Question: What if another Special Interest Group, that is not aligned with the South Bay Parkland Conservancy, Rescue Our Waterfront, Building a Better Redondo, or the "Resident Representatives" from South Redondo Beach, wants to seek funding from the City of Redondo Beach for planting plants, suing the City, and environmental activism: will they get equal discussion and consideration for their proposed project?
I would really like to see an initiative to consider having a community garden in North Redondo. I understand the power lines right away is not the ideal consideration due to the "requirements" in place of having consistent movements of pedestrians due to a safety issue. however, Given the potential for the plan, I would like the council to consider this community garden in the north part of the city as it would be ideal and complimentary to the culture of north redondo.
I fully support the community garden effort and look forward to the opportunity to finally bring a garden to Redondo Beach. We are surrounded by cities with successful gardens and I believe that the benefits of these gardens are limitless. As you continue to consider the next steps in the process, I urge you to remember that this is not a business venture; it will result in no financial gain for any parties involved. It’s not political, it’s not controversial...it’s a garden. It’s an opportunity to grow food, grow community and cultivate joy for years to come.
SBPC fully supports the Community Garden and stands ready to provide support to bring it to reality.
SBPC continues to expand native habitat in Wilderness Park. Our effort is now in its third year and nearly the entire western side of the park is now native habitat with nearly 2900 native plants. SBPC has brought thousands of hours of free labor from hundreds of residents from toddlers to grandparents and including multiple school and church groups and multiple Eagle Scout projects. Wilderness Park now has butterfly habitat for the endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly and the Monarch Butterfly.
Recently, SBPC has expanded our native habitat projects with projects on the Esplanade Bluff and the establishment of a home yard native habitat certification program. SBPC has joined with LA Conservation Corps in their efforts to clear, plant native plants, weed and water the Esplanade bluff. We have also raised money and obtained the required permissions to replant a degrading bluff top garden with native plants.
SBPC has supported the Audubon Society in documenting the variety of birds using the AES wetlands. SBPC has also supplied the native habitat portions of several recent grants submitted by the City, resulting in the award of two grants. SBPC has also supported the city in multiple meetings with various state agencies.
Ms. Healy seems on a personal vendetta against SBPC as she has resorted to misinformation in her attempts to besmirch this fine organization. SBPC tax filings are up to date and have been supplied to Ms. Healy. Our activities have been inline with our mission and are legal activities for non-profits. Yes, SBPC did support the successful CEQA lawsuit against the CenterCal EIR. The project negatively impacted the three parks in the area and every public recreational use of the harbor. The EIR did not adequately evaluate these impacts. The court agreed and voided city approvals, requiring the EIR to be remedied to comply with CEQA. This was directly in line with SBPC’s mission and is legal under IRS and state law.
SBPC remains committed to continued support throughout the city including the Community Garden.
Please continue the community garden effort under the leadership of Brianna Egan and our Redondo Beach Community Garden Council. We as a team have already drafted garden design plans, garden rules, secured grant funding, and assembled a team of experts and advisers. Proceeding with this group in charge would be of the best interest of the city because it would move the community garden ahead of schedule, be of less cost to city, have suggested rules and regulations, and secured community partners. Thank you for you consideration.
I fully support the creation of a community garden in Redondo Beach. The committee presented a plan last month that is actionable and we are ready to get started.
I fully support the idea of a community garden in Redondo Beach. But, let’s keep politics out of it and make sure the gardens will be run by residents and not let the project not be muddied by false accusations from disgruntled residents looking to politicize the idea for their own personal gain. Thats why I fully support South Bay Parkland Conservancy being the supporting organization behind the Redondo Beach Community Garden Project - heck! It already has two of their board members as founding committee members. Along with Brianna, SBPC has already contributed many volunteer man-hours to exploring the viability of this project, and as was demonstrated in the presentation before the council last month, it is a fully formed idea and plan. I am so excited to see this project get of the ground. And despite the efforts of some to derail this project, I know they will still be welcome to join the movement should they wish to set aside their own agenda.
I fully support the idea of a community garden in Redondo Beach. But, let’s keep politics out of it and make sure the gardens will be run by residents and not special interest groups.The request from the South Bay Parkland Conservancy is problematic for many reasons that I urge the City Council to seriously consider.
1) The SBPC remains in violation of federal tax law, specifically IRC 6104 which requires prompt public disclosure of tax returns. At the March 9 Council meeting, SBPC’s president admitted he was “behind” on filing tax returns. They are not just behind, they have violated the law by not filing and by not disclosing their tax returns upon the request of residents of Redondo Beach.
2) The SBPC was founded by Mayor Brand in 2004 to advance his political goals. The organization has remained politically active in violation of non-profit regulations, raising funds for Rescue Our Waterfront (a political action committee) and to sue our City. Only in the last two to three years has the SBPC actually taken on projects like planting – which is more appropriate to their stated purpose.
3) Mayor Brand and his wife are on the board of the SBPC and the SBPC has been the registrant of the Mayor’s campaign website. It would be highly improper for Mayor Brand to participate in this discussion as it presents a clear conflict of interest.
4) The SBPC joined with Rescue Our Waterfront and Building a Better Redondo to launch a bitter lawsuit against the City (and citizens of Redondo Beach), costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now they are asking us to trust them with resources and funding.
If a partner is needed for the community garden, we should request proposals because surely we can find an organization that won't violate the public trust. Would this council allow any other organization with this history to take over public land and resources if it wasn’t the Mayor’s organization? I think the answer is absolutely not.
Please approve the motion as made by a majority of the Council at the March 9 meeting to move forward with siting of a Community Garden, but not involving the SBPC.
Question: What if another Special Interest Group, that is not aligned with the South Bay Parkland Conservancy, Rescue Our Waterfront, Building a Better Redondo, or the "Resident Representatives" from South Redondo Beach, wants to seek funding from the City of Redondo Beach for planting plants, suing the City, and environmental activism: will they get equal discussion and consideration for their proposed project?
I would really like to see an initiative to consider having a community garden in North Redondo. I understand the power lines right away is not the ideal consideration due to the "requirements" in place of having consistent movements of pedestrians due to a safety issue. however, Given the potential for the plan, I would like the council to consider this community garden in the north part of the city as it would be ideal and complimentary to the culture of north redondo.
I fully support the community garden effort and look forward to the opportunity to finally bring a garden to Redondo Beach. We are surrounded by cities with successful gardens and I believe that the benefits of these gardens are limitless. As you continue to consider the next steps in the process, I urge you to remember that this is not a business venture; it will result in no financial gain for any parties involved. It’s not political, it’s not controversial...it’s a garden. It’s an opportunity to grow food, grow community and cultivate joy for years to come.
SBPC fully supports the Community Garden and stands ready to provide support to bring it to reality.
SBPC continues to expand native habitat in Wilderness Park. Our effort is now in its third year and nearly the entire western side of the park is now native habitat with nearly 2900 native plants. SBPC has brought thousands of hours of free labor from hundreds of residents from toddlers to grandparents and including multiple school and church groups and multiple Eagle Scout projects. Wilderness Park now has butterfly habitat for the endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly and the Monarch Butterfly.
Recently, SBPC has expanded our native habitat projects with projects on the Esplanade Bluff and the establishment of a home yard native habitat certification program. SBPC has joined with LA Conservation Corps in their efforts to clear, plant native plants, weed and water the Esplanade bluff. We have also raised money and obtained the required permissions to replant a degrading bluff top garden with native plants.
SBPC has supported the Audubon Society in documenting the variety of birds using the AES wetlands. SBPC has also supplied the native habitat portions of several recent grants submitted by the City, resulting in the award of two grants. SBPC has also supported the city in multiple meetings with various state agencies.
Ms. Healy seems on a personal vendetta against SBPC as she has resorted to misinformation in her attempts to besmirch this fine organization. SBPC tax filings are up to date and have been supplied to Ms. Healy. Our activities have been inline with our mission and are legal activities for non-profits. Yes, SBPC did support the successful CEQA lawsuit against the CenterCal EIR. The project negatively impacted the three parks in the area and every public recreational use of the harbor. The EIR did not adequately evaluate these impacts. The court agreed and voided city approvals, requiring the EIR to be remedied to comply with CEQA. This was directly in line with SBPC’s mission and is legal under IRS and state law.
SBPC remains committed to continued support throughout the city including the Community Garden.
Please continue the community garden effort under the leadership of Brianna Egan and our Redondo Beach Community Garden Council. We as a team have already drafted garden design plans, garden rules, secured grant funding, and assembled a team of experts and advisers. Proceeding with this group in charge would be of the best interest of the city because it would move the community garden ahead of schedule, be of less cost to city, have suggested rules and regulations, and secured community partners. Thank you for you consideration.
I fully support the creation of a community garden in Redondo Beach. The committee presented a plan last month that is actionable and we are ready to get started.
I fully support the idea of a community garden in Redondo Beach. But, let’s keep politics out of it and make sure the gardens will be run by residents and not let the project not be muddied by false accusations from disgruntled residents looking to politicize the idea for their own personal gain. Thats why I fully support South Bay Parkland Conservancy being the supporting organization behind the Redondo Beach Community Garden Project - heck! It already has two of their board members as founding committee members. Along with Brianna, SBPC has already contributed many volunteer man-hours to exploring the viability of this project, and as was demonstrated in the presentation before the council last month, it is a fully formed idea and plan. I am so excited to see this project get of the ground. And despite the efforts of some to derail this project, I know they will still be welcome to join the movement should they wish to set aside their own agenda.
There is great support for the garden in the community. There is a Redondo Beach scout group that are interested is building boxes for the garden.
I fully support the idea of a community garden in Redondo Beach. But, let’s keep politics out of it and make sure the gardens will be run by residents and not special interest groups.The request from the South Bay Parkland Conservancy is problematic for many reasons that I urge the City Council to seriously consider.
1) The SBPC remains in violation of federal tax law, specifically IRC 6104 which requires prompt public disclosure of tax returns. At the March 9 Council meeting, SBPC’s president admitted he was “behind” on filing tax returns. They are not just behind, they have violated the law by not filing and by not disclosing their tax returns upon the request of residents of Redondo Beach.
2) The SBPC was founded by Mayor Brand in 2004 to advance his political goals. The organization has remained politically active in violation of non-profit regulations, raising funds for Rescue Our Waterfront (a political action committee) and to sue our City. Only in the last two to three years has the SBPC actually taken on projects like planting – which is more appropriate to their stated purpose.
3) Mayor Brand and his wife are on the board of the SBPC and the SBPC has been the registrant of the Mayor’s campaign website. It would be highly improper for Mayor Brand to participate in this discussion as it presents a clear conflict of interest.
4) The SBPC joined with Rescue Our Waterfront and Building a Better Redondo to launch a bitter lawsuit against the City (and citizens of Redondo Beach), costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now they are asking us to trust them with resources and funding.
If a partner is needed for the community garden, we should request proposals because surely we can find an organization that won't violate the public trust. Would this council allow any other organization with this history to take over public land and resources if it wasn’t the Mayor’s organization? I think the answer is absolutely not.
Please approve the motion as made by a majority of the Council at the March 9 meeting to move forward with siting of a Community Garden, but not involving the SBPC.