Land Use Element: Planning Commission Vote and Recommendation

The Planning Commission unanimously voted to advance the Land Use Element maps, with recommended revisions, to the City Council. The recommendations, as a whole, lower the density further from what was proposed in the revised maps. Below are the Planning Commission recommendations, broken out by Council District to keep consistent with the maps:

Council District 2

• Reduce height on 7th Street from Walnut Avenue to St. Louis Avenue from five stories to three stories
• Change use, and therefore reduce density, on 7th Street from Walnut Avenue to St. Louis Avenue from Neighborhood Mixed Use Moderate Density to Neighborhood Mixed Use Low Density

Council District 4

• Change use on Bellflower Boulevard at Stearns Street (Sears) from Mixed Use to Community Commercial
• Change use of the properties fronting the actual traffic circle (such as the Audi dealership) from Mixed Use to Community Commercial
• Reduce height in Traffic Circle area from six stories to four stories (except existing buildings over 4 stories today)

Council District 5

• Change use on Bellflower Boulevard at Spring Street (Kmart/Lowes) from Mixed Use to Community Commercial and reduce height from three stories to two stories.

Council District 6

• Reduce height outside the Midtown Specific Plan borders roughly bounded by Pine Avenue, Earl Avenue, Burnett Street, and Willow Street from five stories to four stories
• Reduce height in area bound by Earl Avenue, Pacific Avenue (alley behind), and 25th Street from five stories to two stories and change use from Transit Oriented Development to Founding and Contemporary (single-family)
• Reduce height in area east of Midtown Specific Plan bounded by Pasadena Avenue, Linden Avenue, Nevada Street and Vernon Street from five stories to four stories
• Reduce height on Pacific Ave from 25th Street to 28th Street (outside of the Midtown Specific Plan) from four stories to three stories and change use from Transit Oriented Development to Neighborhood Mixed Use Low Density
• Reduce height on Pacific Ave from 20th Street to 25th Street from four stories to three stories and change use from Neighborhood Mixed Use Moderate Density to Neighborhood Mixed Use Low Density
• Reduce height in area bound by 20th Street Pacific Avenue, 19th Street and Locust Avenue from five stories to four stories

Staff will commence work on revising the maps according to the Planning Commission’s recommendations. This will take some time to ensure the recommendations are accurately incorporated into the maps. A date for when the Land Use Element maps will be brought to Council has yet to be determined and will be forthcoming.

For information on the Land Use Element visit http://www.longbeach.gov/lueude2040