CC SR 20200901 06 - Coast Guard Properties Update
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 09/01/2020
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA TITLE:
Receive and file an update on staff’s efforts to attain public use of United States Coast
Guard properties in Rancho Palos Verdes.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Receive and file an update on staff’s efforts to explore a partnership, joint use, or
long-term lease agreement for public use of United States Coast Guard
properties in Rancho Palos Verdes.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Matt Waters, Senior Administrative Analyst
REVIEWED BY: Dan Trautner, Recreation and Parks Deputy Director
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS: None
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes has long expressed an interest in entering a joint
partnership or acquiring two United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard) properties
located within the boundaries of the City, when and if they became available. The two
properties are the Point Vicente Light Station located adjacent to the Point Vicente
Interpretive Center (also known as Lower Point Vicente Park) and an approximately 4.5-
acre parcel on the western edge of Upper Point Vicente Park/Civic Center containing a
World War II-era bunker. Staff has made a number of inquiries in recent years regarding
these two properties.
A letter was sent in 1998 to the Coast Guard, indicating the City’s interest in being a
potential recipient of the lighthouse if it was available on a long-term grant basis or
permanently disposed. The General Plan, updated in 2018, notes the desirability of
acquiring the lighthouse as an extension of Lower Point Vicente Park. The current City
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Council goals that were approved on July 21, 2020, include the following goal (Goal No.
43) with a completion target date of December 1, 2020 :
Explore establishing a partnership, joint use, and/or lease agreement with the
U.S. Coast Guard for the Point Vicente Lighthouse property, buildings, and
bunker (located at the Civic Center).
The current City Council Goal notes “Staff has reached out to the Coast Guard to initiate
a dialogue about the future use of these properties. Staff will continue to foster and
advance discussions.”
Point Vicente Lighthouse Property
The Point Vicente Lighthouse is one of the most famous landmarks on the Palos Verdes
Peninsula. The 67-foot-tall lighthouse began operating manually in 1926 until it became
fully automated in 1971. The coastal site has tremendous views of the Pacific Ocean
and Catalina Island, and the lighthouse is one of the most photographed structures in
the South Bay. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in
1980.
The City maintains a long and positive working relationship with the Coast Guard. In
2015, the Coast Guard contacted the City with the unique opportunity to display the
classic third-order Fresnel lens from the Point Vicente Lighthouse. After several years of
coordination and collaboration, the Fresnel lens was decommissioned and placed on
display inside the Point Vicente Interpretive Center in 2019. This project required many
levels of City staff and Coast Guard personnel to come together to execute the project
goals successfully.
The annual Whale of a Day celebration that has been hosted by the City for the past 34
years entails staff working with representatives from the Coast Guard and the Coast
Guard Auxiliary. The Coast Guard graciously opens the grounds for public tours on
Whale of a Day. Generally, the grounds and Lighthouse museum are open exclusively
on the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. but the Coast Guard
partners with the City to open them for Whale of a Day.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary has collaborated with Los Serenos de Point Vicente docents
and the City to host public nature walks along the Vicente Bluffs, which include a tour of
the lighthouse grounds. Staff is working with Boatswain’s Mate Senior Chief Petty
Officer (BMCS) Eugene Wright and his team to revise and update the Point Vicente
Lighthouse interpretive panel, which is located in the Lower Point Vicente Park grounds.
BMCS Wright and his team have provided the City with valuable information for the
panel, which depicts the history of the Point Vicente grounds and lighthouse.
The Coast Guard Bunker at Upper Point Vicente
An approximately 4.5-acre Coast Guard parcel located immediately west of City Hall at
Upper Point Vicente Park features an approximately 5,000 square foot, permanently
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buried World War II bunker, other historical components, and expansive ocean views.
As mentioned previously, entering an arrangement with th e Coast Guard for the use of
this bunker property is a City Council goal. Aside from the 4.5 acres, all of the remaining
land surrounding this parcel is City property, including Alta Vicente Reserve. The City is
pursuing a Civic Center Master Plan effort and the acquisition of this parcel would
expand the overall acreage of the site. The Civic Center Advisory Committee , which is
tasked with developing the Master Plan, has emphasized the importance of acquiring
this parcel.
The acquisition of the bunker property could be involved with future land use swaps as
part of the Civic Center Master Plan effort. In 2019, the City received formal approval to
transfer oversight of the property from the National Park Service to the Department of
Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This transfer
changed the allowed use of the eastern portion of the property from passive recreation
to public safety use-shown in red outlined in the map on the next page. While the shift
to FEMA and DOJ oversight is a positive and long-awaited development, broad
constraints are still in place. The City is exploring the possibility with the DOJ and FEMA
to receive permission to exchange or “swap” equivalent sections of the property to allow
for maximum flexibility in placing components. Acquiring the 4.5 acre Coast Guard
parcel may assist in realizing this exchange, as well as expanding the overall public use
of the property.
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Outreach Efforts/Coast Guard Response
Staff efforts to reach out to Coast Guard personnel to discuss acquisition, joint-use
arrangements or partnerships have been generally well received. BMCS Eugene
Wright, who oversees the lighthouse facility, responded to a recent Staff inquiry by
noting that there is no plan to change the status quo, but that many possibilities are
being discussed internally at the Coast Guard. He said that the possibilities range from
a potential sale, to refurbishing the housing and keeping the site.
Staff has also engaged in an ongoing dialogue with a Coast Guard Real Property
Specialist regarding the potential disposition of the Upper Point Vicente bunker
property. Staff has recently added the Point Vicente Lighthouse property to the
discussion.
Given the ongoing positive relationship between the City and the Coast Guard and the
possibility of an eventual successful response, staff, barring alternate direction from the
City Council, will continue its ongoing dialogue. If discussions at the current level of
engagement with the Coast Guard does not yield positive results, staff will endeavor to
contact higher-level Coast Guard management personnel to pursue this objective. Staff
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will continue to update the City Council on the progress of this goal as part of the
quarterly updates on the City Council goals.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available
for the City Council’s consideration:
1. Direct Staff to cease contact with the Coast Guard.
2. Provide other direction as deemed appropriate.
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