October 18 marked the last of four community outreach meetings requested by Mayor Robert Garcia and the Long Beach Planning Commission to gather additional input regarding the proposed Land Use Element as part of the General Plan. At least 1,000 individuals attended these meetings, some more than one, according to Long Beach Planning Bureau Advance Planning Officer Christopher Koontz.
“I think it’s been well reported that meetings haven’t been exactly what we anticipated but what’s been really positive about them is that we have been able to speak to a lot more people,” Koontz said. “There have been a lot of questions and anger in the room, especially in the town hall.”
The mass amount of community participation due to the anger over proposed building heights and increased density allowed city staff to disseminate more information than ever before, Koontz explained. He said any public outreach is positive and staff is happy with the outcome of the additional meetings.
Koontz explained that it is important to staff that residents understand that they were heard and that more than 200 written comments, as well as feedback from the town halls and workshops, are being compiled. He said a document reflecting community input should be released around November 1, to assure the public that staff has taken all concerns, questions and comments into consideration.
“We’re going to be making changes to the maps, which we’ve said all along. People will see changes throughout the city,” Koontz said. “Obviously, the vast majority of comments we received had to do with the east side of the city – Council Districts 4 and 5 – but we’re trying to listen to every comment and make reflective changes throughout the whole city. [The maps] also will be out in early November.”
The update to the Land Use Element, as well as the overall General Plan, is required by the state, with the key focus being to address California’s housing shortage by increasing the number of housing units. With specific housing goals in mind, Koontz said that reducing building heights and density in certain areas does not necessarily mean density would be shifted to other areas.
If an area designated to allow a five-story development is reduced to four stories, Koontz said the same number of units could be accommodated if they have different building standards. If heights are more drastically reduced, he noted there would be changes in other areas to make up the difference. However, Koontz explained that staff is confident that changes can be made that residents would be comfortable with, without disrupting the city’s ability to achieve its goals.
Additionally, regarding some residents’ comments about acknowledging the state’s housing crisis but not wanting increased population and density in Long Beach, Koontz explained that most of the housing needs in the city are for existing residents, not new residents.
Once updated maps are put into circulation, some residents have questioned whether or not there will be continued community outreach on the new proposal. Koontz explained that remains to be seen, but that the planning commission and other officials need a formal update on progress regardless.
“We need to at least update the planning commission and let them know where we are. Then the planning commission and the mayor and the city manager are going to have to help us come to a conclusion on what’s next,” Koontz said. “We don’t have additional outreach meetings scheduled or contemplated at this time, but if the decision makers ask us to do that, we’ll be glad to do that.”
A date for city staff to report to the planning commission has not been set; however, Koontz noted the city is expecting a crowd larger than can be accommodated in the council chambers at city hall. To ensure space for all members of the public wishing to attend, Koontz said staff is looking into holding the meeting at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. He added staff is hoping for the item to be on a November commission meeting agenda. n