Redondo Beach, CA Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

The Riviera Village overlay layers onto whatever base zone already governs a lot. 1315. 1300 states the overlay's purpose plainly: maintaining the Village as a local-serving commercial zone with a distinct village-like environment characterized by a high level of pedestrian activity. 1320 then converts that purpose into approval findings. No development needing Planning Commission or City Council review can be approved unless staff and the reviewing body find the project compatible with the general design and bulk of surrounding structures in the same underlying zone, and sited and designed to convey a village character.

The section lists nine tools the city looks for: siting structures around pedestrian walkways and courtyards, arcades and additional setbacks along the street frontage, multiple building volumes to avoid box-like massing, extensive facade modulation, roofline and height variation, a unified architectural style, clearly identified entrances, extensive landscaping including planters and window boxes, and pedestrian-scaled signage. , effective January 18, 1996, with the boundary map amended by Ordinance 2819, effective May 21, 1998. Because the base zone's own standards remain fully in force, a Riviera Village applicant works from two rulebooks at once: the underlying commercial zone's numeric standards and this overlay's design findings.