Long Beach · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Long Beach public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Long Beach Airport hangar and office expansion
A previously approved airport project wants to nearly double Hangar 1's size and build a bigger two-story office, cutting parking from 117 to 84 stalls but adding bike parking. The commission will decide whether it fits within the environmental review already done for the Globemaster Corridor area.
Substantial remodel loophole and aging housing stock
Advocates say landlords abuse the substantial remodel eviction ground — about 170 notices filed since April 2023, with many more unreported — while the apartment association argues it's a lawful, necessary tool for upgrading housing where 82% of stock predates 1980. Both sides agreed clearer definitions are needed.
100% Condo Participation Requirement
Owners in historic condo buildings like the Cooper Arms say the requirement that every single unit owner join a Mills Act contract lets one holdout block an entire building. Staff recommends keeping the rule, citing legal concerns and older contracts with sub-100% participation, but commissioners asked for further study of alternatives like supermajority HOA approval.
FY 2028-2032 HUD Consolidated Plan development
Long Beach is starting the year-long process of writing its next five-year plan for federal HUD money — funds that pay for affordable housing, homeless services, senior meals, after-school programs, and park improvements. Residents can shape it now through a multilingual survey open through March, community sessions in early 2027, and public hearings in the spring.
$4 million in affordable housing awards for North Long Beach
Three developers were selected to create or preserve 119 affordable units in North Long Beach — rehabbing two existing apartment buildings and buying land for 39 new family units. Rehab projects keep current tenants in place and lock in affordability for 55 years, or forever in the land trust's case.
Affordable housing production under Measure A
The city has finished 163 of its 540-unit five-year affordable housing goal, but 669 more units are under construction — meaning Long Beach should exceed its target at 124% once they're done. About half of those units are expected to be completed within the next year.
Affordable housing shortfall
Long Beach has met market-rate housing targets but only about 6% of its 15,000-unit affordable housing need, and applications for large new projects have dropped sharply since late 2024. Commissioners want better tracking of why entitled projects die before construction.
Housing affordability crisis for seniors and people with disabilities
The city has built only about 6% of the affordable housing it needs this cycle, and survey data show seniors and disabled residents face the greatest difficulty finding housing. Commissioners pressed staff on voucher acceptance by landlords, vacant buildings, and adaptive reuse.
Proposition 1 — Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond
An $11.25 billion state bond for affordable housing, veterans' home loans, and homelessness programs. The committee heard arguments for supporting it but ultimately took no position with the election three weeks away.
CoC Board recruitment
The CoC Board approved the City's FY 2026 funding recommendations, which will affect several currently funded programs, and is expanding by nine new seats with a solicitation for applicants opening soon.
Storm Damage and Housing Safety
Recent El Niño storms hit Southern California hard, causing bad flooding and forcing Long Beach to red-tag 13 homes due to safety hazards. With storm season just getting started, you'll want to keep an eye out for more extreme weather alerts.
Peninsula storm recovery and coastal erosion
Hurricane Marie dropped parts of the Peninsula beach by more than eight feet in two days, leaving over half a mile of beach and boardwalk damaged or inaccessible. Councilmember Duggan also pointed to longer-term coastal restoration projects that could better protect the coastline over the next 10 to 30 years.
Housing accessibility and reasonable accommodations
A renter described a landlord who refused to repair hazardous flooring, pressured her to move out, and left her son injured after a fall. The commission took her information to connect her with help.
Mayor's Fund grant applications for homeless services
Two nonprofit grant requests — $9,862.50 for Transformational Living Homes and $10,000 for Prep ED Programs Inc. — were set to go before the committee. Because the meeting was cancelled, the funding decisions are on hold until a future meeting.
635 South Street property purchase negotiation
The city is negotiating to purchase a property at 635 South Street from Muzmel, Inc. What the city plans to do with the site hasn't been made public.
Atlantic Avenue Property Dispositions
The city is negotiating terms of sale on eleven parcels along Atlantic Avenue in the 90805 area with a dozen parties, including housing and community organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Jamboree Housing. What gets built or sold there could reshape that corridor.
Pier B on-dock rail support facility right-of-way vacations
The Port needs four street segments in the Lower West Side vacated to build its rail support facility, which shifts cargo from trucks to trains. That should mean fewer truck trips and better air quality as port volumes grow. The City Council makes the final call after Public Works review.
Bluff Park garage and ADU project at 2515 East Ocean Boulevard
A homeowner will replace an old garage with a larger one topped by an 858-square-foot ADU in the Bluff Park Historic District. The commission approved it because the house and garage are non-contributing 1979 structures, but a neighbor across the alley says the new two-story building erases his family's ocean view.
LB Co-Lab neighborhood pilots
Three community-designed pilots are in their final phase: smart safety lighting along the Anaheim Business District, charging kiosks and hygiene kits for vulnerable residents, and a native-plant and beehive transformation of a vacant lot at 801 MLK Avenue.
$1 Million State Grant for Digital Inclusion for Residents with Disabilities
The city won a $1 million state budget grant to give residents with disabilities adaptive technology like screen readers and adaptive keyboards, one-on-one training, and a free computing device upon completion. It still needs City Council approval to accept and spend the funds.
Cross-commission collaboration on homeless services
The subcommittee plans to connect with other city commissions — disabilities, women and girls, seniors, equity — to align on homeless services recommendations, including inviting the disabilities commission to present its recommendations.
Merger creating the Office of Children and Youth
Starting October 1, the Office of Youth Development merges with Early Childhood Education into a new Office of Children and Youth serving ages zero to 24. Staff say the merger closes gaps for families with kids of different ages who previously had to navigate separate offices.
PLHA 2024-2028 Five-Year Housing Plan
Long Beach expects about $12.8 million in state housing funds over the next five years, and the plan sends 95% of it to new affordable rental construction. The city has only met 6% of its state-mandated affordable housing target for 2029, so this money is a down payment on a much bigger need.
Disability data survey completion
The commission's survey of Long Beachers with disabilities is at roughly 1,500 responses but needs 4,500 — 10% of the community — by May 1. Commissioners are being asked to tap every neighborhood group, church, and listserv they know to close the gap.
Emergency Housing Voucher transition to Housing Choice Vouchers
About 480 households using emergency housing vouchers were at risk of losing rental help when federal EHV funding ends. The Housing Authority found enough Section 8 funding to move them over starting November 1, with ~80 LA-based households absorbed by LA's housing authority — plus $480,000 in federal conversion bonuses.
2026 Annual Plan certification
The Housing Authority's yearly plan for HUD — no changes from last year, just an updated progress report on five-year goals — was certified and sent to the federal government.
Golden Shore development agreement compliance
The Golden Shore project near the shoreline is in year ten of its development agreement, valid until 2035. Work is underway to convert an office building into housing with 75 new units on top of a parking structure, though no new applications have come forward for the west side.
River Park Project development agreement compliance
The 226-home River Park project near the LA River includes a 4.81-acre public park the builder must develop and maintain, plus twelve very-low-income affordable units and Wrigley Dog Park upgrades. The commission affirmed the developer is meeting its obligations so far.
Stadium Redevelopment
Veterans Stadium is getting leveled to build a brand-new sports complex, which means local sports fans are saying goodbye to an old favorite. Get ready for a totally revamped athletic facility in Long Beach.
Measure A renter assistance and homelessness prevention funding
The city's new Renter Aid program drew 2,200 eligible applicants but can serve only about 250 people this year with roughly $2.5 million in assistance, forcing prioritization by urgency of need.
Fencing around Billie Jean King Main Library
A draft letter criticizes the roughly $800,000 fence around the Billie Jean King Main Library, which locked up shaded space people had used and displaced homeless residents. The letter asks the city to consult the committee and homeless services staff before future fencing projects and to provide shelter options before erecting barriers.
Scoring methodology for domestic violence providers
Presenters showed domestic violence is a leading driver of homelessness for women, with fewer than 1,000 survivor-specific interim beds countywide. The state HELP Act now requires cities like Long Beach to include survivor strategies in homelessness plans.
Transition planning for households losing housing assistance
New interim guidance creates a process to assess and match households losing aid (from reallocation, EHV wind-down, or funding cuts) to remaining resources so they don't return to homelessness.
FY 2026 HUD CoC competition reallocation of ~$4.8M
HUD's new funding rules are tied up in court, and without action every local homelessness program's funding would expire around July 2026. The board chose to lock in renewals through 2027 to buy time and protect housing and services for people experiencing homelessness.
FY 2026 CoC federal funding risk and reallocation strategy
HUD's new competition structure puts roughly $4.9 million of Long Beach's existing homeless projects at risk in Tier 2. The board approved a strategy to reallocate underperforming projects and transition rapid rehousing to transitional housing so renewals fit in Tier 1 — with a commitment to preventing displacement of residents.
CoC Board expansion for NOFO points
The board approved a charter expansion adding up to nine targeted seats — elected officials, business, law enforcement, health, workforce, and courts — to earn up to eight points on the federal application. Members worried a bigger board could worsen quorum problems.
Homelessness and equity
Commissioners agreed homelessness remains a core issue for the commission, noting Black residents are overrepresented among the unhoused. Staff will report back on how the commission's work can complement the Homelessness Services Advisory Committee.
Commission leadership transition
The commission's founding chair, Samantha Mehlinger, passed the gavel after two years, with Gonzalez, Mosqueda, and Anckle forming the new executive team for the coming term.
Classified applicant appeal process
The city is building a way for applicants to civil-service (classified) jobs to appeal being rejected at the minimum-qualification screening stage — a right unclassified applicants already have. It can't launch until all eleven labor unions agree, so there's no timeline yet.
Summer youth employment and training programs
LBWIN expects to serve 350-400 young people this summer through a Space Beach career expo with $1,000 incentives, up to 70 training scholarships worth $7,500 each, and partnerships with LBCC, Conservation Corps, and school districts.
Mayor's Fund grant awards and priorities
The subcommittee decided which homelessness nonprofits get donated city funds — approving one grant at a reduced amount and denying two others. Members are pushing the fund toward programs that directly house or serve people already on the street, rather than prevention or repeat small grants.
Amphitheater traffic, safety, and waterway impacts
The new downtown amphitheater is set to open in mid-June, and commissioners worry about freeway backups, emergency evacuation, sound carrying across the waterways, and conflicts with cruise ship movements. The city is exploring shuttles and ferry service from Rainbow Harbor.
Commission officer elections and departing member recognition
Two commissioners are leaving, and the committee discussed timing of officer elections so current members — not yet-seated newcomers — choose the next leadership. They also plan a recognition moment and possibly a Marina Reader blurb honoring the outgoing members' service.
Youth Navigation Center opening
The newly built Youth Navigation Center near PCH and Santa Fe has drainage and sewage backup issues from faulty plumbing. Repairs are starting, an RFP for a service provider has closed, and the goal is opening around April.
Economic stability and workforce development
The city's workforce bureau says only about 27% of local workers move into higher-paying roles within three years, and roughly 6,000 young people aren't working or in school. It offers training scholarships up to $6,000 and is building aerospace and creative-industry pipelines as thousands of new jobs come to Long Beach.
755 Orange Avenue garage/ADU project in Hellman Street Craftsman Historic District
A property owner wanted to replace a deteriorated one-car garage with a two-story, three-car garage topped by two ADUs. The Heritage Commission found the two-story structure too visually impactful for the historic district and blocked the demolition of the original garage. The owner can still build ADUs another way under state law, or appeal.
Passenger concourse enhancement project
The airport broke ground on a $37 million modernization of its passenger concourses — new seating with charging outlets, renovated restrooms, better signage, and a service animal relief station. It's funded partly by $24 million in federal grants and should wrap up before the 2028 Olympics.
Community Land Trust expansion in Long Beach
The Long Beach Community Land Trust, seeded with city funding two years ago, has secured its first building — an 11-unit apartment — and could tap a new LA County program worth $15 million annually. A local investment of about $500,000 could leverage roughly $7 million in county funds for around 30 permanently affordable units.
$10.7M Measure A housing and renter protection funding
Long Beach is getting about $10.7 million in year-one Measure A dollars through LACAHSA — $5 million for new affordable housing, $2.2 million for emergency rental aid launching April 13, $1.4 million for eviction-defense legal help, and youth homelessness prevention starting in June.
Inclusionary housing alternative compliance at 400 E. Anaheim
The council accepted Coastal Commission-required changes to the inclusionary housing ordinance so affordable housing rules can finally take effect in the coastal zone — a process that takes another year or two of state review.