The Long Beach Planning Commission was scheduled to vote Thursday on a massive 600-unit housing development proposed for the Marina Shores retail center near 2ND & PCH, but the vote was postponed until July 20, with city staff citing a potential noticing error that may not have given the public enough time to review the project.
Onni Group is proposing to build two five-story structures at the site south of 2ND & PCH, where a former Whole Foods location sits vacant and a handful of other businesses are still in operation. If the project moves forward, the center would demolished to make room for all market-rate units to be built.
Despite the project being pushed to the commission’s July 20 meeting, members of the public still commented Thursday on issues they saw with the proposal, with some saying that the 1,156 parking spaces may be too many for the site and environmental activists saying that adding potentially thousands of residents and cars to the area would negatively affect neighboring wetlands and the wildlife that lives there.
While the project is within the new Southeast Area Specific Plan and could bypass the need for a full environmental impact report if it meets the design standards for the area, it is in the coastal zone, which means it’s eligible for an appeal to the California Coastal Commission.
Onni recently completed a large housing development Downtown that added 432 units split between a 24-story tower and a mid-rise building on either side of the former Acres of Books building on Long Beach Boulevard.