During the Oct. 22 Long Beach City Council meeting, the councilmembers approved a visioning process for the Downtown Shoreline Planned Development zoning district, addressed concerns about crime near a pedestrian bridge and approved a three-year contract with the fire department.
PD-6
The council voted 8-0 to direct the city manager to initiate a visioning effort for the Downtown Shoreline Planned Development (PD-6) zoning district as the framework for a Downtown Shoreline Specific Plan that updates current development regulations and facilitates repositioning of existing uses and resources in the Downtown Shoreline area. The council likewise increased appropriation in the Tidelands Operations Fund Group in the Development Services Department by $250,000, with offset funds available.
Linda Tatum, director of Development Services, said PD-6, which is south of Ocean Boulevard between the Los Angeles River and Alamitos Boulevard, has not been updated since the 1980s and that there is much interest in the area because of the upcoming Olympic Games.
“It contains some of the most visited sites in the city,” Tatum said. “And, since the city’s selection for the 2028 Olympics, there’s been an intense level of interest in development activity in the PD-6 area. The City’s going to take advantage of that interest and conduct a visioning exercise for this property, and that process will be very similar to what we did for the downtown plan.”
Pedestrian bridge
The council also discussed a pedestrian bridge at Elmfield Avenue and the reportedly persistent crime and public-safety issues resulting from the access it provides to nearby neighborhoods.
Although the item indicated the bridge would be closed, the council clarified that it would only be closed to the general public but access would be given to the local residents.
The closure would be implemented as a six-month pilot program to gather data and assess impacts with the goal of improving public safety, according to the council-meeting agenda.
Several residents of the area spoke during public comment. Many of them indicated that there has been a steady rise in crime over the years and that they do not feel safe because of transients loitering and sleeping in an encampment nearby, however others asked that access to the walkway not be closed because it allows for access to a nearby church and an area for dog-walking.
“With the competing concerns that we have in mind, I have been working all day today to try to figure out a compromise that we can put into play on a pilot basis, so that we can have the opportunity to collect some data, do a little bit more study and analysis, and really track what has been going on,” said Councilmember Suzie Price, whose 3rd District includes the neighborhood.
Price said she did not want to limit walkability by closing access completely, so she proposed installing a temporary gate that requires a PIN code to unlock.
“The PIN code would be freely given to anyone who emails or calls,” Price said, encouraging nearby residents spread news of the gate’s need for an access code.
“Will it be perfect? Probably not,” she added. “It’s the first time that we’ve done something like this, so this is an opportunity for us to experiment and see what works and what doesn’t, and that’s what the six-month period will be about. It’s an attempt to try to compromise.”
She then implored residents to call the police to report any suspicious incidents.
The motion carried 8-0.
Fire personnel
The council adopted a resolution approving the 2019-2022 memorandum of understanding with the Long Beach Firefighters Association.
Human-resources staff reported that the tentative agreement is a three-year contract of general salary increases of 3 percent in the first year, 3 percent at the start of the third year, and then 3 percent six months later, with a one-time payment of $2,000 in the second year. The contract also includes a re-opener to meet and confer regarding potential adjustments to CalPERS’s pension reform, a bilingual skill-pay increase of 40 cents, the creation of a new HAZMAT operations first-responder operations pay, as well as other conditions.
Staff said the cost for the three-year agreement is estimated at $2.17 million for the General Fund Group and $10.26 million for all funds, with a total structural cost increase of $9.37 million in the General Fund and $9.45 million across all funds.
Rex Pritchard, president of the Long Beach Firefighters Association, thanked the negotiators but described the deliberations as “not an easy process at all,” but he said the contract is fair for both the City and fire-department personnel.
“It’s going to really help the fire chief retain and recruit a diverse workforce in a highly competitive Southern California market,” Pritchard said during public comment.
Mayor Robert Garcia called the agreement a “fair, responsible and forward-thinking contract.”
“It is very important for us to ensure that our firefighters [and] the entire team at the department are not just well compensated,” Garcia said, “but that they have the types of benefits and the type of support needed so that we can recruit the very best.”
The Long Beach City Council meets at 5pm on Tuesdays, with the exception of the last Tuesday of the month, in council chambers in the civic center plaza, 411 W. Ocean Blvd.
