Belmont Pool Project Faces Funding Gap, Lawsuit

Facing a more than $40 million funding gap and a lawsuit filed by residents over a controversial location, the city’s $103 million project to replace the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool is moving slowly through the state approval process. If all goes as planned, city officials hope construction on a new pool facility may begin as soon as 2020.

After several delays and nearly a year after the Long Beach City Council approved an environmental impact report (EIR) on the project last May, the city is expected to submit a coastal development permit application to the California Coastal Commission in the next few months, said Eric Lopez, project manager for the city’s public works department, in an email to the Beachcomber.

Coastal commission staff is expected to review the application this year and schedule the item for a public hearing at an undetermined future meeting, he said. According to an online project timeline, the state and city approval process may take up to two years. If all development permits are approved, a final bid for construction may be awarded at the earliest by summer or fall 2020.

The original cost estimate for the new indoor/outdoor pool facility to be called the Belmont Beach and Aquatic Center is $103 million, however, the final cost estimate is expected to be revised upon coastal commission approval, Lopez said. To date, the city council has budgeted approximately $60 million for the project, leaving a more than $40 million funding gap.

To fill the funding gap, the city has hired Sacramento-based Lester Consulting Group, which has offices in Long Beach, to evaluate potential fundraising opportunities, he said. In addition, the city is evaluating grants and other funding opportunities, Lopez noted, adding that the city anticipates additional tidelands oil funding will be available for the project “when the price of oil increases substantially.”

The new pool complex is being built to replace the city’s former Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool that was shut down in 2013 and demolished more than a year later after studies deemed the facility a public safety hazard due to structural deficiencies. The former pool facility had been in existence since the late 1960s after residents agreed to its location through a citywide vote.

Designed by architects with input from a stakeholder committee of aquatics groups and residents, the proposed 5.8-acre pool complex is expected to feature a 125,500 square-foot natatorium within a contemporary elliptical or dome-like structure resembling a “bubble.”

After the city council approved the project’s EIR and denied several appeals filed by residents, however, a group called Citizens About Responsible Planning (CARP) filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court last June, challenging the city’s certification of the EIR and forwarding appeals against the project to the coastal commission.

Opponents stated during a public hearing at city council last year that the city should reevaluate the project’s proposed beachfront location.

While raising concerns about increased traffic and obstruction of views, opponents stated that the project’s high price-tag is mainly due to the pool facility having to withstand sea-level rise, wave refraction and shoreline erosion. Opponents stated that the pool complex should be built in a more suitable location elsewhere in the city, such as downtown.

Assistant City Manager Tom Modica stated during the public hearing that the city had received a letter from the coastal commission regarding potential concerns, including: analysis of alternative locations; height and view corridor obstructions; local coastal plan conformance; and potential sea-level rise and wave uprush issues. He said the city has had “several meetings with coastal staff” and plans to respond to such concerns in its coastal development permit application.

Lopez told the Beachcomber that the coastal commission staff is expected to “review the application for completeness” later this year. Once the application is deemed complete, the coastal commission will notify the city and schedule the item for a public hearing at a future coastal commission meeting.

Despite the appeals and funding challenges, however, Mayor Robert Garcia has listed the pool project as part of an initiative called “8 by 28,” which focuses on completing eight critical projects in Long Beach in anticipation of partnering with Los Angeles to host the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

At a city council meeting on Feb. 6, Garcia announced the initiative, stating that the pool will “serve as a showcase for Olympic history and is expected to be widely used for city exhibitions and events.”

Other projects in the initiative include: rebuilding the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier: rebuilding lifeguard towers; reconstructing three beach concession areas; refurbishing the Long Beach Arena; allowing private construction of a new hotel near the Convention Center; along with new improvements to Long Beach Airport and the Metro Blue Line.

During the city council meeting, Modica said the city is currently in the design phase of overhauling beach concessions on three separate areas from Alamitos Beach to Belmont Shore, adding that the projects are expected to go before the coastal commission and break ground by the end of the year.

“We’ve been working on some pretty stunning designs on how to engage people on our beach to come and visit concessions and to be able to have a great experience,” Modica said.

He said the initiative provides the city with a “vision” for development projects over the next decade in preparing to co-host the 2028 Olympics. City staff is expected to report back to the city council in the next few months to provide an update on details of the eight projects as well as final agreements regarding the city’s partnership with the Los Angeles Olympic Committee.

“By passing this, the council will give us some guidance on what those priorities are going to be on focusing on the Olympics,” Modica said. “We’ll come back with a report on where we are, what else we need to do and how we plan to close some of those funding gaps.”

sean@beachcomber.news