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Top Stories on This Webpage: Starting August 10, 2006:
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 Easy Reader – August 10, 2006
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Hermosa Beach About Town
No bond vote -
The city school board on
Tuesday decided it was not ready to place a bond measure on the November
ballot. Board members said they likely would place a measure on a future
ballot, in an effort to complete campus construction and renovation begun
after a successful $13.6 million measure in 2002.
Also on hand will be
Hermosa Beach Neighborhood Watch and the HBPD, offering fingerprint
identification for kids. For more information call 318-0280, listen to
the phone company recording, then hang up and dial 1-310-318-0280. |
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The Easy Reader – August 10, 2006
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Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach Shorts Film Festival Getting Bigger and Better with Age
by Melinda Calvert
There's excitement all
around for this year's Hermosa Beach Shorts Film Festival! Coming up this
weekend, with festivities beginning tonight, this spectacular community
event is beginning to look more and more like a Hermosa mainstay with each
passing year. Now is the time to make plans to attend; there's still time
and tickets may be purchased at the door. Celebrities and filmmakers will
also be in attendance, as in years before, and there will be plenty of fun,
food and entertainment. |
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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 - May 26, 2005
by Robb Fulcher
A deadlocked City Council once again beat back a proposal to
spread a free wireless broadband internet signal throughout Hermosa. The council
left in place an existing pilot program that gives the free signal to about a
quarter of the town near City Hall.
The Council also firmed up a requirement for Pier Plaza nightspots to close
doors and windows while amplified music is played inside, and added a
requirement that no amplified music may be heard 80 feet from an area business,
even if the doors and windows are closed. Council members noted that residential
neighbors and some other businesses have complained about noisy Plaza
nightspots.
On the wireless broadband front, Councilmen Sam Edgerton and Pete Tucker opposed
one more effort by Councilman Michael Keegan to offer free “Wi-Fi” throughout
Hermosa. This time Keegan asked his council colleagues to place a non-binding
ballot measure before Hermosa voters in November, asking if they want the free
internet service.
Once again Mayor JR Reviczky voted with Keegan. And once again Councilman Art
Yoon, who works as an executive for a cable TV company, cited a conflict of
interest and excused himself from the fray, leading once again to the 2-2
deadlock.
Edgerton, the most vocal opponent of Keegan’s plan, once again said that he
believes it would not be truly free, but instead would cost the taxpayers money.
Keegan and City Manager Steve Burrell have said that citywide broadband would
pay for itself through advertising and other means, as the pilot program does.
Edgerton said he received an email from a businessman who might offer free
wireless internet at no expense to taxpayers, and said he passed the email along
to Burrell. “We might get this stuff for free…really for free,” Edgerton said.
But Burrell and Keegan said the businessman has not offered to provide free
internet service to residents, although Burrell said the man might be induced to
do that. Keegan said the man offered to provide free internet service to City
Hall, which already uses Keegan’s pilot program for free.
Keegan said the man wants to buy the equipment used for the city’s pilot program
and then sell internet service through an exclusive franchise. Keegan said
people now using the city’s free pilot program would then have to pay the
businessman. ER
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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