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City meetings

Fifteen Days remain until New Year’s and the end of 2024, at least for us normal people. For local government, however, the year ends Thursday, with six meetings in between. 

The week starts Tuesday with the Long Beach City Council meeting at 5 p.m. in the Civic Chambers. Councilmembers will match state requirements on sick leave, decide on whether to remove parking requirements in select city areas, grant an entertainment permit to the Fairmont Breakers Hotel and officially dedicate parcels of land to Willow Springs Park, among other important items. 

It will also be the first meeting for member-elect Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, who will replace the termed-out Councilmember Al Austin following her victory in the March 5 primary election.

At their usual 9 a.m. start on Thursday, the Long Beach Utilities Commission will hear a presentation on its expected water use in 2025, as well as projections for the Colorado River and the city’s own dry-year storage, which gained nearly half a million-acre feet in the past year. 

The commission is also expected to approve a $674,000 contract for the development of a 2025 Water Resources Plan. 

Hours later, the city Planning Commission on Thursday will decide whether to recommend the City Council approve a citywide expansion of Long Beach’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. 

The ordinance has since 2021 required any new Downtown or Midtown development with 10 or more units to include some affordable housing. This has netted more than 850 affordable units, according to a city report, an encouraging sign as Long Beach struggles to meet demand for a cheaper living. 

It has since come before the city’s Housing and Public Health Committee, focus groups composed of landlords and developers, and the Planning Commission for a study session in August. In a May 8 memo to the council, City Manager Tom Modica wrote that the policy, if approved, would be phased in gradually between January 2025 and 2027. 

Business events and information

  • The Port of Long Beach on Friday released a study that examines the feasibility of storing more than 200 containers of lithium-ion batteries and auxiliary equipment next to the NRG Long Beach Power facility at 2665 Pier S Ln. The project, which would sit on a 2.9-acre plot, would house 70 megawatts worth of electric power. Construction would include upgrades to a nearby 66-kilovolt substation and the demolition of three buildings and sections of abandoned concrete pipes. The Port will host two public meetings on the project: an in-person meeting on Jan. 8 at 6 p.m. at the Port of Long Beach Administration Building’s 1st Floor Multipurpose Room, 415 W. Ocean Blvd., and a 6 p.m. virtual session on Jan. 9. For more information, visit the project’s webpage.
  • In a press conference Thursday, analysts at USC Homelessness Policy Research Institute showed their findings that public housing has a direct impact on lowering homelessness. The report also shows the ineffectiveness of Housing Choice Vouchers and that in comparison to 150 major metro areas in the United States, L.A. County has far fewer homes that are federally subsidized. “This study suggests a potential link between the lack of federal government investment in L.A.’s housing supply and our high rate of unsheltered homelessness,” said Jared N. Schachner, Ph.D., USC Price School of Public Policy and lead author on the study. “In our research, L.A. stands out among U.S. metros for its very high concentration of unsheltered homelessness and its low concentration of traditional public housing units.” As Board Chair of the new Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency — set to receive more than a third of the new County Measure A sales tax revenue — Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson called the study proof of a “dire need” for more housing in L.A. County. “Measure A represents more than funding for these efforts — it’s a mandate from voters who believe that addressing affordable housing and homelessness is a priority we can and must solve together,” he wrote in a release.

ICYMI — California and national news

  • Los Angeles County went and bought a new building to move into. Why’s it having such trouble tearing down its old location? (LA Times)
  • The holiday mailing crush is here. Follow this guide to get your gift on Santa’s sleigh in time for Christmas. (NPR)
  • One South L.A. company is breathing new life into old cars. The result is electrifying. (LAist)