If Wednesday’s meeting is any indication, there are a lot of details- environmentally and architecturally- that need to be ironed out before the Globemaster Corridor Specific Plan can begin to take shape in the near future.
The City of Long Beach and a team of consultant firms have been working on the Globemaster Corridor Specific Plan (GCSP), a project that intends to outline and prepare future land use for the area encompassing the former Boeing C-17 manufacturing site and surrounding commercial industrial corridors. The site in question includes a portion of Cherry Avenue between Spring and Carson streets, and Spring Street between Orange and Redondo avenues, according to the GCSP’s website.
The plan targets the central portion of Long Beach that borders Long Beach Airport and the cities of Lakewood and Signal Hill.
The City hosted its third community workshop Wednesday, Sept. 26, at Hughes Middle School, to display a presentation of the draft plan and garner public input about land use in GCSP’s designated area. The City, in partnership with environmental firm Dudek and the American Institute of Architects (AIA), has hosted separate workshops in February and June to continually modify the plan and address resident concerns about the proposed developments.
“It’s not taking anyone’s property, it’s not telling anyone that you have to use your property in a new way,” Carrie Tai, planning officer with the City’s bureau staff, said about the plan and possible impacts on existing properties. “It’s a planning study. It studies what you could do in the future, should you choose to, but it also allows you to continue doing exactly what you’re doing if you’re doing it today.”
On display inside the Hughes Middle School cafeteria were maps and outlines of the plan and intended industrial or commercial use for specific areas within the region of the Cherry Avenue corridor and C-17 site. Also visible were some changes that have been implemented since the community met in June and expressed written questions and concerns about the project.
Some modifications of the GCSP include:
- Providing pedestrian-oriented retail amenities
- Improving safety and appearance of streets
- Allowing flexibility in permitted uses and standards
- Protecting existing businesses
- Ensuring sufficient parking
- Improving transit service and bicycle continuity
- Involving more local residents and youth into the planning input
When the Boeing Corporation closed its C-17 Globemaster III assembly facility in Long Beach in December 2015, it left a vacant site that includes a 1.1-million-square-foot enclosed aerospace manufacturing building that is directly adjacent to Long Beach Airport, according to the City’s description of the GCSP.
Employment agency Pacific Gateway, with assistance from Long Beach Development Services (LBDS) planning-bureau staff, completed what was known as Phase 1 of the C-17 Transition Master Plan in an attempt to promote proper land use, infrastructure planning and economic development at the former Boeing site.
Last November, Pacific Gateway and LBDS were tasked with Phase 2 of the C-17 Transition Master Plan, simply intended to refine the aspects that were introduced in Phase 1. LBDS planning-bureau staff are preparing a strategy to address long-term uses of the C-17 site and the Cherry Avenue corridor- all of which require the creation of the GCSP, environmental-impact report (EIR) and environmental-impact statement (EIS).
The Specific Plan is in its draft stage, and all aspects of the outline are subject to change, according to city officials. The area the plan modifies- the C-17 site and commercial, industrial corridors- has no residential areas included.
John Kaliski, principal of the AIA and personal firm John Kaliski Architects, detailed the GCSP’s intended designation of commercial and retail uses to specific areas in the planning region. Kaliski also went into detail about different tiers of developments, which include distinctions in height, amenities and restrictions that might impact some businesses due to their close proximity to Long Beach Airport.
He outlined the intended use of each zone on the map.
“Fundamentally, the specific plan refines the land uses that are allowed,” Kaliski said. “And, in my language, it sends a signal to those who want to do new projects in this area of what Long Beach’s expectation is in terms of the type of development that’s expected, the quality of the development and the, if you will, intensity of excellence that Long Beach is expecting.”
Scott Kinsey, planner IV with LBDS, explained to the public that the plan is configuring its proposed land uses and zoning strategies, as necessary, to meet standards of the City’s land-use element (LUE), which has been modified this year.
Ruta Thomas, principal at Dudek, said a notice of preparation was submitted publicly Sept. 12. The City established a public review from the time the notice was submitted to Oct. 11 at 4:30pm, during which the City will accept comments about the project in regard to its mitigation measures and potential alternatives to reduce possible environmental effects.
All comments must be received in writing by 4:30pm on Oct. 11. Reference to the project must be present in a subject line. Craig Chalfant, senior planner with LBDS, is accepting public input via email at craig.chalfant@longbeach.gov or direct mail to 333 W. Ocean Blvd., 5th floor, Long Beach, Calif. 90802.
Thomas said completion of the draft EIR and EIS is projected for early 2019. A 45-day public review period will follow to comment on the documents. Response to comments and completion of the draft EIR and EIS will go into mid-2019, when consideration of project approval will reach the Long Beach City Council and Long Beach Planning Commission.
For more information about the GCSP, visit lbds.info/GMCSP. For a full outline of the draft plan, visit bit.ly/2xKZspr.
