A look ahead at 2018 in ELB

A look ahead at 2018 in ELB

While the Long Beach Development Services Department pushed the sky-is-falling narrative that retail was dying, in East Long Beach the reports of the death of retail and the automobile by our city planners have been greatly aggregated in their short-sighted schemes to take away retail and church properties for high-density housing.   

The evidence of a booming economy in East Long Beach is everywhere. While retail (like everything in the 21st Century) is changing,  East Long Beach is on the cutting edge of the metamorphosis.

Retail and Banking

Traffic Circle

A multi-million dollar private investment in the Traffic Circle retail will continue.  It also appears that the private sector has not given up on the automobile. All the new buildings in the Traffic Circle-food, retail, and banking feature drive-thru service.  Anyone driving by the Traffic Circle area will see lines of cars in the numerous drive-thrus.

Rite-Aid opened a huge new up-to-date store at the Traffic Circle resulting in closing both the Circle Center and the Los Altos Center North Rite-Aid locations.  The closed former locations of  Rite Aid will now be available for new retail.  The new Rite Aid will have a Grand Opening ribbon cutting ceremony with Fourth District Councilman Daryl Supernaw on Wednesday, January 10th at 9am. The Sunday, January 7th L.A. Times featured special sales insert for Grand Opening specials specifically for the new Traffic Circle location. Those specials run from January 7th- 13th.

A new Wells Fargo Bank is currently under construction. Plans for more new buildings in the former auto dealerships are currently in preliminary stages.

Los Altos Center

The Los Altos Center will continue to be a go-to banking center with the addition of a new Southland Bank at the former Citibank location.

Jose Duarte, the new branch manager at the Los Altos Center Bank of America reports that the local Bank of America will be getting a make-over in the spring to become more CSULB student friendly.  The student-centered financial center will include a theme of black and gold, the colors of CSULB.

New ELB Shopping Centers

Despite the continues proclamations from the Long Beach Development Services staff of the death of retail, two- yes count them- TWO new retail shopping centers are coming to East Long Beach:  The Long Beach Exchange (LBX) and Second and PCH.

Both new developments will feature Whole Foods stores.

The Long Beach Exchange at Lakewood and Carson will include three "themed" areas: McGowens Approach; The Hangar; and The Landing. 

McGowen's Approach is the retail development's "main street".  It will literally be a street (complete with street parking) with street facing retail. 

The Hangar, like the name implies, will be a huge space. The Hangar tops 16,000 square feet that will feature a unique evolving collection of local food, art and design set. 

The Landing is the central plaza area that will cover over an acre.

The stylish urban center will feature the new Whole Foods concept: Whole Foods 365, a smaller scaled concept aimed at everyday values (365 is the house brand) and convenience.  Other retail already signed include: Orchard Hardware Supply; T.J. Max; Nordstrom Rack; Dunkin Donuts; In-and-Out; and the trendy Orangetheory Fitness Gym.  

Adjacent to the Long Beach Airport, the newest addition to Douglas Park is just down the street from the Lakewood Mall promising a retail synergy along Lakewood Blvd. 

The 3rd District's Second and PCH is not as far as LBX, with construction just beginning. Billed as "upscale" the development has one announced tenant the current regular Whole Foods store now located next to the new development.

Currently, the Second and PCH development features a small Facebook page and the linked to website is not operational.  

Land Element Use (LUE) High Density

After passing the Planning Commission in December, the Land Use Element (LUE)  will go to the City Council for approval apparently in the coming weeks.

At the December Planning Commission meeting,  the Los Altos Gateway and the Los Altos Center were reverted back to commercial-only removing the mixed-use high-density apartments designation at the request of Planning Commissioner Joshua La Farga.

However when  La Farga  also tried to include the Traffic Circle land being kept commercial,  the Development Services staff at the staff tables were seen consulting with then Development Services Director Amy Bodek (who was sitting in the audience) and then the staff  immediately pushed back on the Traffic Circle being removed from Bodek's East Long Beach high density scheme.  

Over and over again at the numerous public hearings the Developmental Services staff connected high-density mixed-use projects with a pedestrian, bike, and mass-transit oriented lifestyles. Yet the Development Services own report clearly states that the Traffic Circle, under state control, can only hopefully be "projected" to someday have better bus routes, while nothing is projected for bike or pedestrian safety.

In a Development Services memorandum to the Long Beach Planning Commission for their LUE Study Session titled  Exhibit B  and dated June 15, 2017 (page 16), Bodek and her team write that "The Traffic Circle area does have access to multiple bus lines, however, their frequency is limited."  The Development Services staff goes on to "project" that by 2040 there will be "bus transit improvements",  the report acknowledges that  Caltrans controls the Traffic Circle right-of-way and "there is currently no safe path of travel for pedestrians to traverse the Traffic Circle itself". 

For more information click on EXHIBIT B (and see page 16).

Clearly changing the successful Traffic Circle commercial corridors (that are completely dependent on automobiles to navigate the area) into mixed-use for high-density housing, with the state controlling the right-of-ways, and no pedestrian access is a recipe for a traffic nightmare.

With Bodek gone from Long Beach and starting her new $250,000 planning position with the County of Los Angeles on  February 1st, it now falls on the Acting Development Services Director, Assistant City Manager Tom Modica to fix the Traffic Circle LUE problem.

(For more LUE related information, see Local Elections below)

Bellflower Boulevard Bollard Bottleneck

Just in time for the local elections, Bellflower Blvd., between the Iron Triangle and the Fourth District Border at Boulton Creek flood control. Bellflower Blvd will be getting a make-over that will include: reduction of one lane; reduction of on-street parking; and a green bollad bike lane.

That reduction in lanes will only be between the 4th District border and 7th Street.  So southbound traffic from the 405 and Los Altos and northbound traffic from Park Estates, CSULB's Beach Drive,  the VA Hospital and the Iron Triangle will all be bottlenecked into two lanes.  Neighborhood leaders expect that many drivers will start using a workaround of PCH to travel North-South. Which brings us back to the Bodek Traffic Circle Plans above. 

This new Bellflower Boulevard Bollard Bottleneck comes on the heels of  Councilwomen Stacy Mungo reporting that the 5th District's Studebaker Bollard Boondoggle will be reduced by 1/2- with every other bollard being removed.   Whether Studebaker's slimmed down Bollard Bike Lane will then get the Orange Ave Bollard  "curb"  has not been disclosed. On Orange Ave.,  between each of the spaced-out Bollards, a four-inch-high asphalt curve was made in the street to further separate the bike lane from the street.  

Has anyone in City Planning heard "If it isn't broke, don't fix it."?

JetBlue Late-night flights and LB Airport fines

At the urging of  Fourth District Councilman Daryl Supernaw, a process was started last year to look at the fine structure for Late Flights at the Long Beach Airport. That plan is likely to be announced in 2018.

JetBlue racked up a historic amount of violations and resulting fines in 2017.  The U.S. Transportation Department's on-time performance Data through October of last year shows that JetBlue's 70% average is the airlines worst performance since 2007.  The industry average for the same period is 79%.

With 70% of its flights stopping in the Northeast, the airline has blamed airport runway repair work at Boston's Logan and New York's Kennedy airports as well as having less time padding in its flight schedules for its on-time problems.  The U.S. Transportation Department reports that JetBlue is responsible for 8 percent of its delays compared to the U.S. industry average of 5.1%

New York and Boston are not the only cities JetBlue is having on-time issues.  Here in Long Beach. plus in San Juan Puerto Rico and in Orlando Florida, JetBlue's on-time-performance has declined for the last three years.  

JetBlue's five consecutive months of  "chronic delays"  (more than 30 minutes, 50% of the time)  of JetBlue Flight 687 that flies between  Orlando and San Juan has prompted a review from the U.S. Department of Transportation.  

Delays have cost JetBlue money other than the Long Beach fines.  Delays cost airlines about $62.55 a minute according to the Airlines for America trade group.

JetBlue has faced other problems. It's pilots joined the Air Line Pilots Association in 2014. but have not yet reached their first contract.  The JetBlue Pilots took out advertisements about the impasse in papers across the nation on January 1st, including the LA Times.  

Later, that week after similar announcements from its competitors,  JetBlue announced that it be paying its non-administrative employees a $1000 bonus from the savings the airline is expected to achieve under the new Republican Tax Cut.   

2018 Local Elections

Local elections for city-wide positions and the odd-numbered council districts will take place during 2018.

High-density development has become an election issue in the East Long Beach 3rd and 5th District elections.  

Neighborhood advocates in both districts have stepped up to challenge the incumbent councilwomen, 3rd District Suzie Price and 5th District Stacy Mungo.

In the 3rd District, neighborhood and environmental advocate Gordana Kajer was opposed to the approval of the high-density plans for the SEASP (also known as SEADIP) wetlands adjacent area which Councilwomen Price supported.  Kajer will be having her first fundraiser on January 10th at the Belmont Heights EJ Malloy's from 6 pm to 9pm.

In the 5th District, neighborhood advocate Corlissa Lee was the co-founder of the Eastside Voice neighborhood association that was formed in response to the Land Use Element plans for high-density in East Long Beach.  Shortly after announcing her run, Lee replied with her own video Councilwomen Mungo made about the LUE. Lee, who has studied the LUE extensively and the new state laws mandating more housing, was one of the first neighborhood advocates to sound the alarm bells over the LUE.

For the Lee video click on: Corlissa Lee LUE Video 

For the Mungo video click on the video below:

The other major candidate in the 5th District race is Richard Dines. Dines who has labeled Mungo a "flip-flopper" spoke at the LUE community meetings, but does not at posting time have a LUE position on his website: DINES for City Council

How big an election issue is high-density and its assorted problems?

In Orange County, the City of Lake Forest held a special Recall Election on January 2, 2018, for Councilman Andrew Hamilton. The election was billed as a referendum on Hamilton's support of re-zoning the 4.5 acre Nakase Nursery for high-density development that recall proponents opposed as a traffic producing nightmare.  Hamilton's demeanor towards residents and cozy relationship with developers along with developer campaign contributions was also an issue.  

The recall effort won with resounding 72% of the vote.  Hamilton will be replaced by neighborhood advocate Tom Cagley who ran on the slogan: "People not Politics".  

On his website, Cagely blamed the Lake Forest Planning Commission for the growing community traffic nightmare:

"Traffic in Lake Forest is sometimes like the weather: everybody talks about it doesn't seem anything can be done about it.  Of course, actions of the planning commission over the past few years has only contributed to the problem, as little forethought appears to have been invested in how to handle the increased traffic loads."

Caregiver Holiday event

Hope and Joy event 

this Sunday at 

Our Lady of Refuge 

Fourth District resident Rich Gardner has become the Long Beach go-to person for rallying the community to understand Alzheimer Disease.  Gardner's wife passed away from the disease at the age of 59.

Gardner has organized local support groups for those with Alzheimer and their caregivers.  However, his experience with his wife led him to want to create more positive support experiences that included resources that are available for caregivers.

This Sunday, December 10th from 2- 5 pm at the Our Lady of Refuge Social Hall, in conjunction with the Purple Angels Alzheimer's awareness organization, will be the Hope and Joy event.  

The holiday event will be part outreach and part support with "fun, music and entertainment". Support organizations Alzheimer's Greater Los Angeles, Home Instead, Pathways and Meals on Wheels will be at the event to answer questions about services available.

Gardner is looking for neighbors to contribute cookies for the event.

For more information about the event or contributing cookies please contact Rich at

richgardner1960@yahoo.com

Los Altos Center Rite Aid closing

Los Altos Center Rite Aid closing

The Los Altos Center North Rite Aid will be closing in January 2018.  Employees had begun to tell long-time customers in November.  This month pharmacy customers have been notified that their prescriptions will be transferred to other Rite Aids.

The Circle Center Rite Aid recently moved to a brand-new larger building with a drive-thru pharmacy lane at the corner of  PCH and Ximeno.  The new store is now open,

The new Traffic Circle Rite Aid comes after CVS opened a brand new store with a drive-thru at the Traffic Circle and Lakewood. Blvd.

In September Walgreens reached a deal to purchase most of the Rite Aid stores (those that would not hurt competition) to better compete with CVS.  Walgreens expects to close some of those Rite Aid stores.

Because the August 2017 Land Use Element (LUE) maps had the Los Altos Center North (Target/Trader Joes) new zoning "PlaceType" as 5 story multi-use with high-density apartments- rumors that the LUE was responsible for the closure have been wide-spread.  However, the updated LUE maps released last month eliminated the mixed-use high density at the Target/Trader Joes Center. That portion of the Los Altos Center will remain commercial retail. 

The Sears/Lazy Acres/LA Fitness portion of the Los Altos Center was not changed back to commercial retail on the new LUE Maps.  The Los Altos Center South continues to be designated on the new LUE maps as mixed-use high-density residential. That designation to allow residential at the Los Altos Center South remains despite almost 1000 residents showing up at the Whaley Park Community Meeting demanding that the Los Altos Center retail not be changed into high-density residential. (click on New LUE Maps)

Under new state laws, commercial property like the Los Altos Center could qualify for even higher density than is on the current LUE Maps and not have to provide residential parking for the high-density developments.  Under new state law "streamlining" process- no public hearings for qualifying projects will be needed (for more information click on  League of California Cities).

The Planning Commission will be meeting on December 11 to vote on the new LUE Maps.  All Los Altos residents are urged to show up to the Planning Commission Meeting and to call and email Mayor Garcia and tell him NO MIXED USE in East Long Beach retail centers: 562-570-6801  and Mayor@longbeach.gov.

Whaley Park Christmas, Kumon opens and Bellflower Blvd re-do

Sunday December 3rd is the Annual

Whaley Park Lighting of the Letters

The Lighting of the Letters tradition returns this year on December 3rd to the Los Altos Village neighborhood adjacent to Whaley Park (North)  with a 3rd Annual Lighting of the Letters community kick-off event marking the return of  giant letters spelling out  holiday greetings. 

In the 1950's during the holidays residents living around Whaley Park North each displayed one giant letter that combined spelled out around the perimeter of the park the holiday messages of Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

1950's vintage Whaley Park letter

Why the tradition was lost and what happened to most of the old letters remains a mystery. As the years went by, enough people still remembered the old tradition as the occasional random letter was found as the homes changed hands over the years, keeping the mid-century Whaley Park Christmas Letters story alive.

Fast forward to the 21st Century. In 2015 former LB Airport

City Prosecutor Doug Haubert

Commissioner and now Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert (and long-time 4th District resident) had an airline called Kalitta Charters consent to settle 13 LB Noise Ordinance violations for $54,000. Separate from the first Consent Degree fines that go to the Long Beach Library Foundation, the 2015 Kalitta agreement funds went to the Long Beach Community Foundation to establish and administer two community funds that would directly benefit the airport impacted neighborhoods in the 4th and 8th Council Districts. 

In the 4th District, the fund created is called the Los Altos Charitable Giving Fund (LACGF). Fourth District Councilman Daryl Supernaw was asked to recommend a committee to plan and oversee LACGF projects. The eventual Los Altos resident committee members, Michele "K" Kreinheder, Bill Marshall and Joe Mello met and quickly decided to bring back the Whaley Park Christmas Letters tradition.

To contribute to the Los Altos Giving Fund click on: LOS ALTOS

In 2015, a kick-off  event at Whaley Park took place announcing the plans to bring back the holiday letters with displays of one of the original holiday letters and a prototype of the new letters. In 2016. the new letters were installed and neighbors from all over Los Altos Village showed up to see the new letters, hand made by the  Long Beach Area Council of Boy Scouts.

New Whaley Park Letters made by the Long Beach Area Council of Boy Scouts

The LACGF committee in cooperation with Councilman Supernaw's office and the Los Altos Village Neighbors organize the event.

Los Altos Village's own popular Santa will return again this year as will the bounce house, holiday music and other family fun. Neighbors are encouraged to bring cookies and treats to share.

A box to collect unwrapped toys for the California Children's Services Programs to distribute to needy families will also be available at the Lighting of the Letters event.

Los ALtos Village t-shirts

Los Altos Village neighborhood shirts and flags will also be available with proceeds going to support Los Altos Village Neighbors. 

Los Altos Great Mex displays neighborhood flag

Lloyd Whaley developed the planned community neighborhoods of  East Long Beach including Los Altos Village and Park Estates (originally called Los Altos Park Estates). Whaley also planned and built the Los Altos Shopping Center .

Other Whaley developments include the neighborhood of Country Club Manor in North Long Beach and the Galaxy Tower on Ocean Blvd in Bluff Park.  Whaley donated land for numerous public uses around Long Beach including Whaley Park, the Los Altos Public Library, Los Altos Park and Scherer Park.

The Lighting of the Letters event will begin at 3:00 pm at Whaley Park (North) on Sunday December 3rd and continue until the letters light-up at dusk.

To contribute to the Los Altos Giving Fund click on: LOS ALTOS 

Kumon Math & Reading Center opens in 

Los Altos Center North

A  Kumon Math & Reading Center has opened up at the Los Altos Center North  in the upstairs of the Trader Joes/Amazing Comics section building in Suite 208.

Los Altos Center Kumon Center Grand Opening ribbon cutting from Councilman Supernaw's weekly newsletter 

Kumon's is an after-school academic enrichment program.  The Kumon program to motivate students and instill a love of learning.  The advance at your own pace program is individualized for students who either in need of catching up or enrichment. 

For more information click on: KUMON@Los Altos Village

Bellflower Blvd's 2.1 million dollar mile

Starting Monday November 27th, construction on the Bellflower Blvd's $2.1 million mile is set to begin.  The City of Long Beach in conjunction with 3rd District Councilwomen Suzie Prices' office will be  repaving and reconfiguring Bellflower from PCH to Atherton Street including the area known as the Iron Triangle- the PCH/7th Street/Bellflower Blvd. intersection.  The 3rd District project will stop at the 4th District line which is the Boulton Creek flood channel right before the YMCA.

3rd District Councilwomen Price

Prices' office announced the project in Spring of this year. The project had been delayed because of street construction inside of CSULB that caused CSULB students to enter the campus by way of Atherton Street.  The delayed construction will now impact Third District residents traveling to the Los Altos Village shopping centers and restaurants for the holidays and 4th District residents traveling south to the Marina Pacifica Shopping areas during the shopping season.

  

The bulk of the $2.1 million funding for the 1.1 mile stretch is being paid for by federal and state monies with Long Beach funding $211,000 of the project. 

At least one lane of Bellflower Blvd. and reportedly 25 parking spaces on Bellflower will be eliminated as bike lanes protected by "bike bollards" will be added to the street. Those green bollards have been controversial not only in Long Beach but in Los Angeles.

For more information click on BIKE BOLLARDS

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 

City to ELB: SCREW YOU

City says Screw You to ELB residents...

complete with a boldface lie:

"With no changes to many traditional shopping centers"

New Land Use Element (LUE) maps:

·      Los Altos Center- Mixed-use High Density Apartments

·      Los Altos Gateway- Mixed-use High Density Apartments

·      Circle Center: Mixed Use High Density Apartments

·      PCH/Triangle: Mixed Use High Density

·      Anaheim Street: Mixed Use High Density

·      Los Coyotes Diagonal-High Density Apartments

·      Recreation Park/Wilson High School Adjacent: Mixed Use High Density Apartments

·      Redondo Ave Zaferia District Adjacent: Mixed Use High Density Apartments

·      Cherry Ave: Mixed Use High Density Apartments

“It is clear from the community input we have received that changes to the proposed maps were necessary”

-City Manager Patrick H. West in LUE press release 11/10/17

After four community meetings with hundreds of residents showing-up protesting the mixed-use high density Land Use Element in East Long Beach, the Development Services released the new "revised" high density maps.   

While the original maps before the August 17, 2017 Planning Commission had NO increased density in the single family neighborhoods of East Long Beach, the New LUE maps continue to spread high density "mixed-use" (taking current commercial property and allowing residential) across East Long Beach.

Unbelievably,  the November 10th press-release statement that announced the new LUE maps that allows high density apartments at the Los Altos Center, the Circle Center and the Los Altos Gateway Center states:  

"With no changes to many traditional shopping centers"

The new LUE plan is particularly ominous because of  the passage of SB 35 which would allow super-sizing with NO PARKING requirements at current commercial centers. High Density apartments with qualifying "affordable" units at the Los Altos Center (Sears) and the Los Altos Gateway (Lowes/Kmart) would potentially qualify for NO PARKING requirements.

Most disturbing is that Long Beach Development Services Director Amy Bodek personally ran the October 4th Whaley Park Community Meeting and saw the close to 1000 people show up to the meeting against high density mixed use apartments in East Long Beach.

West 4th District's Crackerbox Land gets 

more density !

Amy Bodek's department also zeroed in on the over-crowded western portion of the 4th District that is home to hundred's of the disastrous 1980 "crackerbox style" apartments. 

Bodek's solution? MORE DENSITY!

Under the new LUE, the residents of the  Zaferia District and the AOC7 Neighborhoods  would be boxed in by density on the neighborhoods main arteries:  Anaheim, Redondo, Cherry, 10th and 7th streets.

The next step is for the Planning Commission to take up the LUE again.  The most likely date for the Planning Commission is December 7th. After being "approved" by the Planning Commission, the next step will be the City Council.

To see the "new revised" LUE maps click on: 
SCREW YOU MAPS

Councilman Supernaw wastes no time in saying NO to the new LUE maps

Fourth District Councilman Daryl Supernaw wasted no time in sending our a statement saying he does not support the new LUE Maps.

 

Less than an hour after the maps were released to the public, Supernaw released this statement in his weekly newsletter:

"The City released the revised Land Use Element Maps today. While most of the height increases were removed east of Clark Ave., much of the density remains on the western side of our district. The Los Altos Shopping Center, southeast of Bellflower and Stearns, remains mixed use commercial/residential. The proposed heights, while reduced from the August map, still include increased density on the north/south corridors of Clark, Los Coyotes Diagonal, Redondo and Cherry. Also, the east/west corridors of 10th St., Anaheim and PCH include increased height. For this reason, I will, not be able to support the proposed Land Use Element map for CD4."    

-4th District Councilman Daryl Supernaw 11/10/17

Click on: SUPERNAW Statement