Western Avenue Vision Plan

Project Planner: Ara Mihranian, Director

Contact Information: Email Ara Mihranian or (310) 544-5227

Western Avenue is the primary N-S corridor of the South Bay, Palos Verdes Peninsula, and San Pedro Communities. Two years ago, a Western Avenue Vision Plan was developed to serve as a visionary framework plan to revitalize Western Avenue through aesthetic improvements, transit improvements, alternative mobility methods, and business incentives. As a follow-up to that effort, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and City of Los Angeles teamed up together to develop a uniform strategy for the Western Avenue Corridor between Summerland Avenue and Palos Verdes Drive North. Below are summaries of past public workshops and public hearings for the planning process to create this new implementation tool to improve Western Avenue. Additionally, the FINAL Strategy that was adopted by the RPV City Council on December 15, 2015 is available for viewing:

• FINAL Western Avenue Corridor Street Enhancement Strategy (the Strategy) (PDF) 
• Status Report on the Strategy at the April 11, 2017 RPV Planning Commission meeting (PDF)

* Go to 'City Meetings and Agenda' to view videos of all meetings

Western Avenue Corridor Street Enhancement Strategy (the Strategy)

The updated Western Avenue Corridor Street Enhancement Strategy (formerly "Design Implementation Guidelines"), will be presented to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes City Council at its Tuesday, December 15, 2015 City Council meeting. The meeting will be held at Hesse Park Community Building at 7:00 PM, located at 29301 Hawthorne Boulevard, in Rancho Palos Verdes. The updated document will illustrate the Planning Commission's recommendation to pursue a strategy for the Western Avenue corridor shared by the Cities of Rancho Palos Verdes and Los Angeles. The new Strategy will maintain existing traffic lane widths at 12-feet, street parking will be removed and replaced with 5-feet wide bike lanes with an additional 3-feet wide space separation from traffic lanes, with the amount of curb cuts minimized along the corridor, and the undergrounding of utility lines. This recommendation is predicated upon the review and approval of traffic and bike studies that demonstrate that traffic volumes and speeds are not reduced. In addition to incorporating the Planning Commission's recommendation, the new Strategy document has also been revised to capture feedback obtained from the public throughout the public outreach process.

City Staff from Rancho Palos Verdes and Los Angeles have worked together to prepare the Strategy that outlines the framework and strategy for implementing complete street improvements within the public right-of-way, which are proposed to be implemented first. The Strategy also outlines concepts to assist either City in determining what, if any, changes to each City's private development standards would require additional public input and research sometime in the future. In total, the Strategy aims to lay out the foundation and direction for the corridor's evolution over the next 3 to 30 years.

The revised Strategy document can be view below. Additionally, the December 15, 2015 City Council Staff Report will be available on the City's website under the "City Meetings and Agendas" tab on December 3, 2015.

View the Western Avenue Corridor Street Enhancement Strategy (PDF)

Previous Documents with Options A, B, C and D

Below are links to the Western Avenue Design Guidelines, before being revised into a new document called the Western Avenue Corridor Street Enhancement Strategy, which was presented to the City of RPV Planning Commission on April 28, 2015 and August 11, 2015, and was also presented to the City of RPV Traffic Safety Committee on July 27, 2015. The Staff Reports and Minutes for these meetings can be found on the City's website under the "City Meetings and Agendas" tab.

View the Western Avenue Design Guidelines Option "D" (PDF) (as modified by the City's Consultant - AECOM).

View the original DRAFT Western Avenue Design Guidelines (PDF) (presented to the Planning Commission on April 28, 2015, prior to modifications made as a result of the April 28, 2015 Planning Commission meeting).

Western Avenue Design Guidelines - March 14, 2015 Open House

In order to get input and ideas from the public for the look of the Western Avenue Corridor, a public Open House was held on Saturday, March 14, 2015 from 10 am to 2 pm at the Peck Park Community Center (560 N. Western Avenue San Pedro, CA 90732). Below, you will find links to the Draft Western Avenue Vision Plan, the PowerPoint presented at the Open House, a summary and highlights for your convenience, and a public comment card. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes encourages all members of the public ranging from residents, visitors and business owners to provide feedback on the Draft Vision Plan by printing and mailing the Comment Card provided in the link below. The Draft document will be modified to address comments received from various stakeholders and presented to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes Planning Commission and City Council for final review.

View the Draft Western Avenue Vision Plan (PDF) (presented at the March 14th Open House) 

View and print the Public Comment Card (PDF)

View the PowerPoint Presentation from the March 14th Open House (PDF).

View the Highlights of the Western Avenue Vision Plan (PDF).

View the Open House flyer (PDF).

View a summary of the Public Comment from March 14th (PDF) (Appendices excluded).

Western Avenue Vision Plan status as of May 1, 2013

On April 20, 2013, an Open House was conducted to provide the public with the opportunity to view the work that had been conducted thus far and to provide comment and feedback, and share ideas with the consultant.

Next Steps

Based upon the comments received during the open house and the input from the Working Group, the consultant will be preparing a Draft Western Avenue Vision Plan, which will serve as a visionary framework plan to revitalize Western Avenue through aesthetic improvements, transit improvements and alternative methods, and business incentives. The Draft will be presented to the Planning Commission on May 28, 2013, and will be considered by the City Council on June 18, 2013.

In the meantime, city Staff will be applying for another grant from SCAG's Compass Blueprint Demonstration Project to develop design guidelines and standards for implementing the ideas contained in the Vision Plan.

Western Avenue Vision Plan as of April 1, 2013

In developing the Vision Plan, a Vision Working Group has been created to help steer the Vision Plan effort. The Working Group is comprised of various stakeholders, which includes residents, business owners, Chambers of Commerce, and Staff from both the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and the City of Los Angeles. Also joining in this effort is a Staff member from Los Angeles City Councilman Buscaino's office.

The Group has met several times with the consulting firm to discuss ideas about Western Avenue and establish guiding principles and aspirations in creating the Vision Plan document, which include:

• Create amenities and destination for visitors and residents
• Create diversity in retail, access and mobility
• Improving the public realm, storefronts and the overall perception of the street
• Partnerships to market the Western Avenue brand and corridor

In preparation to develop the Vision Plan, much research has been conducted in obtaining demographic information, parcel and business inventories, parking inventory, and bicycle and transit feasibility studies. The consultant has taken the Working Group's input and an Open House has been scheduled for April 20, at Peck Park in San Pedro, to provide the public with the opportunity to share ideas, see the work in progress, and provide feedback to our team. This is your opportunity to help us create a vision to improve Western Avenue!

Western Avenue Vision Plan as of August 2012

The city was informed by SCAG in October 2011 that a $120,000 grant was awarded to the city under its Compass Blueprint Demonstration Project. These Demonstration Project are driven by the following 4 key principles:

• Livability – Creating positive communities
• Mobility – Getting where we want to go
• Prosperity – Long-term health for the region
• Sustainability – Promoting efficient use of natural resources

The grant allows the city to obtain services from a consulting firm to develop a Western Avenue Vision Plan for the purpose of identifying planning options and sustainable economic development opportunities for the Western Avenue corridor.

The city has selected the consulting firm AECOM to perform the work in developing the Western Avenue Vision Plan. AECOM is familiar with the South Bay and San Pedro area, and most recently developed the specific plan for the waterfront area of the LA Harbor.

Staff envisions the creation of a visionary framework plan to revitalize Western Avenue through aesthetic improvements, transit improvements and alternative methods, and business incentives. In summary, city Staff believes that the document should accomplish the following core objectives:

• Analyze and assess renovation possibilities for existing property owners, mixed-use potential, and merger / consolidation of parcels to create greater development and circulation (vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian) improvement opportunities
• Develop an identity / brand for the Western Avenue corridor
• Develop guidelines and policy that unify the overall vision for the Western Avenue corridor
• Improve multi-modal transit integration, diversity, frequency and efficiency
• Improve the pedestrian and bicyclist experience and connectivity to the greater city through identification of paths and/or trails
• Increase economic activity of the corridor through business development, signage and marketing, and creating incentives for property / business owners to renovate their buildings and/or properties
• Increase streetscape beautification through innovative, urban greening design solutions that increase walk ability and provide environmental benefits
• Strengthen the core Western Avenue business and residential identity, and increase community appeal

City staff has met with AECOM to discuss these objectives, discuss the area's background, and what the city expects from this process. Development of the Vision Plan will take about 9 months, and should be completed in the first quarter of 2013. In developing the Vision Plan, a Vision Working Group has been created to help steer the Vision Plan effort. The Working Group is comprised of various stakeholders, which includes residents, businesses, Chambers of Commerce, and Staff from both the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and the City of Los Angeles.

A public outreach / workshop will be held to obtain comments and feedback, all to ensure that the Vision Plan reflects the community's vision for Western Avenue, envisioned to be conducted in early 2013.