The City of Rancho Palos Verdes contains some of the most beautiful coastline in Los Angeles County, woven together with rich natural lands, and civic and park spaces. Meléndrez has been retained to create an overarching vision, conceptual plans and design guidance addressing the City of Rancho Palos Verdes' Natural Communities Conservation Plan (NCCP) Preserve areas, together with key City sites and destinations including the City Hall complex at Upper Point Vicente, the Point Vicente Interpretive Center and Lighthouse properties, an Active Recreation area in Portuguese Bend, the Fishing Access site adjacent to the developing Terranea Resort property on the former site of Marineland, and Abalone Cove Park --all in all 1,500+ acres of planning area.

Via a series of interactive public workshops, together with meetings with individual stakeholder groups in the community, as well as City staff, a vision and goals for the planning area have been developed. The vision and goals will serve as a baseline against which planning, design and interpretive decisions relating to the planning area can be measured as the Plan is developed and implemented. With a vision in hand, Meléndrez has developed conceptual plans for the five key city sites addressed in the Plan, and prepared guidance for site and building design, pedestrian access and circulation, visitor amenities, interpretive and educational concepts, materials, signage, furnishings, hardscape and landscape palettes, and sustainable design principles. This coordinated effort will ensure that the unique experience of the precious coastline and open space areas of the City is preserved and enhanced for residents of, and visitors to, the Peninsula.