The current temporary Belmont Pool. Photo by Gisela Merino.

Young water polo players and swimmers packed the council chambers at City Hall on Tuesday in the hopes of ensuring the approval for a schedule change to the Belmont Pool by City Council in time for the Junior Olympic Competitions. The City Council eased their anxiety by approving an extension of operating hours at the pool from 7PM back to its original time of 9PM, albeit with a few restrictions.

Councilmember Gary DeLong started the discussion by agreeing that previous changes by City staff—ultimately modified by the City Manager without the Council’s advice following a special meeting on June 17—to the schedule may have been an “overreaction” and proposed a few conditions to the approval for the three-and-a-half week schedule change. The pool’s closing time was originally modified at the special council meeting on June 17 from 9PM  to 7PM due to noise and light complaints from residents living in the surrounding area. There is now a temporary structure in its place.

“There were several residents that were concerned about the noise and the lights and some of the negative impact activities from the Belmont Pool,” DeLong said.

No whistles are to be used after 7PM and instead of the outdoor lighting the pool had previously used after dark, the aquatics teams must use the interior pool lighting.

Four residents spoke about their concerns for extending the hours of the pool again, all of which lived on Ocean Boulevard across from the Belmont Pool, with one resident speaking against the later schedule via reading seven ordinances from the Long Beach Municipal Code which hinted that the later hours proposed are a nuisance.

Shore Aquatics Water Polo and Swim teams Pool are most affected by the schedule change due to the timing of the Junior Olympics, with a number pleading to council.

“Aquatics is a big deal in this town,” said a resident and Shore Aquatics representative. “There is no other pool for us to go to. This pool is a godsend for a lot of people in this town. We understand and are sympathetic to the surrounding neighbors warrants and concerns, and we want to work this out with you.”

Another 12-year-old boy spoke to council about the importance of extending the last two hours of the pool so that his team could have practice in order to get to the level they needed to be at for Junior Olympics.

Council voted a unified yes to extending the hours back to 9PM.