Playa Del Rey Guardians Society, Inc. (the “Foundation”) has been formed to protect, preserve, promote and enhance the scenic beauty, natural resources, historical and cultural resources, recreational facilities, unique character and community of Playa Del Rey, California and the surrounding areas.

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Playa Del Rey is a small, village like beach community located between Los Angeles International Airport and Marina Del Rey.   As such, Playa Del Rey has or is immediately adjacent to and affects numerous ecologically sensitive resources including the Pacific Ocean, beach and dunes habitat, the Ballona Wetlands and a tidal lagoon and park.  Playa Del Rey also has extensive coastal bluffs which are visible from the beach and provide both public and private views and scenic vistas of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica basin.  The Foundation seeks to understand how best to preserve and protect these resources and to educate the local community regarding the existence and stewardship of these resources. 

As a beach community, Playa Del Rey faces unique challenges with street parking limitations and limited modes of ingress and egress making long-term traffic planning difficult.  The Foundation seeks to obtain and disseminate objective measures of these problems as they uniquely affect Playa Del Rey and to educate the community regarding realistic strategies to address these issues.

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Playa Del Rey is also home to a number of cultural and historical resources, including a standing example of “street car” adjacent commercial development, a charming brick and mortar two story building, built around 1904, which is the last remaining building from the initial development of Playa Del Rey.   Playa Del Rey is also home to the Dickinson and Gillespie Building, which has been designated a City of Los Angeles Monument.  The Foundation seeks first to determine what are the cultural, historical and other unique resources of Playa Del Rey, obtain confirming documentation and photographic support and then to educate the community regarding the existence of and stewardship of these resources.

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Playa Del Rey is subject to a number of Los Angeles City Plans, including the Westchester-Playa Del Rey Community Plan, the Coastal Bluffs Specific Plan and the Del Rey Lagoon Specific Plan.  These plans were written to preserve the small village look and feel and scenic resources of Playa Del Rey and address area specific parking and traffic concerns and protect the environment.  The Foundation seeks to promote public awareness of the contents of these plans as they relate to Playa Del Rey and ensure that these plans are followed for the benefit of Playa Del Rey.

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Because Playa Del Rey has retained its unique village character, it is home to several underdeveloped or undeveloped lots which face development in the current economic wave.  The Foundation seeks to ensure the community is aware of these development plans and educated regarding how these plans will affect Playa Del Rey as a community.