarter Rides
🔹 $35,000 for the youngest people on our roads. The Redondo Beach Police Department has been awarded a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety for its Bicyclist and Pedestrian Safety Program, running through September 2027. The funding supports youth bicycle training, helmet fittings and giveaways for kids who need them, Safe Routes to Schools programs, community walk audits, and pop-up events that put lights and reflective gear directly into riders' hands.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: Chief Sprengel pointed specifically to children riding e-bikes to and from school, and he is right to. I have been pressing for smarter e-bike rules at the state level, and education like this is the piece we can deliver locally, right now.
👉 Learn about OTS safety grant programs
🔹 Walk and Roll to School Day was a joy. Wednesday morning I joined dozens of students, parents, and school staff, along with Police Chief Sprengel and Captain Long, meeting at Beryl and Flagler and walking together to Beryl Heights Elementary. Healthy habits, safer streets, and a little community before the first bell: that is a good morning in my book.
👉 See my Walk and Roll post (Instagram)
🔹 Curb ramps across the city (H.6). On tomorrow's consent calendar sits a $537,887.50 construction contract for the Citywide Curb Ramp Improvements Project, supported by federal funds. Curb ramps are the kind of infrastructure you stop noticing until you need one, whether you are pushing a stroller, using a wheelchair, or wrangling a rolling suitcase.
👉 Read the consent item (H.6)
🗳️ Economic Development: Why I'm Voting Yes on Measure ART
🔹 Seven years of community work, one ballot question. On Tuesday, November 3, I encourage you to join me in voting yes on Measure ART. The measure updates development standards along Artesia and Aviation Boulevards and parts of Pacific Coast Highway, making room for new restaurants, shops, jobs, and gathering places while pairing that capacity with clear standards and neighborhood protections.
→ 💡 What this means: Under our City Charter, major land-use changes require voter approval, so this decision belongs to you. A yes vote opens the door to reinvestment in our commercial corridors and grows the city's tax base without raising tax rates.
→ 🎯 My take: I served on the General Plan Advisory Committee, so I watched the seven years of resident meetings, environmental review, and public input that shaped this plan. This is not a shortcut around planning. It is the planning, finally put to work. I lay out my full reasoning on my blog.
👉 Read why I'm voting yes on Measure ART
🏃 Riviera Village After Dark: A Half Marathon Hits the Village October 24
🔹 Music, lights, and thousands of runners. On Saturday, October 24, the Nike After Dark Tour Los Angeles brings a nighttime half marathon through Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Torrance, starting and finishing at King Harbor. Riviera Village is getting in on the action with its own takeover: a live band in front of Riviera House from 5 to 8 PM, special lighting throughout the Village, a custom poster station, and a cheer zone centered around South Catalina Avenue, Avenida Del Norte, and Vista del Mar.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: Thousands of runners and spectators from across the world will be discovering our shops and restaurants, many for the first time. Come early for dinner, stay for the music, and cheer until your cowbell gives out. This is economic development you can dance to.
👉 Read my full Riviera Village preview
🔹 Plan around the road closures. Closures begin around 4:00 PM. South Catalina Avenue from Palos Verdes Boulevard to Avenue A, Vista del Mar from Esplanade to Camino de la Costa, and Camino de la Costa from Vista del Mar to South Catalina will be closed from 4:00 until roughly 8:15 PM, and Catalina Avenue from Beryl Street to Esplanade stays closed until about 9:00 PM, reopening as runners clear the course.
👉 View the course and closure map (Map)
🔹 Nike comes to Council first (N.1). Tomorrow night's agenda includes a presentation from Nike on event logistics, community outreach, and planned mitigation measures. If you live near the course and have questions about access, parking, or noise, this is the meeting to raise them.
👉 Read the agenda item (N.1)
💧 Environment: Water Wise, Wallet Wise
🔹 A breakfast that could lower your water bill. Thursday started early at the North Redondo Beach Business Association's Rise and Shine Redondo, where Gus Meza of West Basin Municipal Water District and Jocelyn Rivas-Perez of California Water Service walked us through conservation programs, available rebates, and practical ways residents and businesses can trim their water bills.
→ 💡 What this means: Rebates for water-saving upgrades already exist, and the money is waiting for applications. If you have not checked what your water provider offers, consider this your nudge. Sustainability works best when it saves you money too.
👉 See my Rise and Shine recap (Instagram)
🔹 The Esplanade got its scrub. A thank-you to our Public Works crew, who were out power washing the Esplanade again this past week. During the last budget cycle, I secured two additional washings per year, taking the annual total from four to six. Clean public spaces are not a luxury. They are how a city shows respect for the people who use them.
👉 View my Esplanade post (Instagram)
🎓 Education: Student Leaders, Classic Cars, and a Walk Between Piers
🔹 Redondo Union charters a Zonta Club. Congratulations to the RUHS students who launched their new Zonta Club, sponsored by the Zonta Club of South Bay. I was glad to help celebrate the milestone alongside student club president Sophia Perez, advisor Samantha Marcon, and the students and Zonta members who made it happen. Zonta's mission centers on service and advocacy for women and girls, and I cannot wait to see these student leaders put it to work here at home.
👉 See the Zonta chartering post (Instagram)
🔹 Classic cars for a good cause. Saturday brought the RUHS PTSA's RU Classic Car Show to the high school auditorium parking lot, with food trucks, music, and rows of beautifully kept machines, all in support of our school community. To everyone who organized, polished, and turned out: well done. Speaking as a car guy, I approve.
👉 See the car show post (Instagram)
🔹 Walk from pier to pier this Sunday. The 18th annual Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk steps off Sunday, October 18, with families walking from the Manhattan Beach Pier to the Hermosa Beach Pier and back. Since 2009, the walk has raised millions for children with special needs, public education, and college scholarships, and your school is guaranteed to receive at least the amount of your registration fee. Lace up and represent Redondo.
👉 Register for the Friendship Walk
✍️ A Personal Note
🔹 My endorsement for Insurance Commissioner. This one comes from me as a neighbor and a voter, not from the dais: I am proud to support State Senator Ben Allen for California Insurance Commissioner. California's insurance crisis is one of the biggest challenges facing homeowners across the state, and we need a commissioner who can protect consumers while restoring a market that actually functions. Ben has the experience, temperament, and judgment the office demands. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "voters should run screaming" from his opponent, which makes this an easy call for me.
Next week I’ll add in some more recommendations for this upcoming election.
📅 Coming Up
🔹 City Council meets tomorrow, Tuesday, October 13, at 6:00 PM. My highlights are above, and you can participate in person, by Zoom, through eComment, or by email.
🔹 Hispanic Heritage Month wraps up Thursday, October 15. One more week to celebrate the neighbors whose culture, history, and contributions make Redondo Beach stronger.
🔹 Friends of the Library Book Sale, Saturday, October 17, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Main Library, 303 N. Pacific Coast Highway, in the Children's Storytime Room on the first floor. Cash, checks, cards, and PayPal are all accepted, Friends members enjoy 30-minute early entry, and every dollar supports library programs for children, teens, adults, and seniors.
👉 Visit the Friends of the Library
🔹 Household Hazardous Waste and document shredding, Saturday, October 24. Performing Arts Center parking lot, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd, 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, with proof of residency. Full details ran in my September 21 edition.
👉 View the meeting 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. Between race-day street closures and curb ramp construction, our streets are about to get busy, and this app is how you tell us when something on your block needs attention. One report routes your issue to the right department the first time, and every report becomes data that helps the City fix problems where they cluster.
👉 Download the Access Redondo App
🏘️ Redondo Roundup
Ninety-three million dollars moving toward new public safety facilities, thirty-five thousand dollars for our youngest walkers and riders, one half marathon headed for the Village, and a weekend bracketed by a book sale and a pier-to-pier walk. Here is my challenge for the week: pick one thing in this edition and act on it. Register, browse, cheer, or send an eComment on tomorrow's agenda. A city runs on people who do.
Questions, ideas, or corrections: hit reply. I read every message. Have a wonderful week, Redondo.
Brad Waller
City Council Member, Redondo Beach
