Long Beach wants to hand tiny homes project over to Long Beach City College
After the city struck out with two potential sites to build homes for unhoused people, officials are hoping to collaborate with the college to put the housing on campus for students in need.
Long Beach officials are scrapping plans to build a tiny home community for unhoused people on city land, and instead hope to transfer the homes to Long Beach City College to house homeless students.
City staff began exploring a partnership with the college after two consecutive sites proposed for the homes — next to the Multi-Service Center in West Long Beach, and at Willow Springs Park near the airport – proved unworkable.
“We are having meaningful conversations with our partners at LBCC, to see how collectively we can provide some housing security for students experiencing homelessness, so that they can better focus on their education and career paths," Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement. "In the long run, this helps support our entire community.”
The city on Monday announced both the change in direction for the tiny home project and plans to dedicate the partially developed Willow Springs Park property as a park in perpetuity.
Long Beach officials have been talking for years about building tiny homes to help the unhoused. In 2022 the city announced it would receive a $30.5 million state grant to provide interim housing and services for homeless residents; some of the money was used to purchase and renovate the Luxury Inn motel, and about $5.6 million was designated to build 33 tiny homes.
But last fall, city leaders concluded the first site intended for the tiny home community, next to the city’s homeless services hub, was too close to a major construction project at the Port of Long Beach, and they instead named a city parcel at the northwest corner of Willow Springs Park as the replacement site.
That too proved not feasible, the city said in a statement Monday, because of the costs of getting utilities to the property and cleaning up the site from previous uses.
Also, a measure on the November ballot that would put new requirements on oil wells close to homes, schools and other public uses might have created another obstacle to the tiny home project, since the property includes several active wells.
Talks between the city and Long Beach City College are in the early stages, so college officials haven’t yet chosen a site for the tiny homes or signed an agreement to take them on.
The college’s Board of Trustees last week agreed to look into working with the city to install the homes somewhere on campus, Carl Kemp, the college’s executive director of public affairs and marketing, wrote in an email, adding, “The Board will entertain further discussion, pending the results of [the] investigation by LBCC to determine safety and costs associated with placing units on campus.”
The concept sounds good, “but I don't know enough about it to make an informed decision,” said LBCC Trustee Sunny Zia, who has been helping unhoused students since 2015. She’d like to have answers such as exactly what costs the college would bear, what role (if any) the city would have, and who would live in the homes.
It’s not yet clear whether or how the city can transfer state grant funds to the college for the tiny homes. Both the Long Beach City Council and LBCC trustees would need to vote on any agreement to put the homes on the college's property.
The city’s loss of potential new homes appears to be a gain for public open space. A 1.8-acre parcel that was proposed as the tiny home site will be recommended for permanent park status along with the rest of the property, according to city information. The City Council will vote on the recommendation in coming months.
Councilwoman Megan Kerr, whose district includes Willow Springs Park, said in a statement that it was important for the city to consider various uses for the 1.8 acres that would benefit the community.
“As the Tiny Homes project takes a new direction, I am excited at the prospect of Willow Springs Park's long-awaited dedication as official park space in perpetuity, as well as the potential for some well-deserved upgrades that the entire community can enjoy,” Kerr said.
Willow Springs Park supporters, who have been lobbying for a permanent park designation, are excited to see their goal so near.
"We've been working hard for two years for this and we're thrilled that it's happening," said Carol Bartels, a volunteer with Friends of Willow Springs Park.
Restoration work has already started on the land that used to be a "sea of oil derricks," and supporters hope to eventually turn the entire acreage into a nature preserve, Bartels said.
"It's kind of a hidden little gem that a lot of people don't know about."
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