TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to work with the Public Works, Economic Development, and Development Services Departments and report back in 120 days identifying vacant and/or underused properties beginning first in Alamitos Beach, and potentially later expanding to other parking-impacted areas, that could be utilized to increase off-street parking supply; and develop a streamlined process for private property owners to alter or open up their properties to provide additional parking supply. The report back should also explore revenue and assessment tools to pay for the improved provision of public parking.
DISCUSSION
Parking has long been a challenging issue in Long Beach, and it has recently become increasingly more difficult for residents, businesses, and visitors as our community continues to evolve and grow. The COVID-19 pandemic further contributed to the reduction in available parking in these areas as more residents are working from home, car ownership has increased and transit ridership has declined. It is now clear that some of these commuting and lifestyle changes may become permanent rather than transitory. The City already has many parking impacted areas and these new factors are further intensifying long-time congestion and parking supply issue.
One of the most notorious parking impacted areas is the Alamitos Beach neighborhood. This is a popular area amongst residents and visitors due to its unique characteristics and nearby attractions. According to a 2018 parking study, there are more than 5,000 on-street parking spaces and 233 off-street parking spaces available to the general public. On-street parking is the primary public parking supply for Alamitos Beach as off-street publicly available parking opportunities are limited.
The neighborhood has become a parking impacted area because the existing housing stock was developed at a time when the provision of parking was not required and when the neighborhood was still primarily ser...
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