Temporary parklets across Long Beach will remain in place through September thanks to an extension unanimously passed by the Long Beach City Council at their Tuesday, May 18 meeting.
“Extending the parklets, you know, it continues to give these businesses an opportunity to recoup their losses,” Councilmember Cindy Allen said. “And for those that want to keep this permanent, it gives them an opportunity to get their application in.”
The program was set to expire on June 30.
The Open Streets Initiative–which encompasses parklets, sidewalk use and parking lot uses for businesses— began last June after the pandemic began to tighten its grip on local businesses.
Rather than constricting into full closures, businesses were allowed to expand into neighboring public areas to adhere to the State’s health order. Mayor Robert Garcia called the program “wildly successful.”
“We understand that there has to be a process in place. But my personal opinion is that as many parklets that want to stay permanent, should be allowed to stay in place,” Garcia said.
City staff will consider parking considerations, traffic safety and stakeholder input to decide which parklets should be permanent. Modica estimated that about 70% of parklets are eligible for permanence with modifications.
Alex Cherin, executive director of the Long Beach Restaurant Association, said his group was in “strong support” of the council’s move.
Which parklets will get an extension?
The council item allows restaurants, bars, gyms and other personal care businesses to keep their existing parklets until the Oct. 1 deadline.
An initial suggestion by Councilmember Suzie Price to only allow restaurant parklets was met with opposition from Allen, whose district includes parklets for gyms and personal care services.
They eventually landed at a compromise: office uses were excluded from the item at the behest of Price, whose district includes a realtor office whose parklet takes up two parking spaces in a high-density coastal area.
City Manager Tom Modica noted that the approval of that parklet was a mistake.
“We’ve had dozens of them spring up literally within a week. Our staff was out there just creating these,” Modica said. “But we also just put them in the places because the need was really to get people outdoors.”
Vice Mayor Rex Richardson lauded the program. He said, in previous years, it took “major investment” to get a single restaurant patio in his district.
“Through this pandemic, what we saw was it became a matter of whether your business survives or not,” Richardson said, noting the success of the program in District 8. “But […] obviously I always will say, we should defer to those local neighborhoods on what’s right for them.”
The extended deadline will allow businesses to apply for permanent parklets. No new parklets will be set up in the interim unless they’ve already gone through the City’s formal application process.
Businesses can also remove their parklets if they choose to do so. Next week marks the end of the Atlantic Avenue Open Streets program. Public Works will begin to remove the traffic-calming features beginning Monday, May 24.
