Hermosa Beach News

HB Council to revisit Club 705 issues in two weeks

By Jennifer Evans

The Hermosa Beach City Council voted to allow Club 705 to operate as it has been, but with the understanding that in two weeks it will revisit some of the issues, such as outside promoters and noise, that concern the community.

The vote was 3-2 in favor of allowing Club 705 to continue operations at the City Council's April 10 meeting; however, in two weeks, staff will present the City Council with a modified version of the club's Conditional Use Permit.

The CUP became an issue for the city when the business changed hands last year and the Police Department referred the matter to Community Development in connection with the ABC alcohol license transfer when ABC officials requested comment on the operation. Due to the high number of incident reports, police recommended that the matter be reviewed by the Planning Commission and did not recommend approval of the license transfer.

In January, the Planning Commission unanimously voted to modify the restaurant's CUP by limiting hours to no later than midnight, prohibiting live entertainment, dancing and disc jockeys as well as prohibiting outside promoters.

The owners of the club appealed the Planning Commission's modifications, leaving the ultimate decision in the hands of the City Council.

City Council members listened to more than two hours of testimony at Tuesday's public hearing.

It appeared that most of the people who attended the meeting were in favor of allowing the club to keep its closing hours of 2 a.m. as well as keep its live entertainment.

Speaker after speaker cited how the establishment had changed since the new owners took it over more than a year ago. Some patrons of the business even admitted that they did not like the past establishment, but that now it is a place that provides a sophisticated and classy atmosphere.

Ron Tarsky, who plays piano at Club 705 on Friday and Saturday nights, said that he was turned away at other local clubs because his music didn't attract a young party crowd, but he has been welcomed and well-received by the patrons of Club 705. “I play at a level to where people can still carry on a conversation,” Tarsky said. “What we attract there and what we want to keep attracting is a crowd that wants to come and eat dinner, have a drink and listen to some good music.”

Besides Club 705 entertainers, several patrons said they enjoyed Club 705 because it is away from the “craziness” of the downtown pier plaza scene.

However, it is perhaps the distance from the pier plaza that has hindered Club 705 more than helped.

Hermosa Beach Police Chief Michael Lavin said that while it is true pier plaza receives dozens of calls a month, it is harder to pinpoint where exactly the problem is coming from given the concentration of bars in that area. But because Club 705 is the only restaurant/bar in that area, it is easier for police to narrow down where the problem is coming from.

Despite the staff report stating that “over the past several months the Police and Fire Departments have responded to complaints involving fights, public intoxication, underage serving and overcrowding in violation of the building, fire and penal codes,” there has only been one disturbance call to police in reference to Club 705 in nearly four months.

While the number of police complaints played a vital role in the decision-making of the council, it didn't seem to make a difference to those opposed to keeping the restaurant open past midnight.

“I think the owner has had flagrant disregard for the conditions of the CUP,” Hermosa Beach resident Patty Egerer said. “I think the council needs to safeguard the interests of the community.”

After listening to what seemed like endless testimony, Mayor Sam Edgerton closed the public hearing, and the City Council began its discussion and debate. Of the five council members, only Councilman Pete Tucker was in favor of upholding the Planning Commission's decision exactly as is. “We need to hold their feet to the fire,” Tucker said. “If they don't follow the rules of the CUP, why are we going to rewrite them?”

However, Tucker was outnumbered in his vote to eliminate live entertainment and close the establishment at midnight.

Councilman J.R. Reviczky made a motion to allow the club to operate under the current CUP and keep the hours it currently has, during a six-month probation period during which if anything happens, then an immediate meeting would be held to determine the status of the CUP.

Councilman Michael Keegan was in favor of closing the club at midnight as well as making amendments to the CUP regarding outside promoters, garage noise and trash in the surrounding area.

Initially, Edgerton was in favor of closing Club 705 at midnight, but it was Councilman Kit Bobko who swayed him when he suggested a third motion to let the club sustain its current hours under the condition that the council will review the current CUP in two weeks and make the necessary modifications to the CUP suggested by Keegan.

Edgerton viewed the motion as compromise. “It's not as stringent as what the Planning Commission voted for, but it still allows us to put some restrictions as to what is acceptable,” Edgerton said. “For example, outside promoters have been a big problem not only at this place, but at all the bars in Hermosa, so that is one of the main issues staff will take under consideration when making the modifications.”

In the final vote, Tucker and Keegan voted against the motion.

The City Council will revisit the CUP under its new modifications, which will address noise, litter, outside promotions, outside patio seating and the parking garage, at its next City Council meeting May 1.

Hermosa Beach – Crime Watch

UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY. Police were called to the 400 bock of Herondo Street by a woman, who came home and discovered a maintenance man in her apartment without permission. Apparently, there was an ongoing problem with the plumbing in the unit, but the woman was not informed that maintenance workers would be in her home the afternoon of March 31. After returning home at 2:27 p.m., she began changing clothes and came upon the maintenance man while undressed. When a male police officer arrived, the woman would not let him in her apartment and was described in the police report as in hysterics over the incident. A friend later drove the woman to the police department where she explained the situation to a female police officer. The authorities informed her that it was a civil incident and if she was unhappy about the service in her apartment that she should take it up with the building's management. No crime was reported related to the incident.

CAR JACKING. A man with a knife attacked two men and stole their van from the 2900 block of Ingleside Drive at 10 a.m. March 26. The victims parked the van and left the keys in the ignition. Moments later an unknown man got in the vehicle and when the owner of the car asked what he was doing, he was told that the vehicle needed to be moved because a larger truck was arriving. One of the men then got back in the van and the 51-year-old stranger moved out of the driver's seat over to the passenger side. Just after the man began moving the vehicle, the intruder began screaming at him and brandished a knife. He yelled expletives and told the man to keep driving or he would kill him. At this point, the driver's associate ran to the car that had only moved about 10 feet to see what was the matter. The driver told him in Spanish that the assailant was going to kill him. At this point the man outside the vehicle began struggling with the armed man through the passenger-side window until the attacker sliced his arm. Then the car jacker stabbed at the driver and lacerated his hand. The man in the driver's seat then jumped out of the car and fled as his assailant sped off. At 10:22 a.m., Manhattan Beach police spotted the vehicle but the car thief also saw the authorities and sped off. A resident then flagged down the police and directed him to the intersection of Rosecrans Avenue and Market Place where the fleeing suspect had flipped over the vehicle. Police brought the original victims to the scene where they positively identified the suspect that attacked them and absconded with the vehicle.

Hermosa Beach News

Neighbors speak in support of Club 705

By Jennifer Evans

It was a packed house at Hermosa Beach's City Council meeting when dozens of people showed up in favor of allowing Club 705 to keep its regular business hours.

Despite the crowd, City Council members, who granted the club's owner a public hearing extension to the April 10 meeting, asked everyone to hold their testimony.

At the April 10 hearing, council members will either support the appeal of the club's owner or side with the Planning Commission's decision to modify the business's hours and use of space.

Residents of all ages and backgrounds gathered inside the City Council chambers. Most, according to a show of hands, were ready to testify to the council that they were now OK with upper Pier Avenue's only nightclub. However, before the public hearing could get started, a lawyer representing the owner of the club stood before the council and requested that the public hearing be held at the next council meeting in two weeks.

“I was retained by my client late in the afternoon yesterday,” attorney Joseph Hofman said. “I have not had enough time to review the case and I would appreciate if we could do this at the next meeting when I am more prepared.”

The club has changed hands several times since the location originally opened in 1985 as Marie Callender's. In the last 10 years, the location evolved into a nightclub and has served as a venue for live music. Due to the high volume of complaints that the police received about the club last year, the police recommended that the Planning Commission not approve the transfer of the business liquor license.

The matter was originally considered in November 2006 and was twice continued to Jan. 16, 2007. It was at the January meeting that the Planning Commission voted unanimously to modify the Conditional Use Permit to ensure that the operating hours be no later than midnight, no live entertainment, dancing, and/or disc jockeys or outside promoters.

The owner, who purchased the business in July 2006, appealed the commission's decision and requested the March 27 hearing date. According to supporters of the nightspot, under the new ownership the club has not created a disturbance for nearby residents in the past five months.

“The city is making decisions based on what the club was like when it was run by the previous owners, but these new owners are different and the records show there hasn't been a complaint in five months,” former City Councilman and longtime Hermosa Beach resident John Bowler said.

Before the council began discussing the issue, City Attorney Michael Jenkins explained to the council that the owners actually specifically asked that March 27 be the date for the public hearing, and that they had previously retained counsel and it was their choice to change their lawyer as recent as Monday. “I just want to make it clear that in no way are you obligated to allow for an extension,” Jenkins said.

Mayor Pro Tem Michael Keegan, who was leading the meeting due to Sam Edgerton's absence, asked each councilman what he thought.

Councilman J.R. Reviczky asked the audience how many people were there to speak against the club having regular hours and no one raised their hand. He also asked if anyone would have a problem coming back in two weeks, to which one person raised a hand. He then added, given the opportunity, he would rather have every council member present when making the decision

Councilman Peter Tucker disagreed with his colleague and said he would rather move forward with the public hearing and didn't see any benefit to the city of allowing the extension to the owner. “The only way I will agree to an extension is if the owner agrees to close the establishment at midnight for the next two weeks until we meet again for the public hearing,” Tucker said.

Councilman Patrick ‘Kit' Bobko said he agreed with Tucker and would also consider the extension if the owners would agree to close early. However, the owners didn't bite.

“My client will not agree to closing at midnight; that is when he makes most of his money and he has already lost money during this whole thing,” Hofman said.

With a split vote between the council, it seemed it was up to Keegan to sway either Bobko or Tucker. “They (the owners) are running the risk of being open for the next two weeks. If anything happens, they will most likely lose the support they have right now. So I doubt anything bad is going to happen in the next two weeks,” said Keegan, adding that he, too, would rather have a full council.

After listening to Keegan's testimony, Bobko glanced at the owner and lawyer now sitting in the audience and said, “OK, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I'll agree to push it to the next meeting.”

The crowd erupted with applause and with a 3-1 vote the council granted the extension.

Hermosa Beach News

Pedestrians, traffic, parking top concerns

By Jennifer Evans

According to Rick Koenig of the Hermosa Beach Historical Society, who spoke at a recent Pier Avenue hometown meeting, it was more than 80 years ago when the local newspaper “Hermosa Review” had a headline reading “Loud Gatherings, Too Many Bars and Lack of Parking Plague Hermosa Beach.”

The headline ran in the former local rag in 1925, indicating that perhaps although decades have passed, not much has changed.

The March 24 meeting was well-attended, attracting roughly 50 business owners and Hermosa Beach residents who were there to voice their opinion and listen to what others had to say regarding plans for upper Pier Avenue.

Scott Cooper, owner of Jackson's Bistro located on upper Pier Avenue, said that parking is the critical issue. He suggested a centralized valet service or shuttle services. “The future for Hermosa Beach is unbelievably bright,” said Cooper, who opened Jackson's in 1999. “We just have to be smart about it.”

The meeting, held at City Hall, was considered a “brainstorming session” and was led by Hermosa Beach City Councilman and Upper Pier Avenue Committee member Patrick ‘Kit' Bobko.

During the nearly two-hour meeting, several residents thanked the city for the opportunity to speak on the matter as well as the fact the meeting was held on a weekend, allowing more people to attend.

Attendees at the meeting seemed most concerned about pedestrian safety, traffic flow and parking. However, some business owners were concerned that if too much change happened, rents would be raised and some of the city's older businesses would be forced to leave.

“Whatever you do will affect what business we have,” Gary Kazanjian, owner of Kazanjian Stained Glass located at 423 Pier Ave., said. “As you spruce up Pier Avenue, rents will rise and might make it hard for some businesses to survive.”

Kazanjian also added that he would like to see an entrance sculpture, a venue for entertainment on upper Pier Avenue, wider sidewalks and a facility for public artwork.

Melinda Amaya, director of operations for Frito Misto a restaurant located on upper Pier Avenue, also agreed that there should be wider sidewalks to accommodate outdoor dining. Amaya, who was involved on the parking task force in Santa Monica, had some suggestions regarding off-site parking.

Hermosa Beach resident Carolyn Petty said that she wants to see a management of pedestrians. She said that although she isn't opposed to more development, she is opposed to more traffic. “Density and traffic have to be looked at,” Petty said. “We need to look at how much traffic Pier Avenue can really sustain.”

Tom Nyman, a 30-year resident, said he and his wife had a problem with the one lane on Pier Avenue and said there needed to be more awareness of pedestrians, especially children after 3 p.m. when school lets out.

Longtime resident and former Hermosa Beach City Councilman John Bowler suggested the city look at city-specific zoning and suggested wider sidewalks. “Whatever is done, it should accommodate the pedestrians,” Bowler said. “You don't design a city around cars, you design a city around the people.”

Hermosa Beach City Manager Steve Burrell thought the meeting went very well. “A lot of ideas were discussed, and the committee will be able to use these ideas and suggestions as we move forward with the process,” Burrell said.

The Upper Pier Avenue Committee meets every first Wednesday of the month and will discuss comments from Saturday's meeting during its April 4 meeting.

Burrell said that the committee will present its first set of plans for upper Pier Avenue early next year.

 Pier Avenue Committee seeking input

By Chris Yang

An all-volunteer committee charged with shaping the future of Pier Avenue met for the third time last week to iron out yet more organizational details, and to prepare itself for the coming months ahead. Though no policy decisions were made, the panel made several administrative decisions and set a date for an upcoming town hall meeting to solicit input from the community at large.

Though the March 7 meeting was primarily organizational in nature and offered the panel's five newest members a chance to interact with the rest of the panel, a somewhat substantive discussion did take place surrounding what the committee's mission and goals should be. Much of the debate that night revolved around what the parameters of the committee's work should be, such as whether it should create a new specific plan, or merely provide ideas to another group, like the city's Planning Commission, to interpret its work.

One member of the group urged it to focus on four aspects of the street: parking, traffic, the types of business allowed and landscaping. Another urged the committee to consider creating a specific plan that would set out clear parameters for the city to abide by.

Near the end of the more-than-90-minutes meeting, local resident and business owner Gary Kazanjian addressed the panel to offer a stark warning about what the panel intends to do. Some business owners along Pier Avenue, said Kazanjian, are “very scared of what's happening.”

Without going into detail, Kazanjian alluded to several businesses that might fall prey to an increase in rents brought about by a major redevelopment of the busy thoroughfare. Kazanjian himself owns and operates a stained glass window business along Pier Avenue, stating he would be impacted by the committee's work both as a resident and business owner.

Having just set the date for a town hall meeting, committee chairman Kit Bobko urged the concerned citizen to attend the March 24 event.  “We hope you come to the town hall meeting,” said Bobko.

The meeting is set to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 24, in City Hall. A member of the committee is expected to provide a brief presentation about the history of the city's downtown area prior to public comments.

The advisory panel, known as the Upper Pier Avenue Committee, consists of 11 members of the community, and was formed by the City Council last fall. It was originally charged with undertaking a comprehensive study of the entire Pier Avenue ecosystem and is expected to make recommendations on how the city should best spend approximately $2 million in funds raised under Proposition “C.”

HB Council changes rules for business parking

By Chris Yang

The Hermosa Beach City Council approved a parking ordinance that will allow local businesses to pay in-lieu fees and provide less parking than the current mandated requirement for some downtown businesses.

The City Council debated for more than an hour at its March 13 meeting about whether to adopt an ordinance dealing with parking for Pier Plaza businesses.

After a contentious discussion that saw one member of the council accuse a colleague of “taking it personal,” and a resident issuing a warning that the city would face a referendum if it approved the amendment, the council voted to adopt the ordinance by a 4-1 vote.

In particular, the amendment exempts pier plaza buildings that “exceed a one-to-one gross floor area to building site ratio” from providing a minimum of 25 percent of the required parking on-site. Though the amendment pertained to every business on the pier plaza, the initial impetus behind the proposal was a desire by local officials to expedite the reconstruction of Aloha Sharkeez, which burned down in a fire last May.

Mayor Sam Edgerton, a strong supporter of the text amendment, described the proposal as an “emergency ordinance” that allows the owners of the popular establishment to “build back what you had in case of a fire.”

At the onset of the matter, Councilman Kit Bobko offered an amendment removing a “bar, nightclub or cocktail lounge” from the exemption clause for pier plaza businesses.

“I understand that we don't have any bars, cocktail lounges or nightclubs on the pier plaza,” said Bobko. “This will make sure we don't.”

Despite the assurance of City Manager Steve Burrell that Bobko's amendment would not effect the current reconstruction of Sharkeez (because it is classified as a restaurant), most were hesitant to sign on to Bobko's idea.

One person who did, though, was local activist Jim Lissner, who urged the council to undertake a similar proposition, namely limiting the exemption to retail or office businesses. Lissner then attacked an issue that was not on the agenda, namely the Sharkeez expansion, by pointing out that the number of calls to the Police Department emanating from the pier plaza had decreased dramatically since the May 9, 2006, fire.

According to Lissner, the department received 1,123 phone calls emanating from the plaza in the eight months immediately succeeding the fire. But in the eight months prior to the fire, the department received 1,433 calls. In the year before that, said Lissner, the department received 1,600 calls over the same eight- month period.

“If you put Sharkeez back, particularly if you expand it, you're going to have to deal with more police calls,” said Lissner.

“That's going to take away the police from the other parts of town, as it does now. That's my general objection to the bars downtown, is that it soaks up all the police services of this town and it leaves the rest of the town vulnerable.”

Edgerton urged his colleagues opposed to the growth of the downtown area to appeal the Planning Commission's recent decision granting Sharkeez plans to expand.

“But doing it this way, to me, it's just like a way to try and catch a headline about an issue that doesn't exist in the same area that we're talking about,” said Edgerton.

Reviczky, who was not present at the Feb. 27 meeting where the ordinance was initially considered, echoed the comments of others in the majority that his support was solely to grant the owners of Sharkeez to rebuild what they had before.

“Unless we change this ordinance, he couldn't rebuild what he had there,” said Reviczky. “That's all we're really doing, is changing the ordinance to allow anyone at all to rebuild down there.”

While receiving the support of both residents to speak on the issue, Bobko's displeasure with the direction of the debate was plain for all to see.

“I'll never vote for a policy that is being done for the simple purpose of expediency or favoritism, I don't know which it is tonight,” said Bobko. “But I'm disappointed that we're going to pass an ordinance that is clearly something that is not good for the city because we don't have the time or the interest to do it correctly.”

Hermosa Beach News

New members named to Pier Committee

By Chris Yang

Among the people chosen to serve on an all-volunteer committee charged with shaping the future of Pier Avenue are two local architects, a business owner, a certified public accountant and an owner of a local art gallery.

That committee, known as the Upper Pier Avenue Committee, received an overwhelming response from the public following an announcement to fill five additional seats on the panel.

Jerry Gross, Ken Klade, Kim MacMullan, Dean Nota and Larry Peha were named as the five newest members of the panel at the committee's last meeting on Feb. 15. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Carla Merriman was also named as an “ex-officio” member of the panel, who would serve alongside others on the committee but who will have no voting rights.

The additional members were chosen following an informal interview process in which each applicant was given three minutes to address the panel. Prior to the meeting, applicants were greeted with a memo from the committee's interim chairman, Kit Bobko, outlining the process by which the panel's five newest members would be chosen. It did not make any mention of the selection of an ex-officio member.

On Thursday night, Councilman Pete Tucker urged those who applied and were not chosen to continue to participate in local politics. “Don't be discouraged if you're not picked,” said Tucker. The committee's decision was perhaps the most highly anticipated event in local political circles since an election last June.

The advisory panel will meet March 7 at 7 p.m. in the council's chambers at City Hall.

Hermosa Beach News – Letters to the Editor

Parking will have negative effects

The Hermosa Beach City Council is to be revising a city law Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council chamber. The revision will permit a privileged handful of property owners on lower Pier Avenue (the pier plaza) to have additional special rights to max out their businesses without adding a single new parking space on site. Instead, they will be able to pay the city a one-time fee(s) for the city to then build, maintain and grant in perpetuity to these private properties’ their additional required parking, which will then be built on city-owned land.

The council would best carefully consider the legality and impacts of this revision. There are other very similar adjacent properties downtown that are in the same commercial zone and the same vehicle-parking district, paying the same license fees, etc. Why won't they have these new special rights? Whether this is even a responsible or legal law to enact, is this not an illegal form of spot zoning within a zone for a favored few?

Additionally, the council has a fiduciary responsibility to not knowingly add an unnecessary, known to be costly, additional public safety burden on the city budget in permitting additional impacts from some uses. So why not first create a Specific Plan Area to better define future expansions, uses, size of buildings and city revenues versus expected budget and other burdens, rather than willy-nilly revising a law with such likely long-term negative effects on the entire city?

Howard Longacre, Hermosa Beach

Clarifying his position

I can't figure out whether Chris Yang of The Beach Reporter has something against Sharkeez or he doesn't like the downtown restaurants in general. The style that Yang writes every article about our fire and reconstruction makes me think that both are the case. I guess when you spend 37 years in a community and build your business there this is how the newspaper that you have spent thousands advertising with treats you when your business burns down. I wonder how The Beach Reporter would feel if it woke up one morning and its building was burnt down and it couldn't print another paper for the next two years. I'm sure sensationalizing situations sells newspapers but at what point does this become kicking local businesses when they are down?

In regards to Yang's articles in the Feb. 1 and 8 papers, I have a few clarifications to make. Because we are adding ADA bathrooms, two staircases, an elevator and storage the actual increase in customer space is only 30 percent. Secondly, the outdoor seating requested on the first floor is a pulled-in storefront that can be completely closed off by doors, while the “outdoor seating” on the second floor is a closable skylight. In regards to Yang's inference that the Planning Commission favored the restaurants in its CUP reviews by saying it did not have clear enough information, the chief of police recently stated that Sharkeez has had 35 calls for police service since it burnt down.

Greg Newman, Hermosa Beach

Didn't support limiting alcohol sales

The Beach Reporter has printed letters supporting three candidates for the Manhattan Beach City Council: Bob Bohner, Portia Cohen and David Lesser. All three are members of our Planning Commission. I'd like to offer a perspective of them based on my experience, not vague acclaim.

In October I addressed the Planning Commission to say I was opposed to the proposal for the Chevron station on Rosecrans and Sepulveda to sell alcohol. I told how I was hit by a drunk driver racing to get his next drink at a convenience store on a similar intersection. I said if alcohol is sold at Rosecrans and Sepulveda, arguably the most congested and confusing intersection in the city, one day a drunk, thirsty for his next drink, will hit someone.

Bohner, Cohen, Lesser and the other commissioners seemed uninterested in hearing from opponents to the station selling alcohol. Their only discussion was whether to cut off alcohol sales at 10 p.m. or midnight. That's a nonissue; I was hit in the middle of the afternoon. Drunks don't limit their drinking hours.

Beer, wine and liquor are sold at five stores and 17 restaurants within one-third of a mile of Rosecrans and Sepulveda. Opening an additional alcohol outlet does not improve the quality of life in Manhattan Beach. Instead, it opens the door to tragedy.

Bohner, Cohen and Lesser seem blind to what's good for the city and deaf to concerns of residents. They should not sit on our City Council.

Chuck Dapoz, Manhattan Beach

Hermosa Beach News

City receives 26 applications for Upper Pier Avenue Committee

By Chris Yang

The city recently received a surprisingly large number of applications from people hoping to serve on an all-volunteer committee charged with shaping the future of Pier Avenue. Among the 26 individuals who stepped forward to vie for a spot on the Upper Pier Avenue Committee are a former California deputy attorney general, a restaurant manager, several local architects, a former member of the City Council and an employee of the television game show “The Price is Right.”

Initially, the Upper Pier Avenue Committee was described by local officials as an “ad hoc” or “design oversight committee.” Its mission was later changed, though, to conduct a “comprehensive study of the entire Pier Avenue ecosystem.” It was formed last fall by a 4-1 vote of the City Council and consisted of six members, two each from the council, the Public Works Commission, and the Planning Commission.

But at the committee's first meeting on Jan. 18, the panel made several administrative decisions, one of which was to increase the size of the committee by five people. A press release was subsequently issued by the city soliciting applications from “interested residents, business operators and property owners” willing to offer one night a month for the next 12 months to serve on the committee.

Following the application deadline earlier this week, local officials expressed surprise at how many people were interested in volunteering for the relatively new committee. An employee with the city remarked that the total number of applications is “more than what we normally get.”

At the council's latest meeting Tuesday night, Councilman Peter Tucker publicly thanked everyone who submitted applications to the city. “I just want to thank everyone who applied to the Upper Pier Avenue Committee,” said Tucker. “Hopefully, we'll come up with a great vision for the city.”

One reason behind the large turnout may have to do with the committee's potential influence on how roughly $2 million of funds set aside by the city will be spent to improve Pier Avenue (see “Council to consider appointments for Pier project” Nov. 9, 2006). But the committee is not quite there yet. It did not discuss any specifics with respect to how money would be spent at its last meeting. There was also little discussion of comments made by City Manager Steve Burrell, who told The Beach Reporter last November that the “most of the money, quite frankly, is going to be done on the paving and the asphalt.” He added, “But the landscaping, they'll be deciding what it will look like.”

In any event, the committee is expected to announce who will serve in the remaining five seats at its next meeting Thursday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. Interested parties may view the applications of the 26 individuals on the city's Web site, under a link titled “Upper Pier Avenue.”

Hermosa Beach News

Man pleads not guilty to driving truck into home

By Chris Yang

A man who allegedly drove a pickup truck into the front of a Hermosa Beach home and fled the scene pleaded not guilty at a recent arraignment, setting the stage for an upcoming trial to begin in March.

Redondo Beach resident Ruben Vargas, 43, was arrested by Hermosa Beach police and charged with a felony count of leaving the scene of an accident after he allegedly drove a pickup truck into a home in the 900 block of Beach Drive. A witness claimed that the driver of the truck drove into the home not once, but twice before driving away.

The incident resulted in a pile of debris and plaster strewn across the front room of a residence occupied by the Kelca family. The incident also led to the hospitalization of 5-year-old Connor Kelca, who was sleeping in the bottom part of a bunk bed that October morning. He was treated at Harbor UCLA Medical Center for a broken femur and released the day after the incident.

Through the Feb. 1 arraignment hearing, Vargas, who listened to proceedings through an interpreter, sat quietly next to his attorney, Robert M. Conley.

A woman, Irma Carder, 28, who was allegedly with Vargas in the truck at the time of the incident, though, was not present. Police arrested both Vargas and Carder in Redondo Beach following the crime.

A Hermosa Beach police officer interviewed by KCAL9 shortly after the incident occurred stated that Carder may have been driving at the time of the crash. “One of the versions of the story that we got was that the female may have been driving at the time the truck was crashed into the home,” said Sgt. Paul Wolcott, “and that they switched places and he drove away. It makes it a felony for both of them.”

But after Vargas and Carder were arrested, officials with the county District Attorney's office declined to file charges against both individuals, opting instead to prosecute only Vargas for the crime.

No new details surfaced in the case until a story appeared in the Daily Breeze on Jan. 19 summarizing a preliminary hearing that took place the day before. According to the Breeze, Vargas denies he was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash. His attorney “unsuccessfully argued the case should be dismissed because someone else, Irma Carder, 28, was driving the truck.” The judge presiding at the hearing, though, was unconvinced and ordered Vargas to stand trial.

“The DA's office, after evaluating all the evidence, determined that he is the one that was driving,” said Deputy District Attorney Lisette Suder. She did not elaborate on what information, if any, prosecutors had that may have exonerated Carder from culpability.

Wolcott declined to speculate about the district attorney's decision not to prosecute Carder. “They didn't believe that story (about her and Vargas switching seats),” said Wolcott. “(You'll have to) ask the DA's office.”

A pretrial hearing was scheduled for March 2 in Dept. “C” of the Torrance Municipal Court. The jury trial is scheduled to begin on or around March 28.

Hermosa Beach News

Trial may soon begin in car crash case

By Chris Yang

The trial of a Redondo Beach resident accused of fleeing the scene of an accident may begin soon, following the determination of a judge at a preliminary hearing in Torrance last month. Ruben Vargas, 43, was arrested and charged with one felony count of leaving the scene of an accident in conjunction with an incident in early October that resulted in the hospitalization of a 5-year-old Hermosa Beach boy.

Vargas was taken into custody at his Redondo Beach residence by Hermosa Beach police officers shortly after he allegedly drove a pickup truck through the front wall of a house in the 900 block of Beach Drive. Neighbors and witnesses claim that the driver plowed into the house, backed up and drove into the building a second time before driving away.

Kimmy Kelca and her twin sons Connor and Cameron were sleeping inside the home at the time of the incident. According to a recent story appearing in the Daily Breeze, she spoke about the incident at a Jan. 18 preliminary hearing regarding the case. Kelca told the court that she awoke to the sound of it crashing through the front wall of her home early on the morning of Oct. 6. Upon entering the room, she discovered that the truck pinned the boy down on his bed. “His head was pinned. I could see his leg was broken. I thought he was going to die,” said Kelca.

The young boy was eventually freed by firefighters from a heap of plaster and debris and transported to Harbor UCLA Medical Center where he was treated for a broken femur. According to a hospital employee, the boy was discharged the following day to the care of his parents.

Police were able to track down Vargas from a license plate that was later found at the scene of the crime. At first, authorities were unable to determine exactly who was driving the vehicle early that Friday morning, as there were two people in the truck. Irma Carder, 28, was the other individual in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Though she informed police officers at the time of her arrest that she, and not Vargas, was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash, authorities declined to file charges against her.

At the hearing, Vargas' attorney Robert M. Conley stated that his client was not driving the truck at the time of the incident. Superior Court Judge Laura Ellison, though, was unconvinced and ordered Vargas to appear this week for arraignment.

In the meantime, the property struck by the pickup truck was deemed unsafe by local officials shortly after the crash and has remained in its original state since the Oct. 6 incident. The Kelca family now lives in an apartment in Manhattan Beach and awaits the outcome of the upcoming trial.

Hermosa Beach News

City's Wi-Fi earns accolades

By Chris Yang

Though the city's free Wi-Fi Internet service is less than three years old, it has already gained Hermosa Beach some well-deserved notoriety in the digital world. Hermosa Beach was recently named one of the “Top 10 beaches with Wi-Fi Internet access” beating out other beach cities like Cannes, Buenos Aires and Naples. The honor was bestowed earlier this month in a post on the relatively new technology and travel Web site www.GeekAbout.com/

It was also news to one member of the Hermosa Beach City Council who has been a strong advocate of free wireless Internet service. The city's Wi-Fi system was first envisioned by Councilman Michael Keegan after testing out a wireless “hotspot” at his Manhattan Beach business in 2003. After pitching the idea to his colleagues on the council and receiving some support, the city put the project out to bid in May of 2004 and rolled out the system several months later on Aug. 11.

According to a press release issued shortly before the program's launch, the city's young Wi-Fi system currently provides service across 35 percent of the city. Residents have the ability to surf the web at up to 6 Mbs per second, or five times the speed of DSL.

“At this point, (there are) six client radios up and running,” said Keegan. “They service ... anywhere within a line of sight to City Hall, anywhere near City Hall, the trailer park and about a quarter of a mile within the fire station.”

But after the initial rollout of the system in 2004, the City Council could not reach a consensus about whether to follow through with the remaining phases of the project. The result is an unfinished Wi-Fi system that leaves a portion of the city unable to access the signal, something that Keegan hopes to eventually resolve by expanding the network at some future time. “I'd like to see it expanded,” he said.

He offered several ideas that might make the system more politically and economically viable to the city. For example, Keegan pointed to the possibility of Wi-Fi-linked security cameras at various locations within the city's parking areas to assist law enforcement and local authorities keep track of unruly behavior. Another idea Keegan offered was the possibility of placing an electronic sensor in the city's metered parking spaces that was linked through the Wi-Fi system to a central terminal accessible by both residents and parking enforcement officials.

“That would be a way to leverage a system and a reason to expand the network,” said Keegan. He added that people should view the city's wireless system much like another service provided by local government - libraries. “It should be shared by everyone. Why do we fund libraries and not this?”

For now, residents are relegated to using the service at specific locations within the city. But even though Hermosa Beach's foray into providing Internet service won it an accolade, Keegan acknowledged that he would probably not bring his own laptop to the beach because of the sand and salt water.

“I mean I wouldn't bring my brand new one down there. Maybe an old one, because I wouldn't want to get sand on the keyboard.” Keegan then suggested the plaza or Planet Earth Eco Café as spots that one might be able to find a stronger signal.

He did offer some advice, too, for those willing to bring their laptop to the beach to test the city's Wi-Fi system. “I've seen it done,” he said. “You can use it on the beach. You need a big towel.”

Hermosa Beach News

Pier Avenue committee hashes out options

By Chris Yang

A committee charged with helping to shape the future of Pier Avenue met last week to iron out organizational matters and procedural issues. The group, known as the “Upper Pier Avenue Committee,” was formed in October by a 4-1 vote of the City Council and charged by Councilman Kit Bobko with studying “the entire Pier Avenue ecosystem.”

Prior to its inception, local officials referred to the group as an “ad hoc” or “design oversight” committee that will steer the city's next “legacy project” - the renovation of upper Pier Avenue. Approximately $2 million in funds raised by Proposition “C,” a countywide one-half-cent sales tax, have been set aside by the city to pay for the improvements.

At last Thursday's meeting, copies of a previous design study known as “R/UDAT” were handed out to residents and members of the committee. At least one resident attending Thursday's meeting was involved with the 1992 study and offered his advice to the panel on what types of people to select as additional members.

“We had a team of professional individuals,” said local architect Dean Nota. “There was a traffic engineer, a landscape architect and a parking expert.” Nota then warned the committee to avoid R/UDAT's weakness of not having any “objective data.”

At first glance, some of the study's assertions appear to be outdated. For instance, the report states on one page in large bold print that the “good news” is that vehicular traffic within Hermosa Beach is “not a problem.” At least one finding still holds sway, though, among local policymakers. In particular, the assertion that “parking is a big problem” continues to play a heavy role in the decision-making process at all levels of local government.

Perhaps due to the study's age, at least one official expressed some reticence in turning to the 15-year-old study as a definitive guide to plan for the future.

“I'll use R/UDAT as an outline,” said Councilman Pete Tucker. “I don't want to use R/UDAT as a Bible, so to speak. I think we need to go out on our own.”

In addition to discussing the committee's mission and how the last comprehensive study of the city should be viewed, the group chose when it would meet, how long the committee would last and how many more members to add.

The city clerk recently issued a statement calling for “interested residents, business operators and property owners” to submit applications for five additional seats on the committee.

Applications, which are available on the city's Web site at www.hermosabch.org/  are due at the city clerk's office by 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12. Decisions will be made at the committee's next meeting Thursday, Feb. 15. That meeting begins at 7 p.m. and will be held in the council chambers at City Hall. The term of the committee assignment is expected to last approximately one year. More information is available by calling the city clerk's office at (310) 318-0204.

Hermosa Beach News

Small city contract stirs up heated council debate

By Chris Yang

Though a recent decision by the City Council consisted of renewing a contract worth only $8,000, local officials debated the issue for more than an hour Tuesday night before moving forward with a vote. The decision effectively gives local School Board member Lance Widman a six-month reprieve by granting his company, the South Bay Center for Dispute Resolution Services, approval to continue acting as the city's primary mediator.

The lengthy debate exposed a vicious land-use dispute between a group of residents and the School Board that saw a flurry of letters published in local newspapers over the past two years attacking one side or the other. The dispute, which recently made its way through the state court system, revolved around the School Board's use of funds to build a new gymnasium at Hermosa Valley Elementary School. The discussion also left at least one member of the council pleading with opposing factions to stop the “blood-feud” by letting “bygones be bygones.”

The crux of the matter revolved around the city's longstanding business relationship with Widman, who has held the contract for many years. As the city's mediator, Widman provided services to local residents by resolving various disputes between landlords and tenants, and issues between neighbors.

But following an incident in which Widman was videotaped by a local resident removing a campaign sign from public property, the council voted to reconsider its relationship with Widman's firm by placing his contract out to bid. Widman's conduct might otherwise not have raised concern were it not for the fact that he is a prominent public figure within Hermosa Beach. In addition to running the South Bay Center for Dispute Resolution Services and serving as a member of the School Board, Widman is a former member of the City Council and currently teaches political science at El Camino College.

Tuesday's debate was continued from the council's December meeting following a request by Councilman Michael Keegan to receive more information about the other parties who had submitted applications to the city. At that meeting, a staff report authored by City Manager Steve Burrell recommended that the council renew its relationship with Widman's company.

Widman himself attended Tuesday's meeting and testified that he would be able to act as an unbiased mediator. “The one major point I would like to bring up tonight is that it's a process,” said Widman.

Prior to voting in favor of renewing Widman's contract, Councilman Pete Tucker lamented the fact that the issue of the gym continued to emerge in council meetings.

“I'm getting real tired of hearing about this gymnasium. I could care less,” said Tucker. “It has never entered my thoughts about this, and I wish my fellow colleagues would quit bringing it up because this is no place for that.” He added, “They were elected officials, they voted to do the gym and everything else they did. I'm not telling them how to run the School Board. We shouldn't try to bring that into our thought process here ... I feel that we need to move on and call to question.”

Two of his colleagues agreed and voted to continue using Widman as the city's mediator. Councilmen Kit Bobko and Keegan were opposed to the motion.

Hermosa Beach News

Hermosa Avenue business raided by RBPD

By Chris Yang

A downtown business was recently the scene of a drug raid by the Redondo Beach Police Department. Police converged on The Scorpio Shoppe last Thursday to execute a search warrant following a three-week-long investigation by officers with the department's Special Investigations Unit.

“The investigation is closed. We're processing the paperwork,” said Sgt. Gene Tomatani. “What occurred on Thursday was strictly a search warrant.”

Two individuals were arrested, including the store's current proprietor Wayne Mire and an unnamed female employee. According to a witness, approximately 12 officers entered the business between 6:30 and 7 p.m. to search the premises. Mire was charged with possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, a felony. A female employee was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

According to Tomatani, officers gathered “enough evidence” from the business, including what was “believed to be methamphetamine.” Police became concerned with the sale of narcotics and began investigating Mire's shop. “The business became the focus of the investigati