Regarding Agenda Item L1, I OPPOSE a 0.50 and 0.75 FAR for BCHD and support a 1.25 uniform FAR for all public institutions, including BCHD. I SUPPORT the Staff recommendation to analyze a 1.25 FAR for BCHD and all public institutions in the EIR. I am a senior and active member CHF member for over 3 decades. It is a valuable community that needs to be continued. By cutting the FAR the result will be an inadequate income on rented facilities to BCHD which will result in BCHD curtailing important services to the community.

I am in favor of approving the 1.25 FAR Cap for BCHD Proposed General Plan. I am a 30+ year proud Hermosa Beach resident who has 1) children who attended public schools and benefitted from BCHD involvement directly within the school district 2) volunteered with BCHD when hosted the local vaccination sites during COVID 3) participated in numerous BCHD events in the community 4) referred BCHD and their services to numerous people when they reached out for help 5) been a mental health provider at allcove since it's opening their doors representing grief and loss support to 12-25 year olds and their families and 6) occupy office space in the 514 building. BCHD's growth IS NOT a frivilous WANT but a Community NEED for persons of all ages. Thank you.

Keep the same standard as the Police Department and City Annex, please set the FAR cap of 1.25 uniform across all properties with a public or institutional (P) land use designation in the General Plan and/or zoned P-CF of which BCHD is a part.

As a mental health advocate, my goal is to assure that youth and people of all ages have accessible physical and mental health services in our South Bay community. I am a member of Service Area Advisory Team for SPA 8 with the LA County Department of Mental Health. In this role, I have learned about the tremendous need for mental health care services in our community.
allcove Beach Cities, which was opened by the Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) in 2022, answers this need of improving access to care and creating a welcoming environment for youth between the ages of 12 and 25. It offers a range of quality services, including mental health, physical health, substance use, peer support, family support and supportive education and employment services for the South Bay community. Services are free of charge, which is amazing at a time when the need is so great and access to mental health services is so limited. As a community we are lucky to have such a great service!
I salute BCHD for having the leadership and foresight to bring a model of preventative services to the South Bay. I urge people to support Measure BC, the General Obligation Bond on the November ballot. I also ask that the Redondo Beach City Council vote to maintain a 1.25 Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for public institution use in the General Plan. This will enable BCHD to move forward with plans to renovate the campus and meet current seismic standards.
Eugenie Lewis, LCSW Redondo Beach

I support the 1.25 FAR that would not damage neighborhoods, but instead would provided needed services to youth including LGBTQ+, students and case management services to our community. BCHD collaborates with many community partners to provide art programming with Indivisible Arts, and youth-led events. Less Space = Less capacity for providing much needed programming to support youth in our Redondo Beach Community with activities and mental health support.

I support 0.50 FAR for Public Institutional land as recommended by the Planning Commission and oppose a high 1.25 FAR that would damage neighborhoods.

I support BCHD.

The purposeful targeting of BCHD is deeply unjust - all public/institutions should have a uniform 1.25 FAR. What makes this more sad in my opinion - is that BCHD stands for all the things I want out of a community - Service, selflessness, community, compassion, connection. The vitriol and loud "fear-based" voices are drowning out the masses that support BCHD and benefit so greatly from their services. The spread of misinformation about BCHD is deeply troubling, and we have to ask ourselves - we as a society - do we want to align ourselves with fear-based negativity - or service-hearted community members who give their lives to help others? I've heard it said: "Be the change we want to see in the world." As a community - who do we want to be? I deeply oppose the restriction and deeply support BCHD and their staff of heart-centered, kind, service-oriented community members.

I am a resident of Redondo Beach and have volunteered with BCHD for over 20 years. I have volunteered in the Center for Health and Fitness, the Livewell Program within RBUSD (morning exercises, garden, and nutrition lessons), the Blue Zone Project, and various community events and workshops. BCHD is the one of the most valuable resources available to our community. BCHD has been very innovative in the development of their programs. BCHD have formed many partnerships Let me quote the 2023 Gallup report:"The good health exhibited by many adults in the Beach Cities area is likely in part the result of efforts of the Beach Cities Health District (BCHD), which regularly organizes events and activities meant to enhance various aspects of wellbeing for local residents. Offerings range from mental health first aid training to social events to free healthy cooking and yoga classes. One important aspect of these efforts by the BCHD was sponsoring the involvement of the Blue Zones Project (BZP), which specializes in transforming the local culture of wellbeing through various means, including modifying the built structure -- such as adding bike paths -- and recruiting local businesses, restaurants, grocery stores and schools to participate in local initiatives. Since 2010, the BZP has had an ongoing presence in the community to help create a culture of wellbeing."
BCHD CANNOT continue to provide our community with the array and quality of services should the FAR be reduced. I believe that targeting BCHD in this way will negatively impact the wellbeing of everyone in the beach cities communities. Alcove has become a vital program meeting so many of our youth's mental health needs.BCHD has many partnerships within our communities and listens to and works with others to offer programs according to the beach cities community's' needs We need to support BCHD rather than put up barriers which do not enhance the success of their programs and the well being of our community. They need to have the same FAR given to other institutions, not unjustly lower it. FAR FOR ONE - FAR FOR ALL!

I am a Redondo Beach resident who is concerned about the FAR (floor area ratio) issue in the General Plan. A reduction to 0.5 FAR for the Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) would be detrimental to the health of our community members because it would destroy the District’s plans to replace its outdated facility with a Healthy Living Campus. I support a uniform 1.25 FAR for all public/institutional uses.
No doubt you are aware of the many programs BCHD provides to promote health and prevent diseases across the lifespan. One of the essential functions of BCHD that I want to highlight is to provide opportunities for social connection.
Why social connection is important. Researchers have documented substantial evidence that being socially connected significantly reduces the risk of premature mortality and that isolation significantly increases risk1. Loneliness has been linked to numerous negative health consequences, such as a higher risk of developing dementia, depression, and heart disease. A U.S. Surgeon General report equated loneliness with smoking 15 cigarettes a day2. Social isolation influences a significant portion of the U.S. adult population and there is evidence the prevalence rates are increasing.3
Living alone, being unmarried, no participation in social groups, and fewer friends, increase the risk of loneliness. In Redondo Beach, nearly one-third of residents live alone.4
BCHD promotes social engagement by bringing community members together for physical activity, intellectual stimulation, fun, and support. I have benefited from joining a Book Club, Yoga on the Beach, Purpose Workshops, and spending hundreds of hours with fellow volunteers, all connected to BCHD.
We need to increase the number of opportunities to connect with each other, not reduce. I urge you to support a uniform 1.25 FAR for all public/institutional uses, so BCHD can continue to provide these critical links.
References:
1 https://doi.org/101.1016/jacadv.2024.100890
2 https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf
3 https://doi.org/10.1093/ppar/prx030
4 https://scag.ca.gov/data-tools-local-profiles

I’ve volunteered for BCHD and Blue Zones many times over the last decade. I know people who have benefited from training at the Center for Health and Fitness, from programs for seniors and the disabled, from Blue Zones Moais, from Silverado, and from Beach Cities programs for schools and students. I am one of many in my MB community who support the good work of the Healthy Living Campus.

However, one MB neighbor directed me to the BCHD Over-Development FB page.

Wow.

I was overwhelmed by issues ranging from executive salaries, developer contracts, health outcomes below expectations, the green space buffer, campus design, non-residents benefiting but only residents paying. I provide even a partial list of the issues on that FB page so that you know I read what was there.

That list is not inconsequential, but neither are the many positive outcomes from the services that BCHD enables. Those outcomes must continue while also addressing reasonable resident issues.

The purpose of my comments is not to address any particular issue. Rather - I implore all parties – BCHD leadership, supporters and opponents – to commit to finding points of agreement, points of acceptable compromise, and ways of letting go of historical enmity.

Both BCHD and its opponents have to work together. They have to find a solution which recognizes that BCHD is a valuable asset to the wider community but must also be a good neighbor for the nearby community. BCHD will have to reconsider its wishes and opponents will have to reconsider objections. You have to find middle ground. You must work together on a solution because IF YOU DON’T make it work we all lose.

I’ve commented about it before and I’m going to comment again. Everyone must have the same floor area ratio. Schools, BCHD, fire, police, etc. This purposeful targeting of beach cities health district is grotesque. They should sue if they are giving an unfairly smaller floor area ratio versus everyone else.

FAR for one, FAR for all! BCHD and the schools both have contributed so much to Redondo and surrounding areas. They have proven track records of delivering and servant leadership. BCHD spends $1 million/year just to maintain the crumbling infrastructure and could ultimately generate more revenue for Redondo if allowed the SAME that fire/police and city are so generously allowing themselves. I truly believe BCHD is being targeted, in no small part b/c there is literally a website "Stop BCHD" is literally telling people to send them an email to "YesToFAR50@gmail.com" offering to file on behalf of whoever emails them an email saying "I support the Planning Commission's recommendation for a 0.5 FAR to general PI use...I do not support an increase to 1.25" - I believe the schools were thrown in to make it appear as it wasn't a direct target to BCHD.
Whatever city council gives itself and FD/PD, schools and BCHD should have the same. Why punish the two great institutions that have done so much good for Redondo?