Alcohol and Food Trucks on Council Agenda

The Hermosa Beach City Council will continue its ongoing discussion about how to better regulate and permit alcohol-serving businesses downtown in a meeting Tuesday night.

The council to research ways to limit the number of such establishments on upper Pier Avenue—the staff report will be reviewed Tuesday (see report in accompanying gallery).

The council also will discuss whether existing regulations should be changed to better accommodate food trucks in the area. As they’re now written, for example, the city’s rules require a food truck “not to exceed 10 minutes at any one place.”

The council will study examples of how food trucks have been operating in nearby communities, such as Harbor Drive in Redondo Beach and Abbott-Kinney in Venice.

A public hearing will be held at the council meeting to discuss reducing the Fire Protection Improvement Fee and, as a result, amending municipal code.

Revenue from the fee, which was adopted in 1988, has helped mitigate the cost of fire protection measures caused by new building developments, as well as improving Fire Department facilities, equipment and vehicles.

The fee is paid to the city before a building permit is issued to an applicant for any new structure or expansion of an existing structure within Hermosa Beach. The proposed fee reduction reflects a drop in potential build-out within city limits (see city staff report in accompanying gallery).

In an effort to keep Hermosa Beach residents better informed about City Council decisions, council members will consider revising its public notice process for when any new ordinance or repeal of existing ordinances is up for debate.

The panel will discuss publishing a public notice in the Easy Reader 10 days prior to the City Council meeting when the notice item will be discussed.

The City Council also will decide how to advertise and request applications from community members interested in filling soon-to-be-vacant seats on the .

The terms for commissioners William Hallett, Tracy Hopkins and Ken Hartley will expire on May 31. New terms will be for four years, ending in 2015.

The council meeting is Tuesday at 7 p.m. in council chambers.