1. What suggestions should I express to local city commissions and council members within City of Torrance?

While cities are doing their best, it’s important to look at code amendments made in response to California SB4, SB9 and others. For example, suggested improvements to the City of Torrance could include:

1. General Suggestions to New Construction:

   1. Deed Amendments

   2. Traffic, View and Light Studies

   3. Coastal Commission Study & Environment Impact Assessment

   4. Height Restrictions

2. Can you share more specific details to ask the city of Torrance to do in response to R1H-OZ?

1. Remove properties from within the Hillside Overlay zone, such as 330 Palos Verdes Blvd.

2. For the R1HOZ code amendments -

1. Impact Studies and Public Engagement

1. Require Coastal Commission Survey and Environmental Study for properties adjacent a Coastal Commission Boundary.

2. Require a Traffic, Light and Air study for any project within an R1H OZ.

3. Require a transparent process involving public comment and stakeholder input.

2. Enforce Design Standards

1. Mitigate hillside impacts using setbacks, design.

2. Implement density, parking, setbacks for taller buildings, and elevation regulations such as measuring elevation from the lowest structure on a property - not the desired building footprint location.

3. Require 1 parking space / unit minimum, overriding transit-based exceptions.

4. Limit size of dwellings to less than 800 sqft.

5. Require aesthetic improvements such as rebuilding of sidewalks and other infrastructure. City of Santa Rosa requires frontage improvements in support of SB9.

3. Robust Enforcement and Compliance Mechanisms:

1. Deed restrictions to assure affordability. Cities like Huntington Beach and Dana point require new developments to be deed-restricted for affordability sometimes up to 100%, this is in response to SB9. Data Point requires the units be dedicated to very low to low-income households in perpetuity, with no separation of units as condos.

2. Append strict owner occupancy requirements. Cities of LA and San Francisco require owner occupancy.

3. Require all housing units be used for lower income households, not a percent such as 20% be used moderate-income housing or managers units, or staff members - e.g. using the additional spaces as “classrooms”.

4. Terms must be included to ensure low income housing is enforced as per SB4, minimum 55 years for rentals or 45 years for owner occupied units.  The current draft does not mention enforceability terms in the current draft.

5. Labor rules must be enforced, following all SB4 rules.

4. Consideration of Site Protections

1. Alternative Protective Measures: While SB4 precludes maintaining the Hillside Overlay, propose that other protective measures (such as design guidelines or setback requirements) be strengthened for sensitive areas. This might include additional landscaping, buffering zones, or other design features that help preserve neighborhood character.

2. Pilot Programs for High-Risk Sites: For properties where the impact might be particularly significant—such as those near schools—consider proposing a phased or pilot implementation that allows for adjustments based on real-world impacts.

5. Robust Enforcement and Compliance Mechanisms:

1. Regular Monitoring and Inspections: Establish periodic compliance reviews to verify that the properties continue to meet the housing use and affordability requirements.

2. Penalties for Non-Compliance: Implement clear, enforceable penalties for institutions that repurpose or misuse the zoning benefit, ensuring accountability if the housing is not maintained as intended.

6. Clear Definitions and Restrictions:

1. Detailed Use-by-Right Conditions: Clearly define what constitutes acceptable housing uses versus non-housing uses. This should include explicit language that prohibits using these properties for other functions (e.g., classrooms, offices, meeting spaces) unless a formal conversion process is approved.

2. Conversion Restrictions: Include mechanisms that require any change in use to undergo a rigorous review process, ensuring that any conversion from residential use is both justified and publicly scrutinized.

3.What can I do to help support our coastal living?

Relative to SB4 and SB9 - join https://www.ourneighborhoodvoices.com and sign the petition. Continue to join and support your local cities.

Become active within your coastal community by learning more about new city planning and statewide agendas.

4. California’s SB4, SB9 and other similar bills that increase population density within our coastal area concern me, what can I do?

At the local level, attend city planning commission meetings and contact your city council to encourage and support them in their efforts to protect our coastal communities. Cities like Torrance, Huntington Beach, and others have successfully filed lawsuits against the state of California. And hundreds of California cities such as Del Mar have made meaningful code amendments to assure their communities are maintained.

Read more about specific code amendments and changes made by cities here:

https://airtable.com/appymFBTLMlriu6D6/shrYmmnngiplpb6Xd/tbljQXyvWfZaQc0cY

About SB9 and charter cities: https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/378622-the-constitutional-significance-of-charter-cities-senate-bill-9-win

5. What about making more affordable housing in California?

There are more options to creating affordable housing without negatively affecting our coast, whether converting a commercial center or vacant mall, or simply looking to neighboring cities with greater space to enable new housing.

The answer to sustainable living is not destruction of our coast and existing properties to build multiple buildings in their place that increase density and cause greater pollution than our coast can sustain.

6. What can I do with to help our coast?

The is quite a bit, sometimes it’s a simple as picking up trash when you see it. In other cases, you’ll need to vote for local city council, assembly members and state leaders whom strive to do better. Doing better is not passing a blanket amendment like SB9 or SB4 which has negative repercussions and seldom achieves intended goal such as ‘affordable housing’. Doing better is supporting local businesses by buying local, whether farmers markets or small businesses whom support the community. Doing better is being mindful of consumption. Doing better is not a destination, it’s a way of life - be 1% better each day. Live better. Live simple.

No one is perfect, we’re all trying to do what we believe is best - but when we see our environment impacted, whether it’s sea lions dying on our beaches or entire coral reefs bleached - we surely can be do more than continue to do better on the path we’re on.