Lack of Public Hearings about Gladstones? Blame Trailer Bill AB 178

Palisades residents and the Pacific Palisades Community Council were upset about the lack of public hearing given the redevelopment of Gladstones and the parking lot, and expressed that dismay at a California Coastal Commission hearing on October 8 in Redondo Beach.

Blame the lack of public discourse on California Assembly Bill (AB) 178.* click here.

California Coastal Commission staff sited a new state law AB 178 passed in 2024, a budget trailer bill the modified the 2023 Budget Act. With its passage, only approval by the County of Los Angeles and a coastal development permit or amendment to a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission is needed specifically for Will Rogers.

More hearings are not required because of that state law and several commissioners noted that.

At the hearing, members of the team including Wolfgang Puck  and PCH Beach Associates spoke.

“I put my heart and soul into this project,” Puck said. Architect Frank Gehry, 96, who designed the Walt Disney Concert Hall and this restaurant, was ill and did not speak.

Tom Tellefson of PCH Beach spoke, “We’ve been at this project for more than eight years, working with the staff of the county and commission. The Supervisor, governor, L.A. City Mayor, Assemblymember and Senator support this project.”

The beach commission held 13 public meetings between 2016 and 2023. There were several exparte meetings between members of the CCC and PCH Beach Associates LLC.

Residents express their dismay at only being minimally included in the project over the last eight years.

Evacuation was nearly impossible at Palisades Drive and Sunset Boulevard, with the result of people having to leave their cars and flee on foot to the Gladstones parking lot.

Since the Palisades Fire, most residents are dealing or have dealt with debris removal, insurance issues, rebuilding, remediation and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome over the fire and the boached evacuation at Sunset, near Gladstones.

Tellefson said that the project did not need a permit from Caltrans because the entire project will be developed on site and not on any portion of PCH. There was no mention if a traffic plan at that busy intersection had been done.

“Everyone is in full support of the project,” Tellefson said in his rebuttal after 14 people at the meeting spoke about postponing the project.

Other residents were upset because in one of the early documents, a bus turn around station was referred to as a major transit station, which were the words Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin used in a letter supporting the project.

When Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 79, that meant within a half mile of a transit station, density housing could be built, including seven and nine story buildings.

Building density at that location with inadequate evacuation routes, specifically after the Palisades Fire, is not supported by residents.

The bus turn-around/stop was supported by commissioners because as Big Blue Bus Alfredo Torales noted the need for “World Class Coastal Destination,” which  would serve disadvantaged and low-economic households.

To encourage non automobile access, a bus loop bisects the lot. There will be a loss of 41 public parking spaces, which is necessary to accommodate buses.

“State government took away the hearing requirement,” said Commissioner Dayna  Bochco in addressing the complainants and added, “I don’t see why this would be called a transit station.”

CCC staff Steve Hudson said, “You aren’t missing anything. The county believes it doesn’t constitute a major transit hub.

“Bus use is a positive aspect,” Bochco said. “And a bus may bring more people to the area.”

The parking lot would be slated to serve BBB #9, Metro 602 and possibly Metro 134.

That area by Vons where Metro 602 parked became the site of numerous homeless/mentally ill taking the bus to the end of the line and then entering the community. Neither L.A. County  nor L.A. City dealt with the problem, leaving it to the volunteer Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness. How would that be addressed at the beach was never asked nor answered.

CC Commissioner Raymond Jackson asked if a family loads up its beach gear, coolers etc. and is driving to the coast from outside of L.A., where would they park to pick up the Big Blue Bus to take it to the beach.

He wondered how many people would load up a family and then drive to street parking in Pacific Palisades, to unload their car, to wait for a bus that would take them to the beach.

It became obvious that no one on the commission had ever taken the Big Blue Bus nor the Metro to Pacific Palisades. Commissioners finally got Torales on the line, and he was able to confirm that the Big Blue Bus ran through Pacific Palisades.  Metro 602 runs on Sunset to Temescal, turns right on PCH and then right again on Sunset, parking in front of Vons grocery store where people must exit.

Numerous times in the hearings, Metro 134 was referenced, but that bus runs along Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica to Malibu and it was unclear why it would need a turnaround spot.

Construction on the new restaurant and parking lot, will take about two years, including a crane operation for 300 days. The one-story restaurant will be replaced with a two story and an elevator.

The hearing is available https://cal-span.org/meeting/ccc_20251008/L.A. County

Public comments occur at about 6 hours, 25 minutes. A Commission unanimous yes vote occurred at about 8:01on the tape.

* (1)Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into contracts with natural persons, corporations, partnerships, and associations for the construction, maintenance, and operation of concessions within units of the state park system. Existing law authorizes the awarding of a concession agreement at Will Rogers State Beach for up to 50 years in length without specific authorization by statute, as provided.

This bill would require, notwithstanding any other law or any other agreement, in furtherance of specified concession agreements between the County of Los Angeles and a private entity at the state-owned Will Rogers State Beach, development or renovation of capital improvements, and related public access and recreation improvements, to be exempt from specified permits required by state law or municipal building and zoning codes or from approvals by municipal agencies and to be subject only to the approval by the County of Los Angeles and a coastal development permit or amendment to a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission.