TITLE
Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Sections 21.15.966, 21.15.2290, 21.15.2795, 21.15.2810, 21.15.2985, 21.15.3095, Table 31-1, Table 32-1, Table 33-2, and Table 34-1; by adding Sections 21.15.1475, 21.15.2382, 21.15.2793, 21.45.153, 21.45.163, 21.51.278, 21.52.238, and 21.52.269.1; and by repealing Section 21.15.2475, all relating to interim housing, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
This proposed Ordinance will expand the locations where emergency shelters, interim and supportive housing, safe parking, and social services may be established within Long Beach. This Ordinance also includes operating and performance standards to protect adjacent uses and communities from any impacts from these interim housing uses. Within Long Beach, over 20,000 households are housing insecure, and an estimated 4,000 people in the city experience homelessness each year (Everyone Home, 2018). Given the recent economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of individuals and families facing housing insecurity will likely increase. The reasons for housing insecurity are complex and varied and include, but are not limited to: poverty, unemployment, housing affordability, substance abuse, mental health problems, abuse, reentry from incarceration, divorce, death of a family member, and disability.
In May 2018, in recognition of this complex statewide problem and its effect on Long Beach, the Everyone Home Initiative was started by Mayor Garcia. In December 2018, the City Council received the recommendations of the Everyone Home Task Force Report (Report). The Report established goals and actions that could be taken to enhance the City’s response to housing insecurity. It included implementing the housing first model and improving coordination between departments, agencies, and nonprofit partners. At the direction of the City Manager, Planning Bureau staff evaluated the City’s zoning standards for ...
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