TITLE
Adopt resolution directing the Director of Development Services to submit the ordinance amendments to the California Coastal Commission for a finding of conformance with the Certified Local Coastal Program; and
Accept the Categorical Exemption 13-070. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On February 19, 2013, the Long Beach City Council adopted a nine-month moratorium prohibiting any new or expansion of all mortuaries, crematoriums or cemeteries to allow time to review existing City regulations and formulate any suggested revisions or refinements.
Since that time, staff has conducted research into current regulations of these types of businesses, commissioned a health risk assessment of crematorium operations by an environmental consulting firm, and developed a set of suggested recommendations.
To address Council and community concerns, staff studied all related business activities to understand issues pertaining to all funeral and burial industries currently located in Long Beach. There are currently four cemeteries and eight mortuaries in Long Beach. A map of these locations is attached as Exhibit A.
Two of the existing mortuaries provide cremation services onsite, and the remaining facilities provide cremation services through contracts with locations within Southern California, but outside of Long Beach. Staff also contacted a number of other communities to get a sense of the state of current regulations for these types of businesses.
A community meeting was held on July 11, 2013, to discuss possible regulations. At that meeting, approximately 45 people discussed the suggested recommendations and asked questions about moratoriums in general, the process to impose new regulations on these specific businesses, and implications of the specific suggested recommendations.
On August 1, 2013, a study session was held on this topic by the Planning Commission. On September 5, 2013, the Planning Commission made a recommendation to adopt the attached Ordinance amending...
Click here for full text