Long Beach residents and developers can now use metal shipping containers as dwelling units without site plan review after unanimous Planning Commission approval on Thursday, Aug. 19.
The large steel boxes, often used for international sea transport, have become a popular building material—spurred on by renewed public interest in modular housing and the tiny home movement.
For a decade, Long Beach residents looking to build homes or accessory dwelling units (ADUs) out of shipping containers have been subject to site plan review, which requires committee and sometimes commission approvals.
When the requirement was first passed in 2011, the Planning Commission was concerned that shipping container units would not adhere to “neighborhood aesthetics” without such review.
Since then, the state’s housing crisis has worsened.
In 2017, the State legislature passed a number of policies to incentivize the development of accessory dwelling units, which are often used as low-cost housing.
In a letter to the commission, Long Beach resident Padric Gleason Gonzales called shipping containers one of several “creative approaches towards new housing” and said that tiny home designs are “more important than ever” given the State’s housing shortage.
According to California’s recently-approved Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), Long Beach’s projected housing need for 2021 to 2029 stands at 26,502 units. Of that demand, 42.2% is for low- or very-low income housing.
Planning Bureau Manager Patricia Diefenderfer said the policy change intends to remove barriers to shipping container construction.
“The ideal outcome is just that if people are looking to use shipping containers […] that they are now able to have a process that’s similar to any other projects of this kind,” Diefenderfer said.
In a letter to the commission, Long Beach resident Anne Proffit said that shipping containers seemed fine for commercial uses, but that using shipping containers in residential areas would be “unsightly.” In her letter, she accused the commission of pandering to developers.
City Planner Refugio Torres Campos assured commissioners that units will “continue to be subject to all applicable standards in the zoning code,” and that site plan reviews could be triggered by other criteria.
The zoning code also includes design guidelines, including treatments and finishes, for single-family structures, Diefenderfer said. She added that all units, whether accessory dwelling units or otherwise, must comply with height requirements and design standards set forth in the city code.
“Whether or not these projects are reviewed by site plan review, it doesn’t change the fact that those projects will be reviewed for their compliance with code,” she said, “including the code provisions that place standards on single-family development.”
The staff report also cited the potential environmental impacts of using shipping containers as building materials given the energy and cost it requires to recycle them.
Building with shipping containers takes less time than traditional construction. According to a 2017 staff report, container home construction can be completed in a matter of weeks to a few months, compared to conventional home construction which can take four to seven months. Both time estimates are contingent on the method of construction.
Though the use of shipping containers is not in huge demand, Diefenderfer said that the Planning Commission’s decision was just one way the City could incentivize the production of affordable housing.
“In light of our well-documented housing shortage, this is just an effort to advance those goals,” she said.
Great idea. Fill them full of homeless, mental, tweekers. Load aboard the Queen Mary with Garcia and return them to China!
Mike, I don’t think the Queen Mary would make it very far. Or is that your plan?