TITLE
Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by adding Section 5.57 related to the regulation of nuisance motels, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
In October 2017, the City Manager directed the Office of Civic Innovation to coordinate an interdepartmental team to explore strategies to address nuisance activities of motel uses that affect the quality of life in the City of Long Beach (City). The interdepartmental team consisted of staff from the City Prosecutor’s and City Attorney’s Offices, and the Development Services, Health and Human Services, Police, Fire, and Financial Management Departments. The team subsequently developed and tested a nuisance motel compliance plan at six select locations as part of a nine-month Citywide pilot program. A motel is determined to be a nuisance if it meets the definition and criteria already established in the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) Section 9.37, Long Beach Nuisance Code.
The six motels included in the pilot program were selected based on analysis of data from the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) for all hospitality locations in the City, using calls for service and incident reports to determine locations with high rates of police activity relative to their size. Compliance plans were developed for the motels that were aimed at reducing crime and calls for service, as well as nuisance activities at these locations. The compliance plans incorporated best practices for motel operations, as well as existing City regulations, with a focus on property security measures, and the use of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) tools and techniques (Pilot Program).
At the November 13, 2018 City Council meeting, staff presented the nuisance motel Pilot Program findings, which demonstrated that crime and nuisance activity had decreased at all pilot motel locations following the Pilot Program’s implementation, with some properties showing a significant ...
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