page_title: Redondo Beach pier
hierarchical_section_title: Redondo Beach pier
caption_attribution_description: Pier in Redondo Beach, California. Photo by Gyrofrog, July 1991. The image is from two photographs that are fastened together (though this should be obvious).
context_page_description: The Redondo Beach Pier is located in Redondo Beach, California and stretches out into the Pacific Ocean. The pier has been rebuilt and altered by storms and redevelopments. Its official name is "Municipal Pier," and it has also been called the "Endless Pier." Earlier versions were known as "Pleasure Pier" and "Horseshoe Pier."
  The pier started out as a disjointed group of wharves near the end of the 19th century but evolved into an interconnected structure after a series of storms and demolitions throughout the 20th century. The pier area used to be heavily crowded with tourists and locals during the 1970s, but began to decline after the nearby Seaport Village project failed and went into bankruptcy in 1982.
  In 1988, the pier was severely battered by two winter storms, and on May 27 it burned to the waterline due to an electrical short circuit. The pier's modern reinforced concrete version was completed in 1995 and has brought back the appeal to Redondo Beach's business district ever since.
context_section_description: The Redondo Beach Pier is located in Redondo Beach, California and stretches out into the Pacific Ocean. The pier has been rebuilt and altered by storms and redevelopments. Its official name is "Municipal Pier," and it has also been called the "Endless Pier."  Earlier versions were known as "Pleasure Pier" and "Horseshoe Pier."
  The pier started out as a disjointed group of wharves near the end of the 19th century but evolved into an interconnected structure after a series of storms and demolitions throughout the 20th century.  The pier area used to be heavily crowded with tourists and locals during the 1970s, but began to decline after the nearby Seaport Village project failed and went into bankruptcy in 1982.
  In 1988, the pier was severely battered by two winter storms, and on May 27 it burned to the waterline due to an electrical short circuit (the fire was so large that a SigAlert was announced for the San Diego Freeway several miles away). The pier's modern reinforced concrete version was completed in 1995 and has brought back the appeal to Redondo Beach's business district ever since.
  Subsequent attempts to resuscitate the area's popularity have been challenged by the need to comply with the California Coastal Act requirements as interpreted and applied by the Coastal Commission and the failure of the city to develop a plan residents are willing to support.  While the Redondo Landing portion of the pier has been revitalized by its leaseholder, the remainder of the pier and south end of harbor remains in limbo.  The City approved a 524,000 project with mall developer CenterCal (additionally, a new 272,000 sq ft parking structure was included in the project), but that project was stopped by a successful CEQA lawsuit, a citizens’ initiative, and an appeal to the Coastal Commission.  When residents won the CEQA lawsuit, the judge directed the city to rescind the approvals of the EIR and Coastal Development Permits for the project.  The judge also banned the City and CenterCal from advocating for the project in front of the Coastal Commission.  As a result, both the City and CenterCal withdrew their application for the project just prior to the Coastal Commission hearing on the citizens’ appeal of the project.  Residents had also placed “The King Harbor CARE Act”, subsequently named “Measure C” on the ballot as the city approvals of the project looked imminent.  Measure C passed despite an expensive campaign funded by CenterCal and opposition from a majority of the City Council.  Measure C was designed to prevent zoning interpretations that led to the size, massing and impacts of the CenterCal project.  Measure C became law when the Coastal Commission certified it without change.  
  Today the pier and south end of the harbor are in limbo awaiting the action of city council and the resolution of a lawsuit filed by CenterCal.  CenterCal’s lawsuit is based on purported violations of a lease agreement approved by Redondo’s City Council just 35 days before the Measure C election.
caption: Redondo Beach pier looking south
exif: {}