Good morning, Long Beach. It’s Monday, April 20. Here’s what you need to know to start your week. Get this in your inbox each week by signing up at LBPost.com/newsletters.
City meetings
After years of delays, developers are bringing plans to the City Council on Tuesday to build a pair of eight-story apartment complexes on the dirt lot next to Lincoln Park in the heart of downtown Long Beach.
Plans include two mid-rise buildings on the 4.6-acre site that will combine for 729 units. There will be a 2,650-square-foot retail space in the northern building and a promenade that cuts between the complexes with a view of City Hall. Each tower will have a courtyard, pool, sky lounge, gym and a parking garage.
As part of the request, city officials will recommend council members let the project dodge portions of its inclusionary housing policy, which mandates a certain amount of affordable housing in new construction. With this carve out, the buildings would include 73 moderate-income units — or between 80% to 120% of the area’s median income — as opposed to 88 units split between low and very-low income apartments.
Current local housing laws would typically require a project like this to have 12% of its units priced at low- or very-low income levels.
Officials argue the project’s land-use plans were approved prior to the enshrining of the city’s 2021 policy on inclusionary housing. They also argue the project is too important to not be built, saying in the report it “is essential to achieve the Civic Center vision and prepare downtown for the 2028 Games and beyond.” They also pointed out that the developer guaranteed these rates for 55 years.
“The proposed project is not truly a new project, it is an adjustment of a project approved before the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance went into effect,” the city staff report reads.
To read more about the project, see our past coverage here.
Other city meetings to watch:
- The city’s Climate Resilient and Sustainable City Commission on Thursday will hear a feasibility study on an electric vehicle battery reuse and recycling facility that would collect dead car batteries and sell them to recyclers, pulling in $860,000 to $3.2 million a year.
- After a string of violent incidents heightened fears over safety in Belmont Shore, the city on Tuesday will look to get approvals from the City Council for a $350,000 contract for security to patrol the popular tourist strip, paid for by the neighborhood’s parking meters.
- No one ever griped about a new park: The city will consider whether to move forward with a 4-acre park between 2301 and 2322 Cover Street. It’s right at the edge of Long Beach Airport, next to the Teamsters’ parking lot. The union says it wants to help build a “Playground With No Bounds” there, complete with multi-play equipment, roller slides, ramps, ground-level play areas and calm spaces.
- The city wants to contract with Los Angeles County to start a homelessness prevention unit centered on young people aged 18 to 24, often called transitional-age youth. The program, previously administered in a similar fashion by the April Parker Foundation, will connect young adults at risk of becoming homeless with counselors who help them with financial assistance, housing relocation and mediation with landlords.
- In tandem with an updated presentation, the city on Tuesday will ask the City Council for a $4.5 million increase to the construction budget for the Colorado Lagoon Restoration project to address “unforeseen conditions,” including utility relocations and hazardous materials abatement, among other costs. We’ve been following this issue for more than a year now. Residents, who have endured lengthy street closures, are frustrated.
Business events and information
- Long Beach had the busiest seaport in the nation last month, handling nearly 775,000 cargo containers, as well as the busiest through the first quarter of the year. This comes despite the month seeing a 5.2% decline compared to last March and 8.6% dip from Q1 in 2025. Port CEO Noel Hacegaba attributed the numbers to the Iran war that has caused fuel costs to spike across key trade lines, from ships to trucks and planes.
- Snoop Dogg will open his second cannabis dispensary, S.W.E.D. Long Beach, during a grand opening ceremony on May 9 at 2115 E. 10th St.
ICYMI — California and national news
- Organizer cancels Big Bang Independence Day celebration after Coastal Commission says no fireworks (Long Beach Post)
- Long Beach’s new homeless shelter still hasn’t opened, as fight over billing unfolds behind the scenes (Long Beach Post)
- In Pasadena, a 600-goat herd is taking a bite out of fire fuel (LAist)
- CA hasn’t signed off on a promised deal to help bail out LA if the Olympic Games lose money (LAist)
- The truth about business in California — the Golden State hasn’t lost its luster (LA Times)