Long Beach is looking to strengthen its nuisance laws in response to an 11-bedroom 11-bathroom development being built in a single-family neighborhood near California State University, Long Beach.
At its Tuesday, Aug. 17 meeting the City Council heard from concerned residents and unanimously decided to look into existing nuisance violation policies, regulations, enforcement, fine structures and recommendations on what changes should be made to make them more effective.
“I have strong concerns, however, of the noise, parking, litter and other issues that may result from a student dormitory with between 15 and 22 students and their friends being built next door,” said Jennifer Landefeld, who lives near the new development.
The City Council will receive a report at a later date by the city manager, the City Attorney’s Office, the City Prosecutor’s Office and the Code Enforcement Division.
The new development comes in the wake of state laws that allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and junior accessory dwelling units (JADUs) to be added more easily to residential properties in an attempt to address California’s housing crisis.
ADUs are smaller and separate buildings located on the same lot as a single or multi-family residence, while JADUs are physically attached to single family homes and must either share bathroom and kitchen facilities with the main house or have their own.
According to California’s ADU Handbook, ADUs often create housing that is below market rate and help alleviate the need for affordable housing in the state.
However, council members and residents who live near the new 11-bedroom 11-bathroom development said that the new units will not be used as affordable housing, but as pricey apartments for students attending nearby Cal State Long Beach.
Councilmember Suzie Price also said that rooms in the new development will cost anywhere from $1,000 to $1,400 a month.
“It is not an affordable housing site,” Councilmember Stacy Mungo said. “And it is not a site that’s designed at all to help people who are under-housed receive housing. It is undoubtedly an opportunity for developers to take full advantage of state law, allowing them to build at full-capacity market-rate housing.”
Price said she had spoken with the developers of the new site, and that they had admitted as much.
“They were very clear and transparent with me that there is a loophole in state law,” Price said. “And they are targeting college towns and trying to develop these types of housing developments.”
Under state law, any home in a single-family residential zone can add a one-bedroom ADU of up to 800 square feet or a two-bedroom ADU up to 1,200 square feet in any jurisdiction in California.
There are no minimum size requirements for a lot that has an ADU of 800 square feet or under.
One single family home on a lot can also have an attached JADU of up to 500 square feet.
According to Long Beach Development Services, there is no limit to the number of bedrooms an ADU can have.
Nuisance violations are applied to a wide range of offenses, from selling drugs to unkempt yards.
According to the City’s municipal code, nuisance violations are those that “affect the social and economic stability of neighborhoods, impair property values and which are injurious or detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of Long Beach.”
Residents also said during public comment that their experiences with student renters in their neighborhood had been a mixed bag.
“The latest tenants were respectful, we became friends. They’re admired by other neighbors,” Landefeld said. “However, the tenants before them were another story. I mean, they’re parties started at midnight and ended in the early morning. This caused numerous sleepless nights.”
Residents continued to express concern that increasing the amount of ADUs and student renters within their neighborhood would cause issues with noise, parking, excessive trash and more.
The developers of the East Long Beach housing development have already built a similar construction in Orange near Chapman University.
During public comment, resident Jim Pectol cited a report by Gary Sheatz, the city attorney for the City of Orange, which reviewed the negative effects the development had on the community, which included illegal parking, parking on front lawns, loud music and more.
However, the City of Long Beach has its hands tied when it comes to state laws allowing ADUs.
“Sometimes legislation is passed in Sacramento that is well-intended,” Councilmember Al Austin said. “But oftentimes if the details are not really identified or discussed, then unintended consequences can result.”
Since the City is unable to limit the building of ADUs in residential neighborhoods, it’s turning its focus on making sure that neighbors can be held responsible for behavior or circumstances that could be detrimental to the community.
“I want them to be good neighbors,” Landefeld said. “And with some added attention to code enforcement ordinances, I think they can be.”
The next Long Beach City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, Aug. 24 at 5 p.m. in the Civic Chambers, 411 W Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802.
