TITLE
Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, adopt resolution recertifying the Final Program EIR 04-08 (State Clearinghouse No. 2009071006) and adopting Findings of Fact, a Statement of Overriding Considerations, and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Downtown Plan; deny the appeal, and uphold the December 1, 2011 decision of the Planning Commission;
DISCUSSION
Downtown has long been the center for civic, commercial, cultural, and entertainment activity in Long Beach, and the City Council has adopted and implemented several plans over the years to further the Downtown’s position in this respect. Most recently, the Downtown Planned Development District (PD-30) was adopted in 2000, and provided a regulatory framework for continued development of Downtown. The development boom in the early to mid 2000’s resulted in several projects that, although consistent with the overall vision for Downtown, were in conflict with the specific development standards. As a result, several amendments to PD-30 were approved to make way for the various projects. Although facilitating these projects was important to the continued development of Downtown, the ad hoc nature of the amendments resulted in a lack of a cohesive approach on the part of the City, as well as uncertainty on the part of the development, residential and business communities, with respect to the timeline and overall certainty in the City processes. Recognizing the need for a cohesive vision for future development, as well as the need to create a fair, clear and predictable process, the City began the process of updating the plan for Downtown.
To assist in facilitating a cohesive vision that represented the needs and desires of the community, the two Downtown City Councilmembers formed the Downtown Visioning Committee (Committee) consisting of various Downtown stakeholders. The Committee was tasked with creating a comprehensive set of prin...
Click here for full text