Long Beach · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Long Beach public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Historic El Niño and community storm preparedness
Forecasters expect a historic El Niño, with king tides falling on Thanksgiving and Christmas week. The city is running pre-season sandbag giveaways, pushing Alert Long Beach sign-ups, and teaching residents to build go bags and stay kits before storms hit.
Flood Cleanup
City crews in Long Beach are rushing to clean up flood damage before high tides hit again. If you live near the coast, expect some street closures.
Coastal erosion and managed retreat on the Peninsula
Successive December-through-February storms have squeezed the Peninsula beach down to the width of a dump truck in places. Staff said dredging will re-nourish the beach, and consultants are developing best management practices for ongoing backpassing and berm maintenance.
Hurricane Rachel storm response
Weekend storm surge flooded the Peninsula and Naples areas, red-tagging eight homes. Utility crews staffed the sewer station, sealed manholes, and shut off water and gas to damaged homes — no sewer system failures occurred.
Airport sustainability performance
The airport is ahead of its pollution and carbon goals — already at 67% carbon reduction versus a 40%-by-2030 target — and halved electricity costs at parking structure B. Staff are exploring battery storage to keep the airport running during outages.
Westside Promise Initiative progress and accountability
The ten-year, place-based investment plan for West Long Beach is three years in, with park upgrades, tree plantings, and night markets — but residents say there are no measurable benchmarks and that pollution and clean air must come first.
Storm Preparation
This year's El Niño is the strongest on record by ocean temperature readings, and king tides around Thanksgiving and Christmas could magnify storm damage along the coast. The city is shifting to proactive sandbag distribution with pre-filled bags at multiple locations, and urging residents to sign up for Alert Long Beach and build emergency kits.
50th anniversary of the California Coastal Act
The committee wants to invite former Coastal Commissioner Mel Mutter to speak at the next meeting, marking 50 years of the Coastal Act — Long Beach certified the state's first local coastal plan. A certificate of recognition is planned.
Sea level rise and flooding preparedness
Long Beach faces long-term flood risk from sea level rise, and its storm drain system — some of it a century old — can't handle today's intense storms. Upgrading it could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, with a master plan update going out to bid this spring.
Storm-related overtime costs
Recent storms generated overtime for marina staff that will hit both FY26 and FY27 budgets. The committee asked staff to break out storm costs by equipment and manpower at a future meeting.
Climate change and public service focus
New President Gloria Cordero asked staff and commissioners to keep climate change and equitable public service front of mind, citing Colorado River supply pressures and El Niño.
Peninsula beach dredging and dune restoration
Commissioners want the city to explore dune restoration — rather than rock revetments — to keep sand on Peninsula Beach, and asked staff to contact the Santa Monica Bay Foundation for a community presentation.
AI and Data Privacy website
The city is about to launch a dedicated website explaining how it uses AI and protects resident data, closing an 'information trust gap' found in community surveys. It will spotlight the digital rights platform showing what data city technologies collect.
NSF-funded privacy assistant app
A nearly $1.5 million NSF grant with Cal State Long Beach and Carnegie Mellon is building an app that lets residents actually exercise data rights — request deletion, corrections, and opt-outs — rather than just see what data city tech collects.
Airport noise and fly-friendly compliance
Over 20,000 noise complaints were logged in July, mostly from the 90807 zip code. Staff described voluntary fly-friendly education, tower coordination, and daily monitoring of touch-and-go versus taxi-back operations. Residents say noise remains unbearable near flight paths.
Leaded fuel health concerns
A resident urged the commission to investigate leaded aviation fuel falling on neighborhoods and schools near the airport, noting the FAA's 2030 target for ending leaded fuel and the city health department's inaction.
Demolition of the SERRF facility
The shuttered Southeast Resource Recovery Facility is being torn down, and this contract sets that in motion. Once demolition is complete, the joint powers authority that runs SERRF will dissolve — ending a long-running city-district partnership.
Demolition of the Southeast Resource Recovery Facility
The SERRF fund ran out of revenue years ago and can't fully cover demolition and wind-down costs. The city and the LA County Sanitation Districts have a tentative deal — the district pays up to $1 million, the city covers the rest — but it still needs approval from both governing bodies.
Right-of-way landscaping practices
A new five-member ad hoc committee will study how the city handles landscaping in public rights-of-way such as parkways and medians. The work could shape climate-resilient, water-wise street landscaping standards.
Alamitos Bay entrance channel dredging
Last year's bids came in over budget ($13-14 million), so the city applied for a $5 million state Coastal Conservancy grant and is re-advertising the bid. Dredged sand will stay on Long Beach beaches.
Lineage Warehouse fire runoff and water quality
Toxic runoff from the Boyle Heights warehouse fire flowed into the LA River system and reached Long Beach waters, with residents swimming and fishing for days before notification. The council is pushing for a cleanup order and better regional notification protocols.
Tree canopy and basic services
Long Beach's tree canopy covers just 10.1% of the city, with the least shade in central, west, and north Long Beach — the same neighborhoods facing the most heat. Reaching a 13% target would take roughly 42,000 new trees and decades of investment.
Wildlife impacts at Harry Bridges Park
Sierra Club advocates told the Commission that amphitheater parking, concert staging, and fireworks at Harry Bridges Park are disturbing heron and egret nesting colonies, with dead chicks found under trees. They're asking for better enforcement of the Local Coastal Plan and Coastal Act, though the park sits in tidelands outside the Commission's direct control.
Fireworks and water quality
A resident asked the Commission to review a water-quality study connected to the city's three July 4th fireworks shows, concerned about pollution in popular swimming areas.
Long Beach Climate Network launch
The utility is tying together its turf removal, native plant parkway, and direct-install gardens programs into one network that helps residents, businesses, and public agencies find rebates, design help, volunteer labor, and maintenance education. Climate Action Corps fellows did much of the groundwork, converting over 11,000 square feet of turf to native plants.
Stormwater capture limitations and curb cuts
Commissioner Gaytan pressed for curb cuts and stormwater infiltration, but Director Wang explained Long Beach's coastal clay layer prevents captured stormwater from reaching drinking-water aquifers, limiting its value as a supply. The Long Beach Municipal Urban Stormwater Treatment project was cited as the main capture mechanism.
Trash can replacement and clean team operations
Commissioner Hines formally requested a Public Works presentation on street cleaning, saying seniors want cleaner streets, to be scheduled at a future meeting.
Commendation for Michelle Howard's kayak cleanups
A local resident who survived a major stroke cleans plastics and debris from the Alamitos Bay Channel weekly with her father. The commission plans to honor her at the June 11 meeting, with the Aquarium of the Pacific's annual kayak cleanup following June 12.
Overflowing trash receptacles near shoreline restaurants
Trash cans near Gladstone's and other waterfront restaurants overflow daily, and wind spreads the litter. Members want more frequent service or added receptacles.
Abandoned vessel abatement
The Marine Bureau has destroyed 122 abandoned boats since 2019 at over $900,000 in cost, with state grant funding shrinking from $400,000 to $50,000. Staff are exploring recycling lead keels and boat donations to cut costs.
AB 32 Cap-and-Invest customer programs
The board authorized releasing cap-and-invest revenues for FY 2027, with $3.8 million going to free direct-install appliance upgrades and rebates for utility customers, prioritizing disadvantaged and low-income communities. Commissioners also flagged that new CARB electrification rules could restrict gas-appliance programs in the future.
Derelict and abandoned vessel program
Marina staff are applying for a supplemental grant of $10,000 to $25,000 to destroy abandoned boats that pose environmental and navigation hazards, including a steel-hulled boat with a compromised hull.
EV Battery Reuse and Recycling Hub Feasibility Study
Long Beach could become the first California city to close the EV battery loop locally, capturing spent batteries from port electrification instead of shipping them 400 miles to Nevada. A feasibility study costing $25,000-$50,000 would examine revenue of $860,000 to $3.5 million a year and 10-15 West Side jobs.
Phase out of diesel and gas powered lawn equipment
A new ad hoc committee will study phasing out gas-powered lawn equipment, a major local source of smog-forming pollution. A resident cited American Lung Association rankings showing the LA-Long Beach area as the nation's most ozone-polluted.
Weed Abatement Pilot Program
The city is testing alternatives to glyphosate herbicides in parks through a multi-phase pilot with UC researchers. Commissioners split on the effort — one called it a waste of staff time and money given state pesticide safety findings, while others want it expanded to a west-side park and to track wildlife benefits. Baseline data collection is underway, with field trials expected to run about a year.
Beach and marina cleanliness and public stewardship
Commissioners flagged dirty drinking fountains, litter at the sailing centers, and 292 tons of monthly beach trash. Staff plan a public campaign to encourage visitors to pack out their own trash.
2026 Climate Work Plan and Ad Hoc Committee Priorities
The commission's 2026 work plan covers tree planting, urban agriculture, a green parkways initiative targeting artificial turf, and a possible rain garden pilot. Commissioners flagged bus shade structures and phasing out gas appliances as top ad hoc committee candidates.
Food insecurity and federal SNAP cuts
Food Finders rescued 15.6 million pounds of food last year, but demand at its Admiral Kidd Park distribution jumped to over 600 families in a single morning. Upcoming federal SNAP cuts — $186 billion over ten years — are expected to make it worse, hitting seniors and people of color hardest.
Natural gas pipeline decommissioning study
Long Beach is funding a study to understand what it would cost to retire its natural gas pipeline system as California climate policies push electrification. No decommissioning decision has been made — the goal is data before any transition.
Pesticide use and wildlife concerns in parks
A resident reported recent herbicide spraying around trees and picnic tables in Area 2 near the sailboat pond, including a dead duck found in a sprayed area, and asked the commission to make wildlife and plant health part of its mission.
LA River trash mitigation partnership
About 4,000 tons of trash flow down the LA River each year and half of it ends up on Long Beach beaches. The council approved an MOU with LA County and The Ocean Cleanup to pilot an in-river interception system, with total costs of $6-9 million and about half funded so far.
Naples tieback seawall repairs
The city is finishing design on tiebacks for one of the last un-reinforced seawall segments in Naples, with a coastal permit pending and bidding planned for summer.
Grants for vessel removal and flare recycling
The Marine Bureau won an extra $25,000 Savage Grant for removing derelict vessels and a CalRecycle grant to host a local flare recycling event — a long-wanted service for boaters.
PFAS contamination risk in regional groundwater
The state now requires PFAS monitoring at all of Long Beach's wells. Neighboring Lakewood detected PFAS in four of its eleven wells and must abandon them; Long Beach's centralized treatment approach gives it a buffer, but migration in the aquifer is a concern.
Environmental justice and emergency response
The Environmental Justice Ad Hoc is meeting with emergency response experts, including Fire Department Battalion Chief Jake Heflin, and expects to bring recommendations to the full commission by summer, timed with extreme heat season.
Municipal solid waste processing and disposal services
The commission renewed the contracts that handle the city's trash processing and disposal with three vendors, keeping waste services running for another year with renewal options.
Maintenance of Public Green Spaces
Commissioner Sergy raised concerns that the city invests in restoring green spaces but then fails to maintain them, calling it a climate, drought, heat-island, and equity issue. Staff confirmed there is no dedicated budget for maintaining medians, parkways, or regular tree trimming.
Green Parkways Initiative Council Referral
The City Council referred a green parkways initiative to this commission and a council committee. Staff will explore new standards for parkway landscaping and maintenance and bring recommendations back to council later this year.
Airport sustainability efforts
The airport is renewing its carbon accreditation, cutting parking-lot energy use by 30% with motion-sensing lighting, and diverted 21 tons of food waste from landfills last year. Stormwater sampling was delayed by lab closures over the holidays.