A: The Healthy Living Campus continues to move forward. After receiving a state grant for $6.3 million for the construction of a permanent facility, allcove Beach Cities’ new home is now planned as a standalone structure at Beryl Street and Flagler Lane in Redondo Beach, with groundbreaking expected this fall.
The allcove center was originally included on the first floor of the primary building of the Campus, which will also hold Residential Care for the Elderly and a Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).
BCHD is going through due diligence with its selected developer, WRC PMB Redondo Beach, (the due diligence period was recently extended to December 2024), with plans for the RCFE building expected to be adapted now that allcove will be in a separate facility. No details have been finalized – or announced – at this point.
A: BCHD and allcove Beach Cities have received a $6.3 million grant from the state to build a permanent home for allcove Beach Cities, but that is just part of the overall Healthy Living Campus plan.
Since 2018, BCHD has reviewed and analyzed several financing options to fund the Healthy Living Campus project. The Healthy Living Campus is intended to modernize its facilities, help BCHD generate revenue and continue to provide its health-related programs and services for the community.
Some of the financing strategies considered include:
- Equity: Cash, property, sale of real estate holdings
- Debt Financing: Municipal Bonds, Private Lenders
- Public Private Partnerships (P3): Investors, operators, health partnerships
- New Revenue Sources: Grants, philanthropy, sponsorships (including naming opportunities), new programming and general obligation bond(s)
- Other: Ground lease, joint venture, revenue bond
A: The first building in the Healthy Living Campus, allcove Beach Cities will be located at the SW corner of Beryl Street and Flagler Lane in Redondo Beach, on land owned by BCHD. allcove Beach Cities is currently operating in a temporary location on the 4th floor at the BCHD Health Center at 514 N. Prospect Avenue in Redondo Beach.
Like other BCHD programs, including the Center for Health & Fitness and AdventurePlex, allcove Beach Cities will occupy space at the BCHD-owned facility but is not a tenant. More than $10.8 million in state and federal grant funding has been awarded to BCHD for allcove Beach Cities' operating expenses and the construction of a permanent home for the youth center.
A: As of March 2024, the number of enrolled participants at allcove Beach Cities is 645, and breaks down as follows: Redondo Beach (39.0%), Torrance (18.6%), Manhattan Beach (10.7%), Hermosa Beach (5.9%), Hawthorne (4.2%), Inglewood (3.4%), Rancho Palos Verdes (3.4%), Lawndale (1.9%), Gardena (1.2%), Carson (1.1%), El Segundo (1.1%) and Palos Verdes Peninsula (1.1%). “Other” (5.3%) and four other cities at less than 1% each make up the remainder of enrolled participants.
The 5,549 visitors to allcove Beach Cities have come from: Redondo Beach (36.3%), Torrance (18.7%), Manhattan Beach (10.1%), Hermosa Beach (6.1%), Hawthorne (4.1%), Inglewood (3.1%), Rancho Palos Verdes (3.0%), Lawndale (1.8%), Gardena (1.2%), Carson (0.9%), and Palos Verdes Peninsula (3.1%). “Other” (4.3%) and six other cities at less than 1% each make up the remainder of allcove visitors.
A primary goal of bringing an allcove center to Redondo Beach was to make their services more accessible to young people in BCHD’s service area. With more than half of enrolled participants (55.6%) and visitors (52.5%) coming from the Beach Cities, it is clear that young people in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach are benefitting from the presence of allcove Beach Cities on the BCHD Campus. If allcove was not open to all young people in Service Planning Area 8 (South Bay), State or Federal Funds – now totaling $10.8 million – would not be available for this service and it would not exist here.
A: There is no cap for Public and Institutional uses, such as Beach Cities Health District, in the City of Redondo Beach’s most recent General Plan, approved in 1992.
The City of Redondo Beach is proposing to update its General Plan with a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) on the BCHD campus at 514 N. Prospect Avenue. The change specifically sets a 0.75 FAR on BCHD’s campus while allowing a 1.25 FAR for other public or institutional land use designations, notably the Redondo Beach Civic Center. The proposed 0.75 FAR in the draft General Plan update would not allow full development of Phase 1 of the Healthy Living Campus plan, nor would it allow the development of Phase II (Community Wellness Pavilion, Aquatic Center, CHF).
The FAR cap is disparate treatment between the City and BCHD. The City is carving out an exception for their center of operations, but not allowing BCHD to do the same. This change would severely limit BCHD's ability to modernize its campus, thus jeopardizing its ability to generate revenue to support its essential public health programs.
A: In 2018, Youssef & Associates analyzed the vulnerability of the 514 N. Prospect Avenue building. Their conclusion: “Given the vulnerability of the building and the poor performance of non-ductile concrete buildings in past earthquakes, demolition is prudent.”
Seismic updates are not required, but as Youssef & Associates pointed out, are a prudent move given the performance of non-ductile concrete buildings in recent earthquakes. A seismic report of the building can be found here: Nabih Youssef Seismic Evaluation
Further, the Redondo Beach General Plan suggests non-ductile concrete frame buildings, such as 514 Prospect, should ultimately be "upgraded, relocated or phased out."
Related to this, in February 2023, Los Angeles County supervisors took the first step toward approving mandatory earthquake retrofitting on certain older concrete buildings that include a defect discovered in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake that can lead to a catastrophic collapse. The measure targets "non-ductile" concrete buildings owned by the county and those located in unincorporated areas and calls upon officials to prepare new rules for such a mandate. The city of Los Angeles approved a similar retrofit requirement in 2015.
A: Yes. As part of their duties, each member of BCHD’s publicly elected Board of Directors receives a $100 stipend per Board or committee meeting they attend and is eligible for a medical insurance premium reimbursement from BCHD.
From the BCHD bylaws: “Board members may be compensated $100 per meeting, not to exceed five (5) total meetings per month, including Board meetings.”
A: According to the 2022-23 BCHD Annual Report, the Health District receives $0.0088 for every $1 in property taxes collected – less than a penny. For example, for a home with an assessed value of $1.2 million that pays $12,000 in property taxes per year, $105.60 goes to BCHD. In FY2022-23, BCHD received $4.8 million in revenue from property taxes.
A: Plans for relocating the Center for Health & Fitness are underway but have yet to be finalized. Numerous locations in the Beach Cities have been considered, with the preference being to keep CHF on the campus in the 510 Prospect building. Any move of the facility must be approved by BCHD’s elected Board of Directors.
A: Changes in the healthcare and insurance industries, along with public disclosure laws, combined to work against independent, public hospitals. By the early 1980s, the influence of insurance companies grew, shortening hospital stays and squeezing billing, while new, expensive medical technology and improved pharmaceuticals were being introduced. This combination meant less revenue to meet rising expenses and deficits grew at many hospitals. As medical technology improved, the healthcare needs in the South Bay evolved and transitioned to create a need for community and preventive health.
As public bodies, district healthcare boards had to follow the provisions of the open meeting act (Brown Act) and discuss all district hospital board policy and strategy in public, sometimes hindering a board's ability to develop a competitive advantage.
To keep pace with the healthcare changes and give local health care and hospital districts greater latitude, the legislature began amending the original state law. Section 32121 of the Health and Safety Code provides Special Districts the power "to do any and all things that are necessary for, and to the advantage of" any type of health promoting service or health care facility. In short, the law generally allowed for anything that is 'necessary for the maintenance of good physical and mental health in the communities served by the districts.' Source: https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/PDF-CaliforniasHealthCar...
A: The State Legislature made numerous changes to the California Health and Safety Code in the early 1990s to allow healthcare Special Districts – not just BCHD – to better compete with private hospitals and/or provide a broader range of healthcare services. These actions were taken in response to changes in the healthcare and insurance industries which, along with public disclosure laws, combined to work against independent, public hospitals.
Among the amendments to the law is this: “any reference in any statute to the Local Hospital District Law shall be deemed a reference to the Local Health Care District Law, and any reference in any statute to a hospital district shall be deemed to be a reference to a health care district.”
The change from a hospital district to a health care district has paid dividends in the Beach Cities. From Gallup: “Between 2010 and 2015 the California Beach Cities (Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach) had a 9.2-point decline in adults who were either overweight or obese, coupled with a 1.1-point decline in diabetes. This was done in part through close planning and cooperation with the Beach Cities Health District to transform both the physical structure of each community and the culture itself, resulting in a population that is healthier and better informed about what is needed to best pursue a life well-lived.”
In addition, the Little Hoover Commission, a non-partisan oversight agency, concluded a year-long examination of the state’s independent special districts in 2018 and specifically cited Beach Cities Health District as an example of how a health district can successfully evolve. https://www.bchd.org/california-oversight-agency-cites-beach-cities-exam...
A: 100%. Every program or service provided by BCHD is intended to serve the health and wellness of Beach Cities residents. From LiveWell Kids to the Blue Zones Project to Beach Cities Volunteer Day (next week – Aug. 7) to social workers for older adults and adults with disabilities to allcove Beach Cities to the Beach Cities Partnership for Youth Coalition to Naloxone training for young people to the Center for Health & Fitness, BCHD works to achieve its vision of ”a healthy beach community” through all our offerings.
Just as cities allow visitors to utilize the programs and services they offer and expend resources to do so (public safety, parking enforcement, community services, etc.) residents of surrounding communities can opt to join the Center for Health & Fitness, access services at allcove or attend a Free Fitness class.
A: Current plans call for the old South Bay Hospital building to be demolished in 2027.
As for why, in Southern California, earthquakes are a fact of life -- we must be prepared. Seismic experts determined the 60-year-old hospital building on our campus has seismic and structural issues common with structures built in the 1950s and '60s. While a seismic upgrade is not required by law at this time because the building is not being operated as a hospital, the BCHD Governing Board opted to take a proactive approach to address these seismic issues and focus on the safety of the building’s residents, employees, and visitors.
The City of Redondo Beach’s current General Plan speaks to this seismic hazard, specifying the “non-ductile concrete frame building” and this type of “sensitive” use should be either “upgraded, relocated or phased out.” Information about seismic hazards is included in the Geology and Soils section of the Certified Final EIR for the Healthy Living Campus plan, and seismic studies of the 514 building are located here (scroll down to “Project Materials”).
Based on Healthy Living Campus Project Pillars developed by the BCHD Board of Directors, six project objectives were established, including:
- Eliminate seismic safety hazards and other hazards of the former South Bay Hospital Building (514 N. Prospect Ave.)
A: No. The original arrangement with WRC PMB Redondo Beach, the developer/operator selected for the Healthy Living Campus, called for the developer to cover all costs associated with Phase 1 of the Campus project. Changing market conditions and a rise in interest rates have impacted this arrangement, while a grant for the construction of a permanent home for the allcove Beach Cities youth center has also led to changes in the original plan (one thing the letter writer got correct was “prelim. and subject to change”).
A: No. BCHD has an ongoing 3-year contract with Gallup to conduct research related to their bi-annual Well-Being Index research, which Gallup conducts in communities across the country. BCHD uses WBI data from Gallup to measure the well-being of our community and compare it with others across the U.S. BCHD’s current contract with Gallup is for $404,000 and covers costs associated with collecting and analyzing data for its well-being surveys that are part of our commitment of being a certified Blue Zones Community in 2023, 2025 and 2027.
In January, Dan Witters, Principal Researcher, Predictive Analytics for Gallup, presented their Wellbeing Index survey findings for the Beach Cities to the BCHD Board of Directors: His presentation is available here: https://bchd.granicus.com/DocumentViewer.php?file=bchd_564d40c018fbf01bf...
Gallup then used the data from its 2024 Wellbeing Index research to determine the healthcare cost savings for Beach Cities residents, similar to work they had previously done in 2013: https://easyreadernews.com/gallup-beach-cities-health-indicators-make-dr...
In February 2024, BCHD wrote this in its monthly newsletter:
“The Beach Cities of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach continue to score high on the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index (WBI) while well-being declines nationally coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Beach Cities’ score of 68.0 substantially outpaces the national score of 58.2. Notably, this year's Manhattan Beach score of 70.6 is the highest community measurement ever recorded by Gallup out of more than 1,500 community scores since WBI measurement began in 2008. The highest score previous to this was Manhattan Beach’s score of 70.4 in 2020.”
A: From Dan Witters of Gallup: “The change over time (in the Beach Cities) has shown improvement (or holding steady) around key health metrics while the U.S. has worsened, sometimes by a lot. Why? What makes the Beach Cities different? I think that it’s the culture – the this is how we do things around here part of it – and organizations like the BCHD and Blue Zones Project help create a culture of wellbeing.” Gallup is very transparent about the methodology used for its polling: https://news.gallup.com/opinion/methodology/608690/gallup-poll-methodolo...
A: In Fiscal Year 2023-24, BCHD had 46 full-time and 97 part-time employees. In addition to this, BCHD had more than 1,600 volunteers contribute time and services for the health district in FY2023-24.
As part of District policy, BCHD provides a compensation program that is competitive, legally compliant, and equitable. The pay structures conform with California minimum wage standards and the pay grade assignments maintain internal equity for hourly, non-exempt, exempt, and management jobs. A compensation consultant reviews the compensation structure and ensures alignment with the organization structure, job content, market trends, and other developments.
For instance, the CEO salary range was established by considering similar job classifications and qualifications stands to assure that the job assigned to a pay grade that was competitive and aligned appropriately using the District's major internal job evaluation factors.
