A draft specific plan for the southeast area of Long Beach near Alamitos Bay and the Los Cerritos Wetlands, is being released this month, according to city officials.

 

The plan, originally written in 1977 and officially adopted in 1980, is being updated after development proposals primarily at 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) at a site currently occupied by the aging Seaport Marina Hotel, have failed to move forward because of potential impacts on nearby wetlands and other issues.

 

Since 2014, local property owners, developers and environmentalists have collaborated through a citizens advisory committee to update the plan, which they have concurred is outdated and in need of revisions. The plan is now being called the Southeast Area Specific Plan (SEASP).

 

Advance Planning Officer Christopher Koontz told the Business Journal that the SEASP is to be completed by the end of the year, and is being released a few days before a community open house scheduled for Saturday, March 26, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Best Western Golden Sails Hotel at 6285 E. PCH. The open house comes after a scoping meeting was conducted for the city to receive community input last November.

 

A draft environmental impact report is expected to be released some time this summer.

 

“For over a year, the city has talked about land use changes to that area and a community vision,” Koontz said. “We’ve been hard at work putting together a document that ties all of that together and this will be a chance for the community to come and see that and ask questions.”

 

The SEASP, which encompasses an area including the Golden Sails, the Marina Pacifica mall and 2nd Street and PCH, requires approval from the California Coastal Commission that could take about a year after being completed by the city, Koontz said. The new plan revises past guidelines so there is more of a wide range of land uses, including wetlands conservation, commercial and residential uses, he said.

 

“The community vision all throughout this process is to create something that’s more walkable, has more landscaping and has more bike lanes, “ Koontz said. “The way you do that is through redeveloping those parcels and creating something that has a broader mix of uses, which includes retail but also residential and hotel uses.”

 

For more information on the SEASP, visit www.lbds.info or call 562/570-6288.

 

(*This story was updated on March 23)