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Brad Waller Newsletter — September 21, 2026
📬 Brad Waller, District 1 Newsletter, September 21, 2026
Hello Redondo,
To those observing Yom Kippur today, I wish you an easy and meaningful fast. G’mar chatimah tovah.
Three hundred thousand cubic yards of sand. That is the headline number in Los Angeles County's plan for the stretch of beach between our Pier and the Topaz Jetty, and this week's edition digs into what it means for District 1. Elsewhere in a busy week, Saturday took me from a regional transit summit in Torrance to a public safety fair at St. Lawrence Martyr; Thursday brought a ribbon-cutting with flight simulators above an Indian restaurant (really), and October is shaping up to be the month of free compost, free shredding, and free hazardous waste disposal.
First things first, though: the District 1 Zoom meeting is tomorrow night, and there is still time to register. Also, summer officially ends Tuesday at 5:04 PM, so consider this your last newsletter of the season.
💻 Tomorrow Night: District 1 Zoom Meeting at 7:00 PM
🔹 One last nudge for your calendar. We meet over Zoom tomorrow, Tuesday, September 22, at 7:00 PM. I will open with updates on Fire and Police Bond progress and Measure ART, and then the floor is yours: Seaside Lagoon, sand, buses, hedges, or whatever else is on your mind. Register in advance, and a confirmation email with your join link will follow. Fall officially arrives at 5:04 PM that afternoon, which makes this the first district meeting of autumn. Bring a sweater, or do not, because it is Zoom.
👉 Register for the September 22 Zoom meeting
🔹 Want to do the reading first? Last Tuesday's Council agenda carried the Seaside Lagoon coastal permit application, winter funding for the pallet shelter, and the 9-1-1 backup agreement with Torrance. If you want to see exactly how each item landed, the minutes and meeting video are the primary sources, and they are posted. Transparency only works if the documents are easy to find, so here they are.
👉 Browse agendas and minutes
🚌 Public Safety: A Saturday Spent Getting Around, Safely
🔹 Two stops, one theme. Saturday started in Torrance at the South Bay Forward Transit Summit, where we heard from Bubba Fish, transportation deputy for LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn (and a Culver City Councilmember), and Carolyn Angius, Senior Deputy for Metro for Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. From there it was on to the St. Lawrence Martyr Public Safety Fair. Transit talk and safety booths in one day: yes, this is my idea of a good Saturday, and I stand by it.
→ 💡 What this means: Regional coordination is not an abstraction. It is where practical changes like next month's Line 102 and 109 adjustments come from, and the more closely we work with Metro, the County, and our neighboring cities, the more useful every bus in the South Bay becomes.
🔹 Your turn to shape the network. The South Bay Cities Council of Governments is studying mobility hubs: places that bring together transit connections, bike parking, shade, seating, travel information, and safer walking routes in one convenient spot. The City is sharing a short survey, and I would love for the planners to hear plenty of District 1 voices in the results. Tell them what would actually get you out of the car for short trips.
👉 Learn about the mobility hub survey
👉 See my Saturday transit and safety post (Instagram)
🏖️ Environment: Redondo Makes the County's Sand Short List
🔹 SCOUP, in plain English. LA County Beaches and Harbors runs the Sand Compatibility and Opportunistic Use Program, mercifully shortened to SCOUP. Here is the idea: clean, beach-quality sand regularly becomes available from harbor dredging, flood control maintenance, and construction projects, but the permitting for placing it on a beach has historically taken so long that the opportunity passes. SCOUP pre-clears the environmental review and regulatory approvals for smaller nourishment projects, typically up to 150,000 cubic yards per year, so good sand can go where it is needed. Redondo Beach is one of just five receiver sites countywide, alongside Zuma, Will Rogers, Dockweiler, and Manhattan Beach.
→ 💡 What this means: Our shoreline now has a standing invitation whenever quality sand shows up in the region, instead of watching it get trucked to a landfill while paperwork crawls.
🔹 The Redondo demonstration project puts real numbers on the beach. The County's proposed living shoreline project would place approximately 300,000 cubic yards of clean sand, dredged from the Marina del Rey harbor entrance channel, to replenish roughly 10 to 15 acres of public beach between the Pier and the Topaz Jetty. It also creates about 0.7 acres of dune habitat at the south end, planted with native coastal dune species.
→ 🎯 My take: I served on the board of Keep the Esplanade Beautiful, so I have spent a lot of hours looking at this exact stretch of coast, and I can tell you a wider beach is not just prettier. It is nature-based protection for everything behind it: the bike path, walkways, restrooms, utilities, and lifeguard facilities. Dunes are the rare piece of infrastructure that gets stronger as it grows. A healthier beach is also an economic engine that brings visitors, and their dollars, to our waterfront. I will be following the environmental review closely and will flag every public comment opportunity here.
👉 Explore the County SCOUP program
👉 See the Redondo living shoreline project
✈️ Economic Development: Future Pilots Over Torrance Boulevard
🔹 Ribbon cut, cleared for takeoff. Thursday brought the ribbon-cutting at Pilot Lounge, up the stairs above Addi's Tandoor on Torrance Boulevard. Their high-end flight simulators recreate real aircraft controls and instruments, giving kids hands-on time with takeoffs, landings, and challenging conditions without ever leaving the ground.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: Growing city revenue through economic development is at the top of my priority list, and my favorite version of it is a new business that doubles as a STEM classroom. Some of the kids working those controls this fall could be flying us to a vacation one day. Congratulations to the Pilot Lounge team, and welcome to the neighborhood. Go take a lesson, and support the restaurant downstairs while you are at it.
👉 View my Pilot Lounge post (Instagram)
♻️ Three Free Saturdays for a Cleaner Home and a Greener Yard
Quick reminder before the listings: old paint, chemicals, and electronics are actually illegal in your regular trash. These events make the right choice the easy choice, and every one of them is free.
🔹 Compost Giveaway, Saturday, October 3. Athens Services will hand out free compost at the Hopkins Wilderness Park parking lot, 1102 Camino Real, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Bring proof of residency and sturdy containers, and come early, because supplies may not last. Gloves and eye protection are recommended. Your fall garden will thank you.
👉 Read the compost giveaway details
🔹 Household Hazardous Waste and Document Shredding, Saturday, October 24. Athens Services collects HHW and shreds documents at the Performing Arts Center parking lot, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd, from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, with proof of residency. Pack HHW in a sturdy box in your trunk, do not mix items, and expect to leave containers behind, with a limit of 15 gallons or 125 pounds. For shredding, remove plastic binders and clips, and bring up to five boxes per trip. Note that this is also the day the Nike After Dark Tour race arrives on our waterfront, so plan your morning route accordingly: the collection event is in North Redondo and wraps by 2:00 PM.
👉 Read the collection event details
🔹 County Household Hazardous Waste and E-Waste Collection, Saturday, October 31. LA County hosts a free drop-off at the A.K. Warren Water Resource Facility, West Maintenance Building parking lot, 24501 S. Figueroa St. in Carson, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. If you miss the October 24 event, or your garage cleanout runs longer than expected, here is your second chance one week later.
👉 View the County event page
📅 Coming Up
🔹 Hispanic Heritage Month continues through October 15. A month proclaimed at the September 15 Council meeting, and a fitting time to celebrate the neighbors whose culture, history, and contributions make Redondo Beach stronger.
🔹 Cultural Arts Commission meets Wednesday, September 23, at 7:00 PM. Public art, performances, and the creative life of the city all pass through this room.
🔹 Public Works, Safety and Sustainability Commission meets Monday, September 28, at 7:00 PM. If this week's sand and shoreline news caught your attention, this is a commission worth watching.
🔹 The City Council returns Tuesday, October 6, at 6:00 PM. I will preview the agenda here as soon as it posts.
👉 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. A County sand project moves in phases, studies, and permits. The broken sprinkler on your block should move faster, and one report in the app sends it to the right department the first time. Putting technology to work for better city service is exactly what I ran on, and this app is the everyday version of it.
👉 Download the Access Redondo app
🏘️ Redondo Roundup
A short list our beach is glad to be on, a Saturday split between bus maps and fire engines, future pilots training above Torrance Boulevard, and three free Saturdays to clear out the garage and feed the garden. One ask before you close this email: register for tomorrow night's Zoom meeting. Fall arrives Tuesday afternoon, and by 7:00 PM we will be greeting the new season together, one little video square at a time.
Questions, ideas, or corrections: hit reply. I read every message. See you tomorrow night, Redondo.
Brad Waller
City Council Member, Redondo Beach
