Beach Cities Health District Development Plans

The Beach Reporter - 1/23/20

BCHD is hiding behind "deliberative process" to withhold discussions with the City of Torrance and Redondo from its owners regarding the planned 600,000 square-foot, 60-foot-tall development that will take 15 years to build and impact the local area for another 50 plus years.

The voters of Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo Beach approved the charter and bond initiative of the South Bay Hospital District in the 1950s. The hospital was failing when other hospitals enjoyed rapid growth, so BCHD created itself absent any approval from the same voters and seized the assets of South Bay Hospital District.

BCHD is attempting to force through a development larger than the denied CenterCal Mall-by-the-Sea. It's a $1.2 million-per-apartment, 430 unit, $530 million senior complex designed to serve a 200 square-mile area, 10-mile radius area. The pollution of the 15 year construction project will burden the neighbors of Redondo and Torrance. The chronic stress of the project construction and operation will be 65 plus years overall, shortening the lives and reducing the quality of life of the surrounding areas in order to service a majority out-of-district clientele.

BCHD hiding its communications in an attempt to gain approval from Torrance and Redondo Planning and City Councils by using Deliberative Process is unconscionable.

BCHD needs to come out of the shadows and stop the secret communications immediately and disclose all prior communications. This project should either take place in the open without illegitimate blockages of information, or it should be discontinued.

—Mark Nelson, Redondo Beach

Beach Cities Health District property

The Beach Reporter - 1/2/20

Mr. Bakaly and other executives of the Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) squirreled away $26M in reserves and yet they worry about an earthquake. Rather than use the reserves for seismic retrofit, they want all the buildings torn down and replaced.

I believe for-profit senior housing is not aligned with the mission of BCHD nor does it fit with the original setup of this special district to fund the old South Bay Hospital.

Our property taxes account for 26% of the annual revenue. Shouldn’t the property owners be given a chance to vote on massive changes to the BCHD property?

—Jacqueline Zuanich-Ferrell, Manhattan Beach

Construction impacts of Beach Cities' proposed project

The Beach Reporter - 1/2/20

BCHD is planning to build an unnecessary massive construction project in Redondo Beach that will negatively impact the health of community residents.

It is no news that construction projects generate high levels of pollution and this project will be no exception. One such pollutant, called fugitive dust, can remain in the air for days, even weeks. This dust is known to cause irritation to the eyes, nose, and the respiratory system. These small dust particles go deep into the lungs and even short term exposure has been shown to trigger asthma, worsen existing breathing difficulties, and trigger heart attacks.

Children and older adults residing in the nearby communities are the most vulnerable to this pollutant. Due to the unique wind patterns of the South Bay such as the Catalina Eddy and the Santa Ana winds, the health of residents both east and west of the project will be subjected to increased levels of air pollution, especially the children attending nearby schools.

The air quality in the beach cities frequently measures in the unhealthy range for these groups even without the added burden of massive construction activity.

We must say NO to unnecessary construction projects that will harm the health of our residents, especially our children and older adults. The BCHD board is putting residents’ health at risk with this development plan and in doing so they compromise the integrity of their mission to improve the health of our community.

—Sheila Lamb, Redondo Beach