The story
History
The South Bay area was originally inhabited by the Tongva tribe of Native Americans. Archeological work in the nearby Chowigna excavation show evidence of inhabitants as far back as 7,100 years ago. The Chowigna band of Tongva used the site of today's Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach (formerly Nike missile site LA-57 from 1956 to 1963) as a lookout place. The wetlands located at the site of the retired AES power plant in Redondo Beach were a source of foods including halibut, lobster, and sea bass, and also of salt.
The Tongva village of Ongovanga or Onoova-nga, meaning "Place of Salt," was located near a salt lake the old Redondo Salt Lake, "a spring-fed salt lake about 200 yards [180 m] wide and 600 yards [550 m] long situated about 200 yards from the ocean". Up through the 1700s, the Chowigna bartered salt from the lake with other tribes.
The Chowigna were relocated to missions in 1854, when Manuel Dominguez sold 215 acres (87 ha) of Rancho San Pedro, including the lake, to Henry Allanson and William Johnson for the Pacific Salt Works.
In 1983, the city of Redondo Beach adopted a resolution "recognizing the Goodyear Airship Columbia (aka Goodyear blimp) as the "Official Bird of Redondo Beach."
In 2022, the Redondo Beach government (along with the governments of Torrance, Carson, and Whittier) sued the California state government, seeking to block the California HOME Act (SB 9), which permits the construction of duplexes and fourplexes on lots. Former Redondo Beach mayor Bill Brand argued that there is no housing crisis in Redondo Beach.
In 2023, Redondo Beach rejected an application to transform the lot of an aging waterfront power plant into a village-style complex of 2,700 residential units (including 540 affordable units) and commercial space on the grounds that the application was incomplete. The City was sued by "Yes in My Backyard," but the lawsuit is unresolved as the property is in bankruptcy hearings.
Bill Brand became mayor of Redondo Beach after spearheading the effort to block a 525,000 square foot mall project in King Harbor. Brand had also successfully negotiated a reduction in the number of apartment units in a mixed use development along PCH. The city's residents and political leaders have long advocated to retire the plant and allow it to be restored to its natural wetland state. The city has also participated in legal proceedings to preserve its ability to participate in residential zoning decisions, including the discretion to regulate single-family homes from being transformed by for-profit developers into "six-on-a-lots."
In 2024, Redondo Beach became the first city to achieve "Functional Zero" homelessness in LA County. South Bay Council of Governments (SBCOG) defines "Functional Zero" as more people exiting homelessness than entering it, and also requires that the median time in homelessness be less than 90 days. SBCOG noted Redondo's transitional pallet shelters, "Homeless Court", Project Homekey permanent supportive housing, and other homeless services.
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2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Redondo Beach had a population of 71,576. The median age was 40.9 years. 20.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.9 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 29,472 households in Redondo Beach, of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.1% were married-couple households, 20.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 30,999 housing units, of which 4.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.4%.
2010 census
The 2010 United States census reported that Redondo Beach had a population of 66,748. The population density was 10,751.1 inhabitants per square mile (4,151.0/km2). The racial makeup of Redondo Beach was 49,805 (74.6%) White (65.2% Non-Hispanic White), 1,852 (2.8%) African American, 291 (0.4%) Native American, 8,004 (12.0%) Asian, 199 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 2,725 (4.1%) from other races, and 3,872 (5.8%) from two or more races. There were 10,142 residents of Hispanic or Latino ancestry, of any race (15.2%).
The Census reported that 66,317 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 367 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 64 (0.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 29,011 households, out of which 7,825 (27.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 12,507 (43.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,515 (8.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,207 (4.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,904 (6.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 179 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 9,252 households (31.9%) were made up of individuals, and 2,145 (7.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29. There were 16,229 families (55.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.94.
Redondo Beach had 12,887 people (19.3%) under the age of 18, 4,198 people (6.3%) aged 18 to 24, 23,149 people (34.7%) aged 25 to 44, 19,532 people (29.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,982 people (10.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.
There were 30,609 housing units at an average density of 4,930.2 units per square mile (1,903.6 units/km2), of which 14,917 (51.4%) were owner-occupied, and 14,094 (48.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%. 36,796 people (55.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 29,521 people (44.2%) lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States census, Redondo Beach had a median household income of $99,496, with 5.4% of the population living below the federal poverty line.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 63,261 people, 28,566 households, and 15,254 families residing in the city. The population density was 10,065.4 inhabitants per square mile (3,886.3/km2). There were 29,543 housing units at an average density of 4,700.6 units per square mile (1,814.9 units/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 78.6% White, 9.1% Asian, 2.5% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 4.4% from other races, and 4.6, % from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 13.5% of the population.
There were 28,566 households, out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.6% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city, 18.8% of the population was under the age of 18; 6.1%, aged 18 to 24; 43.1%, aged 25 to 44; 23.6%, aged 45 to 64; and 8.5% aged 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $93,274, and the median income for a family was $108,753. Males had a median income of $56,796 versus $45,204 for females. The per capita income for the city was $38,305. About 4.0% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.2% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.
From Wikipedia’s article on Redondo Beach, California, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5