TITLE
Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, deny an appeal by Warren Blesofsky on behalf of Long Beach Citizens for Fair Development, and adopt resolution certifying EIR 02-16, selecting the reduced intensity alternative, making findings of fact, adopting a statement of overriding considerations, and approving a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Southeast Area Specific Plan (State Clearinghouse No. 2015101075);
DISCUSSION
On June 1, 2017, the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on the Southeast Area Specific Plan (Specific Plan or SEASP) (Exhibit A - Specific Plan) and formally recommended the Specific Plan to the City Council for adoption (Exhibit B - Planning Commission staff report). The Planning Commission’s action is the culmination of over 13 years of study, community visioning and planning exercises, and exhaustive public and environmental review. The purpose of the update is to enhance the quality of life, improve the functionality and visual appearance of public and private improvements in the area, and provide an overall framework for resource protection, mobility, growth, and development for the southeast area of the City into the future.
Existing regulations for the SEADIP area (Exhibit C - PD-1 SEADIP) were adopted in 1977. In 2004, the Third District Los Cerritos Wetlands Study Group first recommended changes to this oldest planned development district in the City. In 2006, the City Council directed staff to update these regulations because they were no longer meeting the needs of Long Beach residents and property owners in terms of mobility, activity and amenities, land use, the need for employment and housing and, most importantly, of maintaining, restoring, and protecting our wetlands. The existing PD-1 is a set of restrictions and allowed uses but is not a plan in today’s understanding of that term. PD-1 contains no vision for the future and does not conte...
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