City's Misleading Holiday Messages

The Nightmare Before Christmas from Long Beach city management..

City Management's holiday message to LB neighborhoods 

City management  

eblasts a misleading Holiday Summary of new Land Use Element changes

On Monday November 20, during the traditional kick-off to the holidays, the City of Long Beach management started a series of misleading Holiday Summary email blasts about the controversial  Land Use Element (LUE) Placetype maps that spreads downtown density across Long Beach.

The email blasts come after the near universal outcry over the "new" LUE maps that were released this month.  LB Development Services Director Amy Bodek's department and City Manager Pat West had touted for weeks that the city "heard" the overwhelming response from the residents that attended the four recent Community meetings.

While the city-wide misrepresentations are too numerous to address from across the city during the holidays, here are  just a few examples from the city's Holiday Summary about the Fourth District areas on the new LUE maps sent out today and the Real Facts.

Traffic Circle

Here is the part of the city management's Holiday Summary that deals with the Traffic Circle:

"Reduced height around the eastern portion of the traffic circle from 6 stories to 4 stories"

The Real Facts

The Traffic Circle is the most traffic accident prone area of the city.  Here is what that ONE line from the  Holiday Summary DOES NOT report about the "new maps":

·       What the "Reduced Height" means is now instead of tripling the height density of the areas East of Clark and North of PCH the new maps are just DOUBLING the height density.

·       The Von's property portion of the Circle Center still will allow mixed-use high density apartments. Since it is currently zoned commercial- the land qualifies under the new state law SB 35 for Super Sizing Density . That state law includes: ADDED height and density beyond what the city zoning allows; NO PARKING requirements; and other added high density big developer perks when defined affordable housing is included in the high density development

·       The new maps include DOUBLING the current heights and density of the apartments East of the Vons Center and Northeast of the center along Los Coyotes Diagonal.

·       The new maps do not change the Western Part of the Traffic Circle.  That area remains six stories mixed-use high density apartments.  PLUS, all of the land in these  commercial areas  qualify for Super Sizing Density under the new state law SB 35: ADDED height and density beyond what the city zoning allows; NO PARKING requirements; and other added high density big developer perks when defined affordable housing is included in the high density development:

1.    the Circle Center Ralphs property

2.    the Staples/Big Five/Circle Wash property

3.    the Free Conference Call, UFC Gym property

4.    the Circle Porsche property

5.    the Circle Audi property

6.    the Community Hospital property

7.    the oil tank property

·       The new maps include high density housing for the business properties currently at the second worst intersection in the 4th District- the Lakewood Blvd/Stearns/Clark intersection. These  commercial areas  qualify for Super Sizing Density under the new state law SB 35: ADDED height and density beyond what the city zoning allows; NO PARKING requirements; and other added high density big developer perks when defined affordable housing is included in the high density development:

1.     El Pollo Loco/Medical Building property

2.    Hertzog Eye Doctor property

• The Traffic Circle and PCH are under the control of the State of California. The city cannot make any changes to improve traffic flow due to adjacent high density residential development.

The Los Altos Sears Center

Here is the part of the city management's Holiday Summary that deals with the Los Altos Sears Center:

"Reduced height and intensity at Bellflower/Stearns from 5 stories to 3 stories (Sears site)"

The Real Facts

The Los Altos Center is part of the original plans of the Los Altos Village planned community- one of the nation's first post World War II planned single family neighborhoods.  Here is what that ONE line from the  Holiday Summary DOES NOT report about the "new maps":

·       The Holiday Summary does not state that the Sears property is being changed from Commercial Development to Mixed-Use Development (all purple and light purple areas) a change that allows high density apartments right in the middle of the Los Altos single family neighborhood zones

·       As a currently Commercial Zone the Sears Center property qualifies for Super Sizing Density under the new state law SB 35: ADDED height and density beyond what the city zoning allows; NO PARKING requirements; and other added high density big developer perks when defined affordable housing is included in the high density development making the 3 story Placetype limit moot.

·       Multi-use development has the potential of adding hundreds of residents in high density apartments directly under the flight path of landing jets

The Anaheim, Redondo, Ximeno, 10th Street Corridors

Here are parts of the city manager's Holiday Summary that deals with the Anaheim Corridor:

"Reduced height along Anaheim - from 5 stories to 4 stories"

"Reduced height along Redondo south of Anaheim; from 5 stories to 4 stories"

"Reduced height along Anaheim - from 5 stories to 4 stories from Redondo to Ximeno; and to 3 stories from Ximeno to Clark"

The Real Facts

Much of these transit corridors are made up of commercial properties that literally surround neighborhoods that were forever changed by the Crackerbox Planning that allowed low-parking-requirement dense apartment complexes the last time the City of Long Beach looked at spreading density in the 1980's.  Here is what the Holiday Summary DOES NOT report about the "new maps":

·       The "new maps" change the current residential and commercial zoning along  those major corridors to mixed use high density- allowing high density apartments ( all purple and light purple areas)

·       All the currently zoned commercial areas along the corridors (ie LB Playhouse property, nursing homes, car facilities) would qualify for Super Sizing Density under the new state law SB 35: ADDED height and density beyond what the city zoning allows; NO PARKING requirements; and other added high density big developer perks when defined affordable housing is included in the high density development

SEND YOUR OWN HOLIDAY MESSAGE TO THE CITY

Please go here to sign the petition currently circulating:

LB City Manager Petition