Planning Commission Approves Land Use Proposal

The Long Beach City Council will get a chance to determine whether to approve the Land Use Element Proposal, after the Long Beach Planning Commission voted unanimously, 6-0, to advance the proposal on Monday, Dec. 11.

The LUE proposal is meant to bring changes to Districts 2, 4, 5 and 6, with District 6 receiving the most changes. This proposal is meant to comply with state-mandated housing increase, with the goal being over 28,000 new housing units by 2040., even though most of the changes are for commercial and mixed use.

According to a letter from the Building Healthy Communities: Long Beach sent to the Beachcomber, Long Beach needs to produce 5,440 affordable housing units between 2014-2021 after the city was informed by the Southern California Association of Governments. According to the letter, Long Beach is nowhere near that goal since – as of 2014 – the city has only produced approximately 500 new housing units.

The approval, however, comes in the wake after several revisions were made dating back to the original proposal in February. Since the original proposal, LUE has gone through four revisions, with this December revision being the fourth one and perhaps final depending on the city council’s decision.

The changes include:

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

However, no changes were made to Districts 1, 3 and 7 through 9.

According to District 5 Councilwoman Stacy Mungo in her report titled “Neighborhood News,” Mungo considers this decision to be a huge victory.

“While some council districts had no change, our community was united and together we were able to preserve 53 acres at two story community commercial only,” Mungo wrote in her report. “This is a huge win.”

In an email sent to the Beachcomber by James Suazo, Associate Director of Building Healthy Communities: Long Beach, prior to the vote, Suazo wrote that “11 local community organizations submitted a letter to the City of Long Beach Planning Commission and City Council calling for the passage of the Land Use and Urban Design Element with stronger language regarding equitable density, affordable housing, renter protections and targeted economic development.”

Despite the approval by the Planning Commission, a large group of people were in attendance at the Dec. 11 meeting with the majority being against the proposal.

At least 100 people spoke during public comment, with the public comment section for the proposal lasting from 5:30 to 9:45 p.m., which included a 15-minute break.

The LUE proposal will now advance to the city council as they will get a chance to vote on whether the proposal gets approved or not. The date for the LUE proposal vote has yet to be determined.

grester@beachcomber.news