Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Thank you, I would like to call to order the May 27th, 2026 meeting of the Manhattan Beach Planning Commission. For participants of the meeting on Zoom, including applicants and members of the public, we will mute your microphone until we call on you to speak. When you are speaking, please silence any audio on your device to avoid feedback. Furthermore, since not all participants are attending via video, please always announce your name prior to speaking so that the audio participants can follow who is speaking. Commissioner or Vice Chair Ngoku, would you like to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Of course.

Ready, begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

May we have roll call, please? Yes. Commissioner Tokashiki?

Present.

Commissioner Traeger? Here. Commissioner Sistos? Here. Vice Chair Ngoko?

Here.

Chair Hackett?

Here. Next is the approval of the agenda for today's meeting. This is the time for the Planning Commission to notify the public of any changes to the agenda. Commissioners, are there any questions?

No.

Is there a motion to approve?

I move that we approve the agenda.

I'll second.

All right. I have a motion from, oh, sorry. We have a motion from Vice Chair Ngoko and a second from Commissioner Sissos. May we please take our vote?

Aye. Aye.

Commissioner Traeger? Aye. Commissioner Sistas?

Aye.

Vice Chair Ngoku?

Aye.

And Chair Hackett? Aye.

Thank you.

Motion passes 5-0.

Okay, now we move on to public comments. Members of the public may speak on any item within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Planning Commission that is not on the agenda. Each speaker is limited to three minutes. There will be a timer on the screen. If you would like to provide public comments from your seat, please inform the meeting clerk or raise your hand. Staff will provide a handheld microphone to ensure your comments are heard. Is there anyone who wishes to speak? Do we have any members on Zoom who wish to speak or participants on Zoom?

No requests on Zoom. Okay, thank you.

Madam Chair, we'll just confirm that Commissioner Tokashiki does not have any members of the public wanting to speak either.

Yes, Commissioner Tokashiki. Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Okay, so now moving on to the approval of the minutes for the May 13th, 2026 meeting. Commissioners, are there any comments or questions on the minutes?

I have none.

I have none.

Thank you. Is there a motion to approve? A motion to approve.

I'll second.

We have a motion from Commissioner Traeger and a second from Vice Chair Ngoko. May we please take a vote? Commissioner Tokashiki? Aye. Commissioner Sistos? Aye. Commissioner Traeger? Aye. Vice Chair Ngoko?

Aye.

Chair Hackett? Aye. The motion passes 5-0.

Thank you. The next item is a consideration of a use permit to allow once weekly Manhattan Beach certified farmers market to operate on Tuesdays between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the Civic Center parking lot and plaza located at 1400 Highland Avenue. And associated environmental determination finding the project is exempt from further review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. Before I request a report from city staff, I would like to ask If any commissioners have had any ex parte communications to disclose related to this item, ex parte communications would include meeting with the applicant or other interested parties to hear about the project or concerns or if commissioners have visited the project site. Do we have any ex parte communications?

I have not.

I have visited the site. I have also visited the site.

I regularly visit the site.

I also regularly visit the site. Okay. May we have a staff report?

Thank you. Good afternoon Chair Hackett and members of the Planning Commission. I'm Acting Planning Manager Jihee Yoon and for this item I'd like to introduce Justin Urbanski to present the staff report.

No, it doesn't look like it.

There we go. Good afternoon, Chair and members of the Planning Commission. My name is Justin Urbanski, and I'm the Associate Planner that's going to be presenting this use permit request for the Manhattan Beach Certified Farmer's Market. So on December 26th of 2025, a use permit application was submitted requesting that the Manhattan Beach certified farmer's market operate at 1400 Highland Avenue, which is the city's civic center site. The farmer's market previously operated at a portion of 13th Street and the Metlox Plaza just next door. The market was moved to its current location in 2024 when the parking lot three structure was demolished. This is the vicinity map, which shows the property's location relative to the neighboring streets. There is 15th Street to the north, Highland Avenue to the west, 13th Street to the south. And you can see in this image that the farmers market was operating when the satellite image was taken. and to the east is Valley Ardmore. The subject property is a 4.2 acre parcel of land currently operated by the Manhattan Beach City Hall and Police and Fire Department building. The property is located in the public and semi-public zoning district in Area District 3. The general plan land use designation is public facilities. The request before you is to allow for the certified farmer's market to operate once weekly on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Civic Center site. The Manhattan Beach farmer's market is a certified all-in, all-out market that operates between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, with peak hours being from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Being categorized as an all-in, all-out market means that vendors are required to remove their accumulated waste, including greywater, and dispose of it at appropriate off-site waste sorting facilities. It takes roughly two hours before and after the market operating hours to set up and break down the market. There are four types of vendors at the Manhattan Beach Farmer's Market. The first are certified vendors for growers and farmers selling fresh produce and other fresh goods that they grow. The second is our prepared vendors for vendors selling freshly prepared hot or cold food. Packaged vendors sell pre-made, sealed, and packaged foods and cooking ingredients. And finally, community vendors are for informational and educational booths. And all products for sale at the prepared, packaged, and certified booths are intended for consumption. The market averages 50 to 80 vendors depending on the time of year. Vendor spaces generally range from a 5 foot by 10 foot space to a 10 foot by 10 foot space. Individual vendors may move around to different locations in the market, and the exact number of vendors may differ from week to week. The market has two geographic areas, Area A and B. Area A is located on the upper level of the Civic Center parking deck, which is accessed off of 15th Street. That deck closes to public parking during the operating hours of the market and during setup and breakdown hours. Area B is located in the public plaza area between the police and fire department building and between the city hall. This is a location showing typical market activities in area A, which is located directly above the parking structure on the upper deck, accessed off 15th Street. And then this is a photo of Area B, which is located in the public plaza area between City Hall and between the Police and Fire Department building. This use permit request was reviewed for compliance with these applicable general plan land use regulations and Manhattan Beach local coastal program regulations. Pursuant to LCP section 8.28.030 land regulations, farmers markets are a conditionally approved, conditionally allowable use in the PS zone and they require a use permit. The application complies with general plan and land use regulations 6 and 7. The project site abuts commercial districts of the south and west, and the market helps increase foot traffic to the downtown area, which helps maintain the viability of nearby commercial businesses. The market has a wide range of offerings not available elsewhere in downtown, which helps maintain downtown viability by increasing patronage for nearby businesses in the area. This application complies with LCP Chapter 8.28 and 8.284, which establish regulations for the public and semi-public zoning district and govern use permits. In order to approve a use permit, certain findings must be made. To summarize those findings in the staff report, farmers markets are allowed in the PS zoning district with the use permit. The project as proposed and conditioned will not adversely impact neighboring properties and granting this application is consistent with the city's general plan and local coastal program. The proposed use will comply with all conditions of approval. As part of this application, the Public Works Department, Fire Department, Police Department, Traffic Division, and Building Division have reviewed the request. There were no concerns from reviewing departments. I'd like to highlight two points of note from the Public Works Department and the Traffic Division. As part of Public Works' review of the project, the applicant has entered into an agreement with METLOX to dispose of waste generated from onsite market activities. And this agreement has been signed and agreed to by the project applicant and manager of METLOX. The traffic division has also attached two conditions of approval to the application pertaining to prohibited parking and loading zones. This shows some of the additional reserved parking used for the site, which are spaces temporarily reserved for setup and breakdown and during market operating hours. These spaces are located just off of 13th Street, and there are 12 spaces total. City staff have reviewed the application for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, also known as CEQA. The project complies for categorical exemption under section 15304E, minor alterations to land, which allows for minor temporary uses of land having negligible or no permanent effects on the environment. Since the project is exempt, no further environmental review is necessary. Public notices for this application were mailed at least 10 calendar days prior to today's hearing, and the public notices were also published in the Beach Reporter and at City Hall. Eight public comments have been received supporting the use permit request, and because these public comments were received after the finalizing of today's agenda, they have been provided to the Planning Commission under a separate cover. The project as proposed meets all required findings. Staff's recommendation is for the Planning Commission to conduct the public hearing, adopt the resolution, approving the project subject to conditions, and find the project categorically exempt from CEQA. With that, I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have, and the applicant is also here.

Thank you very much. Commissioners, do you have any questions for staff at this time? Commissioner Sestos.

Thank you for the thorough staff report and information. I appreciate it. I think everything is, for the most part, clear. So could you clarify for those additional parking spots, are those for customers of the farmer's market or are those for vendors to park when they're at the farmer's market?

So the additional reserve parking on and off of 13th Street are for like set up and breakdown activities. So not for patrons of the market. They're closed to the public.

But someone would come to set up and leave their car parked there for the duration of the farmer's market and then leave?

Yeah, so I don't know all the specifics. I know that our public works division or department helps with the setup and breakdown of the market. And so they will oftentimes use those as like staging for their cars throughout the day.

Okay, and are those typically, what are those spots the rest of the time? Are they city?

public parking. They're public parking.

Okay. And then is there adequate parking for city staff in the underground parking lot for everyone coming in to work?

Yeah. Generally there is. If not, we also are able to park in Metlox as well.

I see. Okay. So there aren't any concerns at between you've got the city staff and the vendors and the customers that aren't walking, right, that need to find parking, and so there haven't been concerns around parking.

Go ahead. Well, City Staff does not park in the upper level.

No, okay.

Yeah, so they don't park on the surface area where the market is.

Okay. And then I was curious if there had been any look at, like, for some of the other spaces that are adjacent, like potentially the area, like, around the library or down further to the side. I'm just wondering if... We may be able to reserve in that area A section, right? There's that section of probably 20 spots right there. Just wondering if we could make it easier for people to visit if we were able to provide, maintain some of those parking spaces that are on the far north side. by possibly expanding booths that go either down, you've got the whole area where that big field is, the walkways around the library, the back of the library, or along the side. So I was just curious if that was something that had been looked at in an effort to possibly create additional parking for vendors or for customers of the market.

Yeah, great question. I think maybe if I can go back to the vicinity map, that might help illustrate the property boundaries because that property is actually a different property. So we would have to get approval from the owners. It's the library site. To my knowledge, I don't know if that site has been explored. I know that our traffic division worked closely with the applicant on their initial moving and setup and layout for this site.

Okay. I'm just curious. I mean, we're always trying to find more parking. If there's a way to use other open spaces that are right here, right, that maybe it also provides the opportunity to potentially expand in the future to grow the size of the market. But again, if you're going to grow the size, then people also need places to park. that as well. So is there other maximum designation in the number of vendors at this point? And are we hitting that maximum?

Generally 50 to 80 vendors are typical, but there are limits in terms of like accessibility, how many vendors can be present. This generally shows the maximum number of vendors that can be allowed. So I believe total it's like maybe I have to look in the staff report. I believe it's around 100 or a little over. That can actually reasonably fit in that space. Okay.

Yeah, I guess I'm looking just specifically at those orange spots on the north end to think, like, is there a way to preserve any of that parking? The answer may be no, and it may be that you need that for, you know, trucks or some other type of parking. But that was my main question was if we had explored the other spaces, and there's a lot of space there on the backside of the library that could possibly be used for additional booths.

I would have to consult with our traffic engineer to see his thoughts on increasing or altering the parking situation.

That was my only question.

Thank you very much. Do we have any other questions from commissioners?

I just have a couple. So with loadout officially ending at 5, I'm assuming that we're not running into any conflicts as people are coming in later for city council meetings on Tuesdays?

I have not heard of any concerns. As I understand it, it's by 5 o'clock.

Seems like enough time before people start arriving for the later meeting. And then I guess the other question I had was about bicycle parking and if there's sufficient bicycle parking and if that's something that's being explored.

I don't have knowledge of that at this time. I would have to look into that.

I know from my own experience, I've never had competition on the library side, but I know that it's very tight near the 15th Street entrance for those bicycle spaces. So that might be something to look at in the future, not under our purview.

They could also be over on the 13th Street side, too. That would be another area. Sure.

That concludes my question.

Oh, thank you very much. Commissioner Tokashiki, do you have any questions?

I do not.

Okay. Commissioner Trigger?

I'm all set.

I do not have any questions as well. Okay, so at this time, we will open the public hearing. And as a reminder, speakers should be registered with the speaker host, and each speaker is limited to three minutes. If you would like to provide public comments from your seat, please inform the meeting clerk or raise your hand. Staff will provide a handheld microphone to ensure your comments are heard. Is there anyone who wishes to speak on this item?

Hi there. Good afternoon, Commission. I'm Kelly Strowman, the Executive Director for downtown Manhattan Beach, and welcome new Commissioner Traeger. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much for hearing this item. Thank you to staff so much for helping us get through this process. It's interesting to be on this side of it. We have all these businesses always looking for use permits and everything, but to have to go through it was an education. So thank you, because now I understand what everybody has to go through. But you guys are fantastic. So I appreciate that. I have been back now a year, but I did this for five and a half years before. I'm very familiar with the farmer's market. The Downtown Business Association is the one who sponsors and hosts the market every week. In conjunction, we have our market operator here too, Cynthia Rogers, who's been operating the market for over 12 years. The market has grown. We're celebrating our 20th anniversary in July. So I expect to see all of you there, hopefully in the space that it's in right now. But it really is an amazing community activation. Before it was really good where it was before. Now it's really, it's so robust and amazing. It's safer, it's very easy to access. And there's so many unique things that we can add to the market now. It is a little dynamic with the vendors and the tents and the sizing. Cynthia Rogers is a professional at orchestrating all of that. Some vendors warrant a 10 by 10, some warrant a 5 by 10, some have 3 or 4 10 by 10s. for the farmers and the larger vendors too. So that's when we say it's a dynamic, always changing process, it really is. And Cynthia handles all of that, before, during, and way after. We also host community groups all the time, non-profits, the city comes and pops up. with different initiatives, the police, a lot of our school and BEF and everybody too. So we hope that you guys green light this because it really is in a good place. The sales have been really robust since we have moved over there. We do pay for the parking, the meters that are used on the map. We do pay, we reimburse Public Works for the porter service that we have. We spend a lot more money than we used to with that, but it's also at the gold standard that Manhattan Beach expects, which is important to us too. Safety is always paramount with the police. It's actually in a safer position where it is now versus being down on the street. because we used to have to bring in the police cruisers and everything and move them in and out. So it's a little bit easier for all of us. And that's really it. Cynthia does a great job of working with all the different departments. Eric Zanvlet has been our champion for so long and working with all of us to always, you know, ebb and flow with our needs. So I appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you very much.

chair, vice chair, planning commission, Michael Zislis, local business owner and resident with six kids and now four grandchildren. And we love the farmer's market. I wrote a letter to you earlier in the week and I just thought I would come by today to tell you I love where it's at, I love how safe it is, and that safety goes to, the police were nice enough to have those cruisers when it was in the middle of the street, but I always saw those things that happened around the world that were so terrible, and now we have such a safe place for it. I just wanted to say that It's in the best place it could be. It's right in the heart of our downtown, and I support it as a business owner, as a resident, as somebody you will see me there every Tuesday getting a snack or bringing home papooses for my wife. It's all good, so I hope you support how it is today. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Do we have any other participants, including on Zoom?

No requests on Zoom. Okay, thank you.

I think we are... I will close the public hearing at this time, and we will move on to Commissioner deliberations. Let's start with Commissioner Sistos.

I'm in favor of the farmer's market in general. I agree. I think the location is great. I think from my perspective, I'd like to see even more use of that available space and potentially preserve, like push back or preserve some of those parking spaces because I do think that improves accessibility, it improves, you know, it increases the number of customers. If you can pull up and park in one of those 10 spots or 15 spots and move those 10 or 15 booths to an area that's just for walking, I think that would make it even better. But I'm not opposed to the location in and of itself. I just think it's worth exploring whether we can use the library space, maybe even extend some booths even farther to the south than where they currently are and potentially get back some of the parking that's in that top lot.

Like that, that's great. We're looking at it, and maybe that is something we could add to commissioner items. Would that be possible to add something like that to commissioner items as something the city could look into without, just for future?

In the sense of, I'm sorry, like the approval of the item, they've got a certain layout called out at this point. Right.

So without holding up the process of continuation. Yeah, if we approve this, is that something that we could always ask the city to look into?

Yeah, I think that one thing to keep in mind is that that upper lot is sort of completely shut down to vehicle traffic at this point. So we'd be integrating private traffic up into this area. And it's maybe a different operation than, what's currently going on there and it's actually quite a safe space for pedestrians. So I don't know if the commission would want to consider that. But I mean, if you wanted to add some sort of condition about explore additional methods of integrating parking, I mean, you can add the condition like a consideration condition.

I think people also park at Metlox and walk over. I think there's a decent amount of parking there.

It just depends on the time of year, right? If you think about the summertime, because you have all of the businesses and restaurants in Metlox as well, and that parking lot can get full just to serve those businesses there.

And one other thing that was mentioned by Associate Planner Urbanski was the There's two different properties there. That lower area, the county property, is at a lower elevation. So there's a grade change there. And actually, the Tuesdays at the farmer's market are the busiest day at the county library. And you actually see the most activation of that green space. There's a lot of families and people with small children that are using that area, sort of consistent with the farmer's market. I mean, it's a pretty good setup with the two levels where the market is and the additional space for families and people with young children to spill over onto the county property. So just an observation and some things we've heard about the library.

Thank you. Vice Chair Angoko, do you have any?

Well, I guess I'm not that concerned about the parking because I occasionally walk from El Porto and regularly ride my bike down, so driving there never even occurs to me. Of course, that limits the amount of things that I'm able to buy, but... I'm very happy with it where it is. I do really enjoy seeing people enjoying the space, particularly the green space, which was not something that you necessarily saw when it was across the street or in the street. It just seems like people stay there. I don't know if the numbers have changed over time in terms of how long people stay there, but hopefully it's on the rise. So I'm perfectly comfortable pushing this forward. Is there a timeframe associated with this? Is this for an X number of years or for?

There's a second component to this. I mean, there is the use permit.

Right.

And then in addition to that, the farmer's market needs to enter into a lease agreement. with the city. So you'll see a condition in there that says that the use permit is contingent upon the lease agreement. There will be timing restrictions within the lease agreement. All right.

So we're approving or not approving the resolution, which has to do with the use permit? Yes. And then the actual lease is negotiated by somebody else?

Yes. Finance. And that will go to city council.

Oh, OK. Yeah. OK. Go to council.

All right. Commissioner Trigger, do you have any additional comments? I don't have any concerns with the proposal. And then Commissioner Tokashiki?

I have no concerns with the proposal.

And then I'll just say I love the location of it. I agree with the safety component of it. I think the parking situation, it's a good point. I have gone when it's very crowded. But I think we're doing a lot of things throughout the city, including what we will be doing with Lot 3, whatever the final determination is, including parking. you know, just other measures that would be taken to alleviate any parking issues throughout the city. So I'm comfortable with everything as is and excited to continue to join the farmers market if we decide to move it forward in its current location. Are we ready to make a motion? All right. Do I have a motion?

I move to approve the consideration of the use permit to allow the Manhattan Beach Farmer's Market to operate on Tuesdays in its current location at the current time.

Thank you.

I'll second, but do we need to specify about the determinations regarding CEQA in the motion?

Madam Chair, members of the Commission, I'd suggest perhaps the maker of the motion would consider moving adoption of the resolution as set forth in the staff report, which makes the findings, covers the CEQA aspect as well, and then everything would be included.

I move to adopt the resolution as spelled out in the report.

And I will second.

Thank you. We have a motion from Commissioner Traeger and a second from Vice Chair Ngoko. Can we please have a vote? Commissioner Sistos?

Aye.

Commissioner Tokashige?

Aye.

Vice Chair Ngoko?

Aye.

Commissioner Traeger? Aye. And Chair Hackett? Aye. The motion passes 5-0.

Thank you. We will now move on to director and staff updates. Do we have, or I'll turn it over to acting planning manager Yoon for any updates.

the past year, Project Pulse has conducted various outreach efforts and this weekend there will be a hands-on community design workshop at the Jocelyn Center on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday will be from 2 to 5 p.m. and Sunday will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and both days will have the same activities available for both properties, the parking lot 3 and 400 MBB. So we welcome everyone to join us and drop in during the open hours and we look forward to seeing everyone there.

Okay.

Thank you very much.

And do we have any planning commission items from my fellow commissioners?

Anybody? I'd like to just take a few moments to make some comments as this is the last time I'll have my bully pulpit. I'd like to thank the community development director and his two predecessors and all the members of staff who've served over the almost nine years that I've served on this commission. That's Your work often goes unthanked, sometimes by me as well, and I just want to express my appreciation for all the hard work that the people in the department put in. To former council members Herzman and Stern for putting their faith in me at a time when it was unfashionable. and putting me on this commission. I really appreciate that they trusted in that and gave me the opportunity. I hope that they are proud of the work that's been done since. To my colleagues on the Planning Commission, including former Commissioner Dilibu, I just want to say that it's been an honor and one of the greatest privileges to serve with you here. To our successors, including Commissioner Traeger and the two that will be seated at the next meeting, I wish you all the best of luck. You're an excellent company and in the best of hands with the staff. They will support you in any way that you need. Looking forward to returning to private life. To anyone that was hoping and or afraid that I might make an announcement today about my future in public life, I will just say, stay tuned. The next time you may see me, I could be with pitchfork in hand on the other side of the dance. So do some good work here, guys. Thank you.

Well, thank you very much for your service. And we look forward to seeing you in whatever capacity, including with a pitchfork. Do you have any other comments?

Well, I'd say ditto, as always. Everything that I thought, with the exception of carrying a pitchfork. I have learned so much from my fellow commissioners, so I really appreciate the opportunity to share a little bit of your lives. I do have a question for Acting Director Yoon. On the hearing on Sunday with Pulse, is that the name of the program?

The Project Pulse?

Yes. Is this being run by a service organization just collecting ideas? Is that what they are?

It's hosted by the city, and we have a contract with Gensler who would be conducting and spearheading the design components.

Yeah, so what is their background, this company? Is it an architectural firm or is it an engineering firm? What type of services are they providing?

Architectural in general is their expertise.

And public works?

They're a very large architectural firm. They're one of the largest architectural firms in the L.A. area, and yes, they have a sort of full suite of professionals.

Okay. All right. I was just curious because I may attend just to get a feel for it since I'll be going on to the next parking improvements commission. So just to give me a feeling of where you folks are. Anyway, but other than that, I just had a question in case I have to show up on Sunday. But thank you. Thank you all.

Thank you. It's been a pleasure serving with you, Commissioner Tokashiki.

I agree. We will miss you both dearly, and I've really enjoyed the time and energy that you both have put into the commission. Thank you.

Thank you, Robert, and good luck with the next commission. I'm looking forward to seeing you continue to do great work there.

Thanks. I'll try.

No pressure.

I don't have a spokesman over there. I might have to talk more.

All right. Do we have a tentative agenda for the June 10th meeting at this time?

Yes. The tentative agenda includes reorganization of the planning commission as well as a public hearing for a one-year review of a use permit amendment regarding expanded operations at Esperanza.

Okay. It comes back. Okay. All right, well, in that case, we are adjourned to the June 10th, 2026 Planning Commission regular meeting at 3 o'clock p.m. Thank you.