The California-Mexico Studies Center (CMSC) is spearheading efforts to halt the approval and development of a distillery bar and tasting room set to open in Downtown Long Beach. The bar, if approved, will be built at the former Hoonigan Motor’s filming and merchandise location, and will be flanked by Edison Elementary School on the East and Cesar E. Chavez Park to the South.
A handful of concerned residents gathered at the location on Tuesday, Sept. 27, to publicly oppose the advancement of the project and request the City use the location to expand Cesar E. Chavez Park instead.
The Center found out about the project through a Los Angeles Times article that ran last October about R6 Distillery owner Rob Ruben’s plans to expand his franchise to Long Beach.
“This is like a rich man’s wet dream,” said Armando Vazquez-Ramos, president and founder of the CMSC. “It’s a stepping stone to create a franchise … not in our town … not across the street from Edison [Elementary School] and not across the street from that park.”
Long Beach Municipal Code 21.52.201 states that alcoholic beverage sales cannot occur within 500 feet of a public school or public park except for “locations in the greater downtown area.”
The greater downtown area includes the neighborhoods in the East Village Arts District east of Long Beach Boulevard and North of Ocean Boulevard.
Vazquez-Ramos, who has lived in Long Beach for over 50 years, said the project will further “gentrify an area that’s already been gentrified.”
The CMSC sent a letter to Long Beach Development Services on Sept. 20, requesting that the distillery’s permit application be sent to the Planning Commission for consideration of an Administrative Use Permit.
The letter cites Long Beach Municipal Code 21.45.114, which states that alcohol and beverage manufacturing and tasting rooms in a commercial zone “shall not exceed (6,000) square feet of gross floor area (GFA), unless otherwise permitted by an Administrative Use Permit (AUP).”
The 18,708 square-foot development includes plans for a mezzanine, outdoor dining space, manufacturing area, tasting room, commercial kitchen, offices, storage, new HVAC systems, utility, lighting and accessibility upgrades. Plans for the distillery bar were sent to the City on Dec. 15, 2021.
The letter penned by Vazquez-Ramos says that the failure to adhere to zoning requirements “has resulted in the absence of public notice and the knowledge of its potential negative environmental impacts.”
Each district has land uses that can be approved for development “by-right,” meaning the prospective owner need only acquire a business license or building permit for approval of land use. Other developments must adhere to the entitlement process—including a public hearing—which is made to ensure that properties are “designed and operated in a manner that is compatible with neighboring uses and the community,” according to the City’s planning website.
“I think this can be a determining project; if they can get away with this, then they can get away with anything,” Vazquez-Ramos said. “It’s clear they did not follow the procedure.”
Community goals for the location
“We’re hoping to spread the word about all of this, with the end goal being to expand the park,” said Armando Vazquez-Ramos Jr., CMSC member.
Connecting Cesar E. Chavez and Drake Parks has been discussed by the City for over a decade. On March 16, 2022, the City identified the implementation of the Drake/Chavez Master Plan as a priority for funding.
Long Beach completed the Drake Chavez Greenbelt Master Plan in 2010, which the City made in collaboration with several neighborhood associations, nonprofit organizations and public health advocates.
The plan focused on “amassing properties for park purposes that would connect Cesar E. Chavez Park to Drake Park, through the development of wetlands and passive and active open space,” according to the 2019 Drake Chavez Vision Plan.
“The city has never given the Mexican and Latino community the commitment they deserve,” Vazquez-Ramos said. “That’s why I’m motivated and dedicated to making sure this is not going to happen in this town. They have brought out the old spirit, and they shall not succeed.”
Long Beach has a Latino population of 43.2%, the largest ethnic group in the city, according to the 2015-2020 U.S. Census Bureau.
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation performed a Needs Assessment on Long Beach parks in 2016 and found that there are 1.65 park acres per 1,000 residents at Cesar E. Chavez Park, and 1.98 per 1,000 residents at Drake Park.
Long Beach adopted a citywide goal of eight acres of parkland per 1,000 residents in its 2003 Open Space and Recreation Element. The assessment identified 22% of the population surrounding the two parks as “critically underserved,” according to the 2019 Drake Chavez Vision Plan.
Vazquez-Ramos also requested that the City undergo a California Environmental Quality Act analysis to identify, “impacts related to traffic and circulation, public safety, air quality, hazardous materials and waste present on the site,” as well as the impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods, Edison and Chavez Elementary Schools and Cesar E. Chavez and Drake Parks.
Vazquez-Ramos Jr. said that he’d been informed the Planning Commission would review the matter, though he hasn’t heard when.
“That’s the first opportunity for the community to come and get their three minutes of public comment, and that’s what we’re trying to organize for them to do,” Vazquez-Ramos Jr. said.
After the Planning Commission, the next step is to address the City Council during public comment when they discuss the matter.
“This is our community, and we’re stepping up because we know that the community is opposed and it will organize around this issue to make sure that it doesn’t happen,” Vazquez-Ramos said.
He explained that the Center also plans to send a letter to R6 Distillery owner Rob Ruben, requesting that he back out of the project “in good faith.”
Has the LBUSD taken a position on this project? If so, when?