The enforcement of some street sweeping citations in Long Beach will be forgiven after the City Council voted Tuesday night to extend its program that allows residents to appeal citations until after the Fourth of July weekend.
With the vote Long Beach residents will be able to appeal street sweeping citations through July 5. The city will resume normal street sweeping operations starting Monday, July 6 if the council does further extend the moratorium.
The request to extend the moratorium came from Councilman Daryl Supernaw who said that in addition to helping residents who are still stuck at home because of COVID-19 closures extending the policy would put the city in alignment with the City of Los Angeles.
Street sweeping was temporarily suspended in March by the city which sought to strike a balance between keeping streets clean and also accommodating tens of thousands of residents who were forced home due to job loss, childcare or were working from home due to the pandemic.
In April, the council voted to phase in enforcement of street sweeping at the beginning of May but confusion among residents over when citations would resume again led the council to allow for citations to be forgiven with a June 1 deadline to appeal them.
As the local economy begins to slowly reopen some residents are still stuck at home with those in parking impacted districts left with sparse parking options in their immediate neighborhoods. Residents will now be able to challenge citations received through July 5 but the city is still encouraging residents to move their vehicles if they’re able to allow for proper cleaning of the streets and gutters where debris can collect or be washed into the ocean.
To challenge a street sweeping citation call the city at 562-570-2890.
[Editors note: The original version of this story stated the program would align with the County of Los Angeles, it will align it with the City of Los Angeles’ policy. Citations are still being issued but under the extension they can be appealed through July 5.]