The Long Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to initiate the visioning process of what could become a Cambodian American Cultural Center, if the city can find funds to build it.

A unanimous vote from the council approved a request from Councilwoman Suely Saro for the city to begin a feasibility and vision process for a potential center that could showcase the culture, art and history of the city’s Cambodian population.

Saro, who became the city’s first Cambodian elected to the City Council last year, said that building a center would allow the next generation of Cambodians, and the public at large, to be able to learn about the art and culture of the Khmer people.

“It would make the dreams of so many Cambodians living in Long Beach a reality,” Saro said. Long Beach has one of the largest populations of Cambodians in the country as a result of the genocide that took place in Cambodia starting in the late 1970s. The projected number of Cambodians living in the city has fluctuated over the years with some estimates being as high as 50,000.

Member of the Cambodian community spoke in favor of the vote, saying it could help preserve the rich history of their ancestors, a lot of which was lost when the Khmer Rouge ran the country from 1975 to 1979.

“The center will be essential for us to move from no history and no self, to known history and knowing yourself,” said Daniel Ung, who spoke on behalf of Cambodia Town Thrives, an organization focused on the future development of Cambodia Town.

The idea of a cultural center was celebrated by Cambodian residents who told the council it would provide an opportunity to not be defined as survivors of a genocide that displaced them, but rather by their culture and history.

Charles Song, a community activist, said that the genocide was emotionally scarring for members of his community and the proposed center could provide a chance to heal.

Saro’s request noted that a consultant to help engage the public for the visioning process could cost over $50,000 and to develop it the council could have to reallocate money meant for other city needs or take funding from city reserves. No estimate for what the center could ultimately cost was given.

In March, the council voted to initiate a similar process for a Latino cultural district. The city’s efforts to create an African American cultural center is farther ahead. That visioning process took about eight months though organizers are still searching for a permanent home for it. There’s no timeline for a feasibility report to be returned to the City Council.

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Jason Ruiz covers City Hall and politics for the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or @JasonRuiz_LB on Twitter.