Long Beach Planning Commission approves rezoning in city core; Council vote is next
The first comprehensive rezoning of Central Long Beach in decades would allow more homes to be built and ban new auto shops, motels, liquor stores and other such uses.
A major overhaul of Central Long Beach’s zoning rules, which spell out how many homes and what kind of businesses are allowed, will face a final vote by the City Council sometime in September.
The Planning Commission on Thursday approved the “City Core” zoning plan, clearing the way for the first comprehensive rewrite of land use rules since 1989.
The proposed changes would allow more new homes, which would mostly be apartments, and encourage neighborhood-friendly uses such as markets, medical clinics and public parks. The rules would forbid new motels, drive-through restaurants, liquor stores and other businesses residents say already saturate the community or create a nuisance.
Residents and community organizers who helped with the planning process say they’re worried about existing businesses and residents getting priced out of the neighborhood as new development moves in, so they’d like to see the City Council consider additional policies to help prevent that.
While its purpose may not be clear to people who aren’t familiar with the city’s bureaucracy, “zoning plays a role in preserving the character of our communities and making sure that future growth happens in a way that benefits everyone,” Kimberly Lim, a city core resident and organizer with Long Beach Forward told the Planning Commission on Thursday.
The proposed rezoning is expected to come to the City Council for a vote in the second half of September.
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