Remember the advisory vote in Redondo Beach two years ago, when residents opted for a park over a mixed-use development plan at the AES power plant site? You'll be happy to know that those of us who pitched that plan have been working very hard all this time to build the political will and raise the money necessary to make it happen.

The effort is alive and well, and with help from various government agencies and surrounding communities, this is entirely doable.

The passage of propositions 84 and 1C in November was a watershed event for us. More than $3 billion in state funding is now available for park and open-space projects. When the state budget is passed next month, the race will be on for projects everywhere to win some of these funds.

Some don't agree that the state should be spending our money for parks and open space, like the $11 million it provided for the Portuguese Bend Preserve. But that battle has been fought, and the war is over. The passage last fall of the propositions leaves only one question: Where is the money going to be spent?

This is where the success of Redondo's government representatives is key.

We are very fortunate to have the help of the state Coastal Conservancy. This is the state agency that has been instrumental in projects all along the California coast, like Bolsa Chica and the Hearst Ranch land in San Luis Obispo County.

We can thank Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, and our former state senator and now the secretary of state, Debra Bowen, for this. Both wrote letters requesting state assistance. South Bay Rep. Jane Harman has expressed her support, and City Council members from neighboring cities, like Michael Keegan of Hermosa Beach and Jim Aldinger of Manhattan Beach, have too. And the Sierra Club recently formed the South Bay Open Space Task Force to address this specific project. The coalition is building.

Later this month, the Coastal Conservancy will meet with Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin and others to discuss a funding matrix requested by our City Council. Next, the Redondo Council and other cities, like Hermosa Beach, need to pass resolutions of support for the conservancy's continued work here. These resolutions will reinforce the commitment of our community to increase open space in this area and will be important to our efforts to bring other available funds to our community.

As one can imagine, it will be a very competitive landscape. The most competitive projects will provide multiple benefits for the community and the environment. Multiple benefits include construction of new parks in densely populated areas that are also park-poor, habitat and wetland restoration in degraded areas, such as the Santa Monica Bay, and mitigation of polluted industrial sites, particularly those on our coast.

We are very fortunate in Redondo Beach to have just such a project. The old and rarely operating AES power plant sits atop of what used to be a wetland and salt marsh that is now a California State Landmark, No. 373. The groundwater and soil are contaminated. And this part of Los Angeles County is certainly park-poor.

A recent report funded and conducted by the USC Center for Sustainable Cities, "The Green Visions Plan for 21st Century Southern California," inventoried park and open space throughout Los Angeles County, including parts of Ventura and Orange counties. Of the 11 subregions categorized, the South Bay was ranked third to last for park acreage per thousand residents, and grouped with the inner-city areas of East Los Angeles and South L.A. A special note on page 113, points out that the "South Bay does not typically fit" into this category given its higher income and demographics. And yes, folks, our poor rating includes the beaches.

We are also the most densely populated area on the entire California coast. Hermosa Beach has more than 13,000 residents per square mile. Redondo and Manhattan Beach are not far behind, with more than 10,000 residents per square mile. A project there would serve many, and lie adjacent to Pacific Coast Highway with 80,000 cars per day driving by.

If you still think converting some if not all of this underused site to open space is a pipe dream, may I suggest a drive up to Ormond Beach in Oxnard, where various development plans over many years have given way to more than 300 acres of open space on Oxnard's coastline, purchased by past bond measures like the above. Oxnard even had a 65-acre tank farm restored for public use - land similar to the AES property. Almost all of this land was privately owned, and the owners became willing sellers when the funds became available and the public support was clear.

Or take a shorter trip down to Huntington Beach, where another tank farm was restored, and now there are several large hotels surrounded by wetlands - wetlands purchased by a variety of sources, including past bond measures like the above. Go to www.hbwc.org to learn more about the success stories.

There were no local tax increases or special assessments in either of these examples, but local conservancies and a determined citizenry who saw the value in restoring their coastline convinced the state and others to help make it happen. The South Bay needs to do the same. It's our turn.

This project will not happen fast, but it will happen eventually with continued support and enthusiasm from the public.

This is our chance to leave something of real value for future generations. Keep a close eye on things as they unfold. South Bay residents' support will be crucial to the success of this incredible opportunity.

Bill Brand is president of the South Bay Parkland Conservancy (www.southbayparks.org).