Capital Projects - Revitalization of Mother's Beach and Marina Improvements

The Mother’s Beach Boat Restroom/Non-motorized Boat Storage Project (Project) will enhance recreational opportunities and community gathering space at Mother’s Beach. In response to the negative physical and mental health impacts of COVID-19 isolation, the project provides enhanced access to outdoor recreation at Mother's Beach in Marina del Rey. Namely, improvements are being made to support non-motorized boating activities such as kayaking, rowing, and stand-up paddleboarding. Recreational activities such as kayaking and rowing are social in nature and have enjoyed increasing popularity in the recovery from COVID-19. The project will both replace and enhance existing access to water recreation at Mother's Beach. In addition, an existing vacant office space is being rehabilitated into an expanded new outdoor covered patio to provide a flexible venue for future educational and recreational programming as well as potential future ceremonial use by local Native American Indian tribal members. The project also features improvements to the waterfront promenade between existing picnic facilities and the project's renovated building including Americans with Disabilities Act compliant access ramps. The project is strategically located with access from nearby Lincoln Boulevard (State Route 1) and the Marina Expressway (State Route 90) and public parking lots which serve the vast majority of visitors who arrive via personal vehicles. In addition, this will be one of the first construction projects completed under Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell's July 12, 2022, motion “Aligning Marina del Rey (MdR) with Los Angeles County Priorities for Equity and Inclusion”, now referred to as MdR for All. This Board initiative aims to establish a plan for the long-term, holistic redevelopment of MdR with a focus on equity and inclusion to reduce recreational barriers and improve its accessibility, particularly for historically underserved communities. The Project will encompass the renovation of the existing 700 sq. ft. office and public restroom building located at 14110 Palawan Way in Marina del Rey. The water side of the building will be open on three sides to create a multi-functional community space that can double as a classroom and staging area to provide opportunities for future programming including potential use by Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors’ (DBH) Russell Walker Water Awareness, Training, Education & Recreation Program (WATER Program). The WATER Program is named after the late Mr. Walker, a former Assistant Chief County Lifeguard who established the program in 1986 to encourage youth from diverse backgrounds to pursue ocean related careers, as he himself did in 1965 when he became LA County’s first Black lifeguard. The program has grown considerably since then, serving up to 6,000 youth per year from disadvantaged communities or non-geographically concentrated populations e.g., persons with disabilities by teaching ocean safety skills through activities like kayaking, ocean/marina paddling, and sailing. The new community space is also identified for potential future ceremonial/educational use by local native American Indian tribal members. The paths along the facility’s perimeter will be upgraded to comply with current accessibility standards which will connect to a new accessible path and incorporate stormwater capture and filtration improvements to advance water quality improvement goals for the Marina, and especially at this popular beach location. The existing public restrooms will be renovated to provide conforming door widths for building accessibility and placements of new curbs & guardrails. The Project also involves replacement and reconfiguration of the surrounding elevated dry boat storage racks serving the public to increase capacity, the inclusion of a public rinse off area that will capture and filtration of the runoff before it enters the marina, and a new direct ADA conforming path of travel from the existing promenade to the boat docking entry. In addition, the renovation will provide a permanent boat wash area with integrated improvements to capture and clean the runoff before it enters the harbor, and rentable storage amenities for use by the various boating clubs present in the community. One of the stated goals of MdR for All is to “increase or enhance park and open spaces for public enjoyment [through the] expansion of public recreation spaces at Mother’s Beach […] in order to activate a more vibrant waterfront with an array of free and low-cost recreational and community programming accessible to all.” The Project will allow DBH to create an expanded functional community space for programming, education, and recreation opportunities at no or low cost to the public. During the COVID-19 pandemic, isolation and social distancing became the norm. Many individuals began to feel the long-term impact of isolation on their mental and physical well-being. The need for more access to outdoor recreation became more evident and important as a means of improving individuals’ quality of life. The improvements to Mother’s Beach will improve the opportunities and access to water programs provided by local rowing communities and DBH. The ability to expose the community to canoeing, kayaking, paddle boards, and outrigger boats as alternative outdoor activities.