TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to study feasibility and explore support or financing options in for the creation of a Latino cultural district and a mixed-use small business economic development hub significantly similar to the El Mercado de Long Beach proposal supported by Centro CHA, and suggest support from upcoming grants and revenue including recovery investment funds, Measure US funds, and other grants that support health and equity for our Latino communities.
DISCUSSION
The feasibility study will review the potential scale and scope of a project to find pilot project options as one of many solutions to food insecurity, housing, health care and the economic crisis caused by the pandemic and, in particular, to our disproportionately affected Latino communities. The study will also help explore financing options to include tax-increment financing, bond financing, foundation support, and local, state, and federal funding opportunities.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant economic impact on Long Beach residents-particularly the City’s low-income and communities of color-leaving residents struggling to pay for necessities such as rent, food, transportation, and health care. One of the most pronounced and direct effects of this crisis is a dramatic decline in food security, defined as the ability to access adequate nutrition to sustain a healthy and active life.
In June 2020, the Council requested that the City create a Citywide Basic Needs Security Initiative, known as “BAND Together Long Beach,” to enhance the coordination and delivery of food and housing security programs. Since then, the City has worked across multi-agency, public, private, and non-profit sector lines to deliver food and housing security resources and programs to residents in need. There has also been an unprecedented community response to meeting the basic needs of the City, including major food distributions, Senior food delivery programs, and food pantry progra...
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