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HB Council approves dance floor -
The Hermosa Beach City Council Tuesday night voted to uphold a Planning Commission decision to amend the Conditional Use Permit of Fat Face Fenner's Fishack to alter its floor plan to allow for a dance area that will increase occupancy inside the establishment located on the pier plaza by 20 people. "I came in thinking that this was going to be a lot bigger than it was, and now after listening to all the facts and understanding all the issues, I can support the motion," said Councilman Art Yoon. The vote was 3-1 with Michael Keegan voting against the motion, stating that he would not vote for a request to amend a CUP from a business owner who is reported by the city as currently being in violation of it.
Hermosa Beach Arrests hit an all-time high - The year 2004 saw a record number of arrests in Hermosa -- 1,388 -- topping the old record of 1,315 set the year before. Those high-water marks go back at least to 1991.
HBPD 2004 Crime Statistics - Show what crime categories have increased from 1998 thru 2004.
The Beach Reporter – July 28, 2005
Hermosa Beach News
HB Council approves dance floor (7/28)
By Whitney Youngs
The Hermosa Beach City Council Tuesday night voted to uphold a Planning Commission decision to amend the Conditional Use Permit of Fat Face Fenner's Fishack to alter its floor plan to allow for a dance area that will increase occupancy inside the establishment located on the pier plaza by 20 people. "I came in thinking that this was going to be a lot bigger than it was, and now after listening to all the facts and understanding all the issues, I can support the motion," said Councilman Art Yoon. The vote was 3-1 with Michael Keegan voting against the motion, stating that he would not vote for a request to amend a CUP from a business owner who is reported by the city as currently being in violation of it.
According to the city's Community Development Department, the owners of the Fishack were required to conduct and submit an acoustical study if they decided to host live entertainment, which they have, but have yet to complete the study. Councilman Sam Edgerton, who arrived at the meeting late, was unable to discuss or vote on the matter since he was not present to hear public testimony. "I cannot support the motion because they are not in compliance with their CUP. Otherwise why do we bother placing all of the regulations which are not supposed be enforced but rather adhered to?" said Keegan.
According to the Community Development Department, the restaurant "...will continue to provide live entertainment ... Also, the conditions include a requirement that the applicant prepare a new acoustic study pursuant to current noise ordinance requirements and implement any recommendations of the study in the building," states its staff report. "An acoustical study was required in 1999 only if amplified live entertainment is provided," stated Community Development Director Sol Blumenfeld. "However, no such study has been submitted pursuant this condition and live entertainment has occurred from time to time at the business."
Blumenfeld also noted that the establishment's other CUP violations are the use of temporary banners or signs, and that its outside corridors are places where people are allowed to drink which is not only a violation of a CUP, but also the California Building Code and the Alcoholic Beverage Control. "I feel that the Fishack is one of the few bars that is a true restaurant and bar," said resident Barbara Ellman. "It serves food, good food, and it's the type of place the city should want to keep down there."
In late June, the commission, in a 3-2 vote, agreed to the modification under two conditions, which are that the owners hire an expert to conduct an acoustical sound study and another expert to complete a fire evacuation plan. Both Commissioners Ron Pizer and Peter Hoffman voted against the amendment. Gary Vincent, who is president of the Fishack, spoke on behalf of all the Fishack owners. "We had the 3-2 vote primarily because two of the commissioners were concerned about turning a restaurant into a bar. Let me tell you, on the weekends, we keep our kitchen open up until midnight, sometimes even past midnight," said Vincent. "I've got a business on the plaza with an increase of occupancy due to an addition of a dance floor and I feel I am not asking for anything that hasn't already been provided to businesses that have numerous violations."
The restaurant and bar, known as the South Bay home to Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots fans, is split into two patron areas by the kitchen and its preparation stations. It is located on the second floor in the smaller Loreto Plaza on the north side of the plaza. The proposed location for the dance floor will be at the restaurant's northerly section.
According to the staff report drafted by Senior Planner Ken Robertson, the Planning Commission approved a CUP amendment to allow for on-sale alcohol, live entertainment and extended hours for the site formerly known as Casablanca restaurant in 1998. In 1999, the City Council granted a CUP amendment and parking plan to allow for the expansion of the restaurant to the south.
According to the Uniform Building Code, a dance floor is considered an assembly use, which is calculated at a higher occupancy load than dining uses. Based on current plans, sit-down dining areas represent 75 percent of the northern section of the restaurant and with the amendment it will represent less than 50 percent. The approved amendment is contingent upon the submission and approval of both the fire evacuation plan and the acoustical study. Owners of the Fishack will create the dance floor from about 10 or 11 p.m. to closing time by moving several bar tables and stools out of the way.
"The proposed occupancy changes will impact the exit discharge from the building, which must be evaluated by a qualified licensed design professional," wrote Robertson is his report. "Both the Fire Department and the Building Division have reviewed the new seating and occupancy plan, and found there may be potential problems with the current exiting configuration of the building and the proposed new occupant load derived from the added assembly use." All matters that go before any of the city commissions can be appealed at the City Council level, which reserves final judgment.
The Easy Reader – July 21, 2005
by Robb Fulcher
The battle over plans for a
gymnasium at Hermosa Valley School is headed to court Aug. 19 as neighbors and
other opponents try to halt it. Meanwhile, the city school board continues to
grapple with tight-money obstacles that could force the gym to be scrapped.
“Things are looking pretty tense,” School Board President Lance Widman said on
Tuesday.
Before the Aug. 19 court date the School Board had begun to ask prospective
contractors to freeze their current prices for building the gym project until
the California Coastal Commission reviews and potentially approves the project
about Aug. 10. But the School Board might have to scrap that plan, Widman said,
and the board was scheduled to weigh that decision this week.
If the legal and regulatory hurdles facing the gym cause the School Board to
seek a new round of price bids from contractors, the contractors almost
certainly would ask higher prices, Widman said. Construction prices have been
rising sharply here and around California. Asked if the School Board could
still afford to build the gym after a fresh round of price bids, Widman said, “I
don’t know.”
Last month Sam Abrams, chairman of a committee overseeing Hermosa school bond
expenditures, also said the gym might have to be scrapped if fresh price bids
must be sought.
Talks stalled - Settlement talks
stalled after only one meeting between the School Board and Citizens for
Responsible School Expansion, a group made up mostly of school neighbors. Now
attorneys for the two sides are preparing to argue their cases before a Superior
Court judge.
If the gym opponents are granted an injunction, the project would be stalled
until a sweeping lawsuit against the project is resolved. Proponents of the gym
must keep that from happening if they are to remain on their already tenuous
schedule. “We want to get this in front of a judge as soon as possible,” said
Jerry Compton, spokesman for the gym opponents. He and his wife Suzy own a house
near the third-through-eighth grade school on Valley Drive. “The sooner we do
that the better for all parties.”
The lawsuit claims that the school district failed to properly address the gym’s
effects on parking, traffic and noise in the neighborhood, and that school bond
money approved by voters cannot legally be spent to build the gym. The building
planned by the school district would house a science lab, library and classrooms
as well as the gym, but the lawsuit targets only the gym portion. Widman blamed
the gym opponents for ending the settlement talks and described the opponents as
intransigent.
Compton denied that the gym opponents ended the settlement talks and said it was
the school district that would not budge. However, last month he said his group
was not planning to meet with school district officials a second time, while
district officials were saying they wanted a second meeting.
In interviews last week and this week, Compton said his group is willing to
return to the negotiating table before the lawsuit reaches the courtroom.
Following the lone settlement meeting, Widman said, an attorney for the gym
opponents made “nonnegotiable settlement demands” that the school district
relocate the planned gym from the southwest corner of the campus to a parking
lot on the southern boundary, eliminate after-hours use of the gym by non-school
groups, or scrap the gym.
Widman said building a gym on the parking lot would cost the school precious
parking spaces, and banning after-school uses of the gym by non-school groups
would violate a state law governing publicly funded facilities, Widman said.
Compton said those options were not presented as nonnegotiable demands. “Their
attorney asked ours if we would put together a list of things that we would
definitely settle on,” Compton said. The hastily prepared list was intended as a
starting point for further discussions, Compton said.
The school district started out with $15.6 million in local and state bonds for
the construction and for an overhaul of plumbing, electricity, safety features,
handicapped access, heating, air conditioning and technology-lab features at
Valley School and the K-2 Hermosa View School. Most of the money was spent on
the upgrades, which cost more than expected because of the rising construction
costs that have plagued projects across California. The gym building as planned
would stand 34 feet tall and cover 26,000 square feet. ER
The Easy Reader - June 16, 2005
by Robb Fulcher
The Hermosa Beach City Council on Tuesday agreed to raise
fees for an emergency ambulance ride to $773, from the current rates of $281 for
residents and $561 for nonresidents. City Fire Chief Russell Tingley said about
85 percent of Hermosans carry health insurance that pays for ambulance trips,
and council members said people with “financial hardships” can make arrangements
with city officials if paying is difficult.
Under the plan proposed by Tingley and approved by the council, city officials
also will hire a private company to take care of ambulance-related billing. The
two changes are designed to raise about $284,000 for the hiring of three
additional firefighters, a move Tingley’s rank and file has strongly urged. The
new hires would increase staffing by one firefighter per shift and allow the
Fire Department to operate one additional engine at any given time. However,
the council agreed to allow Tingley to wait a year to make the hires, to ensure
that the fee and billing changes do indeed raise the needed money.
With the vote, which was 4-1 with Councilman Art Yoon absent, the council
rejected a plea by the Hermosa Beach Firefighters Association to hire the
additional firefighters without delay. The association’s Aaron Marks told the
council that Tingley has been slow to respond to concerns such as staffing,
creating a “disconnect” between the association and Fire Department management.
Marks said that the plan approved by the council “does address many of the
concerns we have, but not the concern over staffing.” In January Tingley
received a vote of no confidence from his 18-member department, in part over the
staffing issue. ER
Assault, Battery and Vandalism in Hermosa Beach neighborhoods.
The Daily Breeze - June 15, 2005
Police Log - Hermosa Beach
Assault with a Deadly Weapon with great bodily injury: 1:13 am June 4, 2600 block of Hermosa Avenue. Someone hit the victim from behind in the back of the head while both were in the bathroom at the North End Bar. The victim had gone into the bathroom to confront a man the victim believed had inappropriately touched his girlfriend. The man was leaving the bathroom when the victim was hit. The victim told police the man did not hurt him and he did not know who had hit him. Paramedics treated the victim for a laceration to the back of his head and released him.
Assault and Battery: 2 to 2:15 am June 12, 1800 block of Monterey Boulevard. The victim and his girlfriend were walking when they passed a man who was urinating between two houses. The man finished, turned to say hello and wanted to shake hands with one of them. That person refused, angering the man, who began to follow them. The man, who was joined by three others, ran up to and tackled the victim. The victim said that throughout the attack the man was yelling things like, “You’re from Simi Valley, right?” The victim got up and was then “sucker punched” by a second man. The victim said all four men then were punching him, but he got away. All four men were described as white and in their early to mid-20’s. The urinating man was further described as 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds with thick curly brown hair, a thin build and wearing sandals, a gray shirt and tan pants. The second man was further described as 5-foot-7, 200 pounds with a heavy build, thick blond hair and a goatee, wearing a green baseball cap, a green shirt and jeans. One of the other men was further described as having blond hair and wearing a blue and white shirt and jeans.
Assault and Battery: 11:50 pm June 8, 600 block of Manhattan Avenue. The victim said she walked from Pier Plaza to her boyfriend’s residence and when she reached his door she was knocked to the ground by a mail described as tall and wearing a baseball cap and sweatshirt. The victim said she landed on her back and the male either sat or laid down on her. The victim said she screamed that her boyfriend behind her in an attempt to frighten the man and kicked and punched at him. The victim said he fled north on Manhattan Avenue in a vehicle. The victim, who police said smelled of alcohol, refused medical attention for what appeared to be a cut on the side of her nose.
Motor Vehicle Vandalism: Sometime after midnight June 12, 300 block of Pier Avenue. Someone shattered the windshield of a 2000 silver Jeep Wrangler.
The Easy Reader - February 3, 2005
by Robb Fulcher
The year 2004 saw a
record number of arrests in Hermosa -- 1,388 -- topping the old record of 1,315
set the year before. Those high-water marks go back at least to 1991, when the
Hermosa Beach Police Department began keeping detailed arrest records, Chief
Mike Lavin said.
The downtown area with its active and sometimes rowdy nightlife has contributed
to the increased arrests, Lavin said. “That is a reflection, I would have to
say, of the downtown. We have so much activity there,” he said.
In addition to those figures, which cover the arrests of adults, police also
made 20 arrests of juveniles last year, down from 28 the year before. Parking
citations soared from 46,800 in 2003 to 51,137 last year.
As usual, the most serious types of crime occurred seldomly. Reported sex crimes
dropped from 11 in 2003 to seven in 2004. Incidents of robbery by force or fear
rose from 13 to 20.
As in most years, no murders occurred in Hermosa in 2004. One murder occurred
the year before when a 25-year-old Hermosan was shot as he sat behind the wheel
of a car at Pacific Coast Highway and Pier Avenue. That crime, which occurred in
March 2003, remains unsolved.
The number of assaults rose barely in 2004, from 140 the previous year to 143.
Burglaries of buildings and cars dropped from 143 to 140. Theft, which covers
the grabbing of stray bicycles and the like, dropped from 388 to 359. Auto theft
decreased from 56 to 45.
DUI arrests dropped from 285 to 164, a decline for which officials could offer
no immediate explanation. In another possibly downtown-related development,
misdemeanor citations ballooned from 989 to 1,419. Disturbance calls to police
rose from 3,025 to 4,201.
Once again there were no fatal traffic accidents in Hermosa. ER
Hermosa Beach Crime Statistics - 1998 to 2004
Criminal Adult Total Calls Disturbance
Burglary Robbery Assaults DUI Citations Arrests For Service Calls
1998 -- 113 17 77 150 562 608 19,951 3,199
2004 -- 140 20 143 164 1,419 1,388 30,215 4,201
Crime Categories That Have Shown an Increase from 1998 thru 2004
Criminal Adult Total Calls Disturbance
Burglary Robbery Assaults DUI Citations Arrests For Service Calls
Up Up Up Up Up Up Up Up
23.9 % 17.6 % 85.7 % 9.3 % 152 % 128 % 51.4 % 31.3 %
Source: The Hermosa Beach Police Department Activity Reports
The Hermosa Beach Neighborhood Association
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