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A couple weeks ago, a group of Redondo Beach residents gathered at a corner on the Pacific Coast Highway during evening rush hour to protest a beachside powerplant they would rather see go away. In its place, they want to see a park.
“Why do we need to see (the plant)? I’ve been looking at that for 20 years. I’ve been a resident for 21 years and I’m sick of looking at it,” Dawn Essex told the Beach Reporter. “I would like to see a park or a community pool or something like that.”
Coastal power plants are no longer able to use ocean water to cool down towers, so management behind AES powerplant want to make upgrades to ensure continued operation and add a desalinization plant. The opposition sees this as the one moment to permanently change the property to public space, or else lose it forever.
Protestors also expressed their disapproval of Measure G, a local November ballot initiative that deals with zoning laws. That's a tricky move, says Redondo Beach's city attorney. Approval of Measure G gives the city council a say in what happens to AES' property. Otherwise, it's left in the hands of the state's Coastal Commission.