Organizers outline North Redondo farmers market plan; commission voices support and asks staff to follow up

Organizers of a proposed North Redondo farmers market presented detailed site and operations analysis to the Redondo Beach Public Amenities Commission on Feb. 11 and won the commission's support to move the idea forward.

Teresa Mitchell, a North Redondo resident who said she has been working with neighbors for months, proposed closing Green Street between Artesia Boulevard and Vanderbilt for a weekly market on Wednesdays from 2 to 7 p.m. Mitchell described an event layout with two rows of 10-foot booths and a 9-foot pedestrian aisle, roughly 40–45 stall spaces (expected to translate to 25–35 vendors), two ADA parking stalls, and use of five parking stalls in the library parking area for vendor loading. Organizers formed a nonprofit (identified in the presentation as "our NRB") to reinvest proceeds into the Artesia/ACAP area.

Mitchell said organizers had carried out site evaluations and outreach: a street-closure permit was submitted, most nearby residents in the immediate closure area had signed in favor and an organizer said the street closure requires roughly 67% resident approval. Organizers told commissioners they had been contacting nearby businesses for supplemental off-site vendor and public parking and that market managers from nearby markets had expressed vendor interest and would share vendor lists.

Jim Mueller, a District 5 resident and organizer, said a petition supporting the market had drawn about 1,500 signatures. Local resident Chloe Donovan described a lack of neighborhood activities in North Redondo and urged the commission to support the proposal.

Commissioners asked detailed operational questions about lighting, vendor parking, traffic and senior access. Several commissioners warned about parking and possible traffic spillover onto adjacent neighborhood streets and encouraged robust signage and parking-wayfinding. Staff advised the commission that administrative permitting and a pilot period (organizers proposed six months, with a possible initial three-month permit under discussion) would be the likely path; organizers targeted late April to launch the market.

The commission voted to receive and file the farmers market report and to record support and asked staff to return with options for any formal commission action or a letter to the city council.

Next steps: staff will return with options for formal action and any recommended conditions; organizers plan additional outreach and to secure shared parking agreements and vendor commitments.