Long Beach is hosting the first of three virtual meetings Saturday where residents and business owners can learn more about the city’s efforts to rezone a large chunk of Central Long Beach that stretches from the Traffic Circle to Downtown.

The first virtual meeting is scheduled for April 2 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Two other meetings on April 6 and April 13 are both scheduled to run between 6 and 7:30 p.m., according to a city announcement Friday afternoon.

The “Zone In: City Core” project is a revisioning of the zoning in the neighborhoods between Pacific Coast Highway and 10th Street and Ximeno and Magnolia avenues. Changes to zoning could affect how high and dense future residential developments can be and how pedestrian-friendly the streets and sidewalks could be.

It could also affect the affordability of the neighborhoods and whether affordable housing could be required in future developments. Some, but not all, of the Zone In project area overlaps with the city’s already established inclusionary zoning, which requires up to 11% of residential units in new projects be set at affordable rates.

The Zone In boundaries includes low-income parts of the city with much of the project area including neighborhoods where over 25% of residents are living in poverty, according to city data.

A community survey to gather feedback from residents and other people who own businesses in the area is open until April 22. The survey is available on the city’s website and is being offered in English, Spanish, Khmer and Vietnamese.

People who participate in the survey will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card.

Zoning changes for the Zone In: City Core project are expected to go before the City Council in spring 2023.

Those who want to attend the community meetings need to RSVP through the city’s website.

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