Manhattan rejects Artesia Blvd name change, OK’s another

by Caroline Anderson

In the course of one evening, the city council rejected one proposed street name change and approved another.

The council spent little time discussing the more major proposed change of one of the city’s busiest roads, Artesia Boulevard, to Redondo Beach Boulevard, before deciding against it. Then the council spent at least an hour evaluating the name change of a side street near the Marriott Hotel from Park Way to Marriott Drive.

The North Redondo Beach Business Association proposed changing the name of Artesia Boulevard, which runs along the border between Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach, in an effort to draw business. The council unanimously signed a resolution opposing the move.

The issue was raised at an earlier meeting and put on the agenda for May 19. City staff returned with a proposed declaration, which the council approved after hearing from a couple of residents against the change.

Both residents gave the same reasons for opposing the change: the presence of the city’s only high school on the artery, and the amount of money that would be involved with the switch.

Karen Komatinsky, a member of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Education, said that while the proposal might seem minor, the cost to would be “enormous” to the school, which would have to change all its stationary and publication materials.

Further, she said, the school’s “cross-town rival is Redondo Beach High School.”

“To have Mira Costa High School sit on Redondo Beach Boulevard would be unseemly,” she said. “As Artesia is important to Redondo Beach, this specific stretch is critical to Manhattan Beach” and the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, she said.

A former Mira Costa grad and current Manhattan Beach resident, Steve Nicholson, echoed her comments.

When the council’s turn came to comment, Councilmember David Lesser wondered if it was appropriate for them to comment on the proposal since the Redondo Beach City Council had not yet taken up the issue.

“What we’re doing is something peremptory,” he said.

Mayor Pro Tem Mark Burton said that although he sympathized with the North Redondo Beach Business Association’s goal, he had to reject its proposal.

“They want to activate the commercial potential of their corridor,” he said. “I have no objection to that,” but still couldn’t say yes.

He also cited the statement in the staff report that Redondo Beach probably wouldn’t follow through with the change if Manhattan Beach rejected it, since each city owns half of the street.

“A name change to only one side of the street would be extremely confusing and highly unlikely to ever come to fruition,” said the report.

The council voted 5-0 to oppose the suggested change.

Next came the proposal by the Manhattan Beach Marriott to change the name of the street leading to its property to Marriott Drive, which inspired considerably more dialogue. Much of the disagreement centered over the possible precedent set by the move, which would mark the first time a city street would have the name of a commercial business, versus the benefit of helping a business that brings the city $3 million per year.

The general manager of the Marriott, Jeff Hart, sent a letter to the city manager last July requesting the name change. He said that the street sign on Rosecrans Avenue was incorrect and needed to be changed anyway, and he offered to pick up the tab. Currently, the sign on the westbound side of Rosecrans labels the two roads leading off it as “Nash/Park Way,” even though Park Way is to the left and Nash is to the right.

“The hotel and the golf course are a major part of the community and we are continually hearing from our guests that it is difficult to find (or worse yet, they didn’t know that we are here in Manhattan Beach),” wrote Hart.

The city’s Parking and Public Improvements Commission reviewed the request in February and recommended that the council rename Park Way to Marriott Drive.

City Manager Mark Danaj told the council that a change that would help the hotel would help the city. The hotel rents the land from the city and a percentage of its revenue goes to the city in the form of taxes. It also frequently donates to local organizations.

“The focus is to drive traffic and make the property as successful as possible so the public reaps the benefit,” said Danaj.

Unlike with the proposed name change of Artesia Boulevard, no other properties have addresses on the 350-foot-long street. However, it does lead to the parking lots of a couple of businesses, as Mayor Wayne Powell underscored.

“I don’t care how much an organization makes, to name a street after a commercial business would the first time,” he said. “It’s not a private driveway that goes solely into the Marriott.”

He compared the request to that made by Donald Trump to rename the road outside his Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, which the Palos Verdes council denied.

Ultimately, those in favor outnumbered those against, with Councilmembers Tony D’Errico, Amy Howorth and Burton voting to change Park Way to Manhattan Beach Marriott Drive and to install a sign directing people to the hotel, golf course and Manhattan Country Club, which sits next to the hotel.

The estimated cost is $4,000, which Marriott Manager Hart said the hotel would cover. ER