TONIGHT: Long Beach officials to give update on yet another Belmont pool redesign
The project has been dragging on for 11 years and is now on its fourth redesign, which requires additional Coastal Commission approval.
Since 2014, Long Beach officials have been working toward the development of a new aquatic center at Grenada Beach. Delayed by pushback from residents, government demands and rising costs, the project is now in its fourth iteration — a proposal that will be discussed with the public Wednesday night.
The city’s departments of Public Works and Parks, Recreation and Marine are hosting a community meeting to provide an update on the project from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Will Rogers Middle School auditorium located at 365 Monrovia Ave.
“The Belmont Beach and Aquatics Center Project is designed to engage, instruct and train public aquatics users while providing inclusive and accessible recreational water space for the Long Beach community,” city officials said in the meeting announcement.
The project, significantly scaled down from previous designs, consists of:
- A 50-meter pool with moveable bulkhead, 1- and 3-meter springboard diving and depths varying from 3 feet to 6 feet at stair entry, 8 feet for swimming and water polo, 13 feet for diving and zipline and climbing wall features;
- A recreational and instructional pool with zero-depth entry, spray features, activity tower, vortex area and three lanes for swimming;
- Space for temporary spectator seating;
- Family changing rooms;
- Men’s and women’s locker rooms;
- Restrooms
- Pool storage;
- Staff offices;
- A multipurpose room.
During the meeting, city staff will give an overview of the proposed financing strategy, a project timeline and key milestones as well as answer questions from the public.
City staff did not immediately respond to questions regarding the projected cost of the project, including how much has already been spent on demolition, environmental studies and numerous designs.
The pool project has been ongoing since 2014 when the 47-year-old Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool was demolished due to safety concerns. Since then, the project has gone through four redesigns, starting with a massive $119 million facility, which has been steadily downsized since it was first unveiled in 2016.
The project is subject to California Coastal Commission approval. The agency can, and has, require the city to make physical and operational changes to the project, including ensuring access to residents from across the city.
According to a May 15 letter, an application received by the commission from the city one month prior was incomplete for a number of reasons, including missing analyses for changes to the project. In all, the commission outlined 14 requirements missing from the application.
A similar letter dated Dec. 19 noted that the application remained incomplete, outlining five missing items.
On Wednesday, Coastal Commission spokesperson Jeffery Palm confirmed the agency was still waiting for a response from the city regarding the Dec. 19 notice.
Once a response is received, commission staff has 30 days to review it and determine the filing status. If it is once again found to be incomplete, the city will receive another notice to respond to. If the application is complete, the commission has 180 days — or six months — to schedule a hearing, during which the public will have another chance to comment on the updates.
While the city’s website has a tentative construction start time of fall of this year, the Coastal Commission process could continue to delay the project as the city works through the amendment process.
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