REDONDO BEACH, Calif. (March 8, 2021) -- The Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) for the proposed Healthy Living Campus on the Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) property at 514 N. Prospect Avenue will be released Wednesday, March 10. The 90-day public review and comment period regarding the 11-acre campus, bordered by Prospect, Beryl Street, Flagler Lane and Diamond Street in Redondo Beach, will extend through June 10, even though only a 45-day review is mandated.
“The Draft EIR is lengthy, so to be as transparent as possible and to continue our policy of encouraging community input, BCHD has doubled the time for public review and comment on the Healthy Living Campus project,” says BCHD CEO Tom Bakaly. “We encourage the community to be part of the process by submitting comments on the Draft EIR during the review period. The Healthy Living Campus is an opportunity to create a modern, vibrant, intergenerational campus focused on wellness and prevention for today and decades to come.”
All official Draft EIR public comments received by the June 10 deadline will be included and responded to in the final Environmental Impact Report. Draft EIR comments address the technical sufficiency of the impact analysis, mitigation measures and alternatives. There are numerous methods to submit comments, including:
- Website: bchdcampus.org/eir
- Email: EIR@bchd.org
- Mail: Nick Meisinger re: Healthy Living Campus
Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, Inc.
9177 Sky Park Ct.
San Diego, CA 92123 - Provide oral comments during one of these public opportunities:
Public comments at the March 24 meeting will begin following the Draft EIR presentation by Wood Environment at the regularly scheduled BCHD Board of Directors meeting. For more information on how to submit a comment or join a meeting, visit bchdcampus.org/eir.
Nearly four years of meetings and workshops with residents, community leaders and stakeholders preceded the Draft EIR, which addresses the potential environmental effects from modernizing the Redondo Beach property. More than 1,000 public comments helped refine the proposed project through various iterations. The proposed 2020 Draft Master Plan, analyzed in the Draft EIR, decreases the on-campus building area by 18 percent compared to the 2019 plan, shortens construction time from nine to five years (in two phases instead of three) and reduces the number of Residential Care for the Elderly units from 420 to 220. The 2020 plan also expands BCHD’s services by including a youth wellness center and aquatics facility while creating 2.5 acres of open space for outdoor programs.
In June 2019, BCHD began preparing an Environmental Impact Report for the campus as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This process included five public scoping meetings and environmental analyses of a broad range of environmental topics as required by CEQA or requested by the community during scoping.
Now comes the 90-day Draft EIR review and comment period, followed by the EIR team preparing a formal Response to Comments later this summer. The expected timeline for the additional steps that will follow includes:
Response to Comments & Final EIR – Late Summer 2021
The EIR team will prepare a formal Response to Comments on the public Draft EIR, revise the Draft EIR as necessary and prepare the Final EIR.
Release Response to Comments to the Public – Summer 2021
Board Consideration to Certify EIR – Summer 2021
Board consideration of possible certification of Final EIR.
Board Decision on Project – Summer/Fall 2021
Board considers proposed project and direction for next steps.
Submit Project to City of Redondo Beach for Design Review, Conditional Use Permit Review and Approvals (pending approval of Final EIR and Board decision on project) – Fall 2021/Winter 2022
Submit Project to City of Torrance for Necessary Permits (pending approval of Final EIR and Board decision on project) – Fall 2021/Winter 2022
The Healthy Living Campus project reimagines the former hospital site to better serve and meet the current and future community health needs of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach residents. Phase 1 of the proposed campus Master Plan includes 220 Residential Care for the Elderly (assisted living and memory care) units, Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), Youth Wellness Center, BCHD’s Care Management and Assistance, Information and Referral programs and services and approximately 2.5 acres of active green/open space for outdoor meetings and programs. The proposed program for Phase 2 calls for a Community Wellness Pavilion with community meeting and research spaces, a demonstration kitchen and other amenities, an updated Center for Health & Fitness and an aquatics center.
“BCHD began reimagining a modernized Healthy Living Campus in 2017 as an intergenerational space for all Beach Cities residents,” says Bakaly. “The proposed open space -- a direct result of community feedback -- is roughly the size of two soccer fields of usable, active open space that can be programmed with activities like outdoor exercise, mindfulness and nutrition classes, meeting spaces for support groups and moais and other community events. The programs proposed in Phase 2 will bring even more ways to connect the campus to the community, including a new Community Wellness Pavilion, Center for Health & Fitness and aquatics center.”
