Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, find that the area to be vacated is not needed for present or prospective public use; and, adopt resolution ordering the vacation of the alley adjacent to 4100 East Ocean Boulevard, east of Termino Avenue and south of Ocean Boulevard, also known as Belmont Avenue.  (District 3)
to conflict of interest issues yourselves for supporting the signing of this until that investigation is complete. Thank you very much for your time and I appreciate you looking out for the concerns of your residents that that live here. Thank you so much. Okay. We're moving on to the hearing. Hearing item number one, please. Hearing item one is a report from Public Works recommendations received supporting documentation into the record. Conclude the public hearing. Find that the area to be vacated is not needed for present or prospective public use. And a resolution ordering the vacation of the alley adjacent to 4100 is Ocean Boulevard, east of Terminal Avenue and south of Ocean Boulevard , also known as Belmont Avenue District three. Staff report, please. Yes, the staff report was given by Shawn Crumby, our deputy director. Good evening, Honorable Mayor and City Council. Item one Hearing one moves for the vacation of the Allies south of Ocean Boulevard and east of Terminal Avenue. The recommended actions tonight are to conduct a public hearing. Make a finding that the alley is not needed for public use and adopt the resolution ordering the vacation, said Alley. A summary of the actions related to this item are as follows. General Plan Consistency finding was approved July 21st. Local coastal permit appeal was heard by the Planning Commission on November 17th, and a notice of intent to vacate of this alley was approved by the City Council on November 15th. One concern that has been raised or one discussion topic is in regards to that I'd like to highlight is that the property owner for 4100 ocean will continue to work with 4110 to 4120 to find an alternate suitable location for the trash pickup in the alley. And until that time or until such time, access will be granted to the end of the alley for for existing, for trash service. So with that, I'm available to answer any questions. Okay. Any public comment on the hearing? So, you know. Is this on the for the hearing? Yes. Please come forward. Good afternoon. Good evening again, Melinda Cotton in the third district. What has been presented to you is fairly. Not terribly complete. But let's begin. This alley is between Ocean and Olympic Plaza. It's 15 feet wide. It's 120 feet long. It provides coastal access for beachgoers. It provides public access. It provides emergency access. It provides trash access for the businesses around it. And during a period of time when Yankee Doodle was not well taken care of, it was pretty much abandoned. Yankee Doodle was abandoned. The lighting went out on the alley and apparently it turned into a place where homeless people gathered. That's no longer the case. Olympic fantasies coming in there. We certainly wish them well. But this is a port and access. This is a time of transition for this location. For one thing, the city is hoping to put the Belmont Beach and Aquatic Center, the new pool there. When they do that, they're going to close Olympic Plaza. Plaza Drive will be closed so that access will no longer be available. And the alley also there got a road diet coming. So they're going to be narrowing the streets down so that portion of the access to that area is also narrowing down. And so it really does not seem a good time to turn this over to the Olympics, fitness for their private use for exercise equipment or whatever, which is what was stated in the staff report. What I would recommend is that you're not to turn over this public access at this time until you're really sure that the city doesn't need it. And there's quite a distance between the other streets, the other access to the beach area. So I really recommend that you just hold on to it, allow it to be used and by the public, it allows to be used to help the adjacent people because there's going to be traffic problems if you don't and allow people to access the beach in this way. So those are the things that I think you should know. It's a shame to give away public property and public access without consideration of all the elements, and I don't believe that they've been as carefully looked at as they should be. Thank you. Thank you. Any other public comment on this? Good evening. And Cantrell. And when you were. Were. Addressing this item back on November 15, I suggested that perhaps this was a procedural error because. The appeal that Melinda Cotton and others were bringing before the Planning Commission on this wasn't heard until November 17. And this appears to me to be a blatant done deal. The resolution was all written out on the 15th that this was going to be vacated. The Planning Commission as expected. Did up hold. The zoning administration's administrator's coastal permit. Today's staff report does not even mention that this is going to be gated. The alley is going to be shut off to the public at both ends. There's going to be a gate there. It not only stops public access, it interferes with views of the coastline. And this is in the coastal zone. It is becoming a private eye alley for. The gym to use for equipment that isn't in today's staff report, but it was in your November 15th. It's going to be an outdoor fitness activity and private passageway for business. We were arguing that this is access to the beach, if you will. Look at the. Sketch that's in your staff report. You. So on the back of this, you will see that this connects Ocean Boulevard to the beach area. And I know Mr. Snyder has said that he has spending $40,000 to pave this alley. It has been unpaved. And this is the reason that it isn't open for traffic. But if it's going to be paved now, then I think it should remain public access. The trash is going to be put out on the street, which takes trapped parking spaces. Thank you very much. And I would ask you to please hang on to this. Thank you. Next week, please. Hi. Laurie Smith, third district resident. Okay, so. When I hear about beach access being closed off, it makes me think I think Councilman Durango would be familiar with this. I think this week with the California Coastal Commission, there was $5 million and that they had sent out to people who were closing off access to the beach. So that's not something that I would think that the city of Long Beach would be in, interested in considering that Naples residents and that area they have had to open. We've been talking to them about making more access around their homes that that that we have not since. Looked into. So basically, I'm not sure why the city would be giving up land. So the trash cans that are currently in that alley are now going to be on the street. And it's just not something that I would think that the the council members would be interested in doing, that you're closing off the beach that you want more people to be coming to. So it just seems like a bad business practice again, that you are giving up land to someone that is having a development done. So. Well, we'll just have to look into what this gentleman who he has been talking with so and who he's been doing business with. So I'm excited to look at that at the planning commission. All right. Thank you. Okay. And you and the other have a comment. Come forward. Very good, you third district. I have a great deal of respect for Ms.. Cotton and Melinda. And and of course, I went down and I really had not paid that much attention to it. I said I was here at the hearing and I went down and scope that out and. Came to the conclusion that it is in fact. In the interest of public safety. To eliminate that coast or that alleyway as coastal access, there's ample coastal access. But that inherently leaving that there inherently it invites an accident. If you walk down that you. From the build it from the. If you're walking along the beach and then walk there. You're walking right into all the traffic, zooming down Ocean Boulevard. And there's a median in the middle. So it it really is not a coastal access route. People are, most people will go to an attractive route. An easy route where they don't have to dodge traffic. What you're doing is inviting an accident. By encouraging people if that were to be open to go to cross that street. And I invite you if you are undecided now, I invite you to hold this over and go down and put your boots on the ground. On several different days. Busy days. And see for yourself. The danger that is presented by enticing people. Down into the roadway. So far, there's ample access to the beach on either side as well as views. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. We're going to go ahead and go comment. Please come forward. Hey. Good evening. My name's William with Olympic Fitness. Been on the project for a little bit over a year and a half, so I'm very familiar with the location. And I want to talk about a couple of things. You talk about having a pathway to the beach and there is no real. Uh. Media where you can cross the street. I've actually seen people that try to use the alley as a pathway to the beach. And what happens is they sprint across the the street, which people you're driving 35 to 40 miles an hour and they're jaywalking across the street, about 100 feet on each direction. There's there's crosswalks which you can safely get to the beach, which would be more safer for pedestrians to actually cross. A couple other things, too. Is this this alleyways? Obviously not well lit for the last year and a half, probably on every other day, even picking up alcohol bottles. Sin Drug saw some marijuana there a couple of weeks ago, too. And it's just really an alley used for drug trafficking and just people just hide out and drink booze, unfortunately. We've hired a security guard there and her last report is there is two people in the last two days have been urinating in the alley and that's been something that's been happening last year and a half as well. And I would you take in consideration that we have a daycare close by too as well, in addition to a pool which you got tons of great kids programs going on in there as well. The facility that will have we'll have a daycare there where kids can be dropped off and their parents can work out and enjoy work out why their kids are being tended to with some fitness activities as well in the daycare. And with this Allie continue on what we have going on with drug trafficking, alcohol, it's not the right place to have that kind of stuff going on with all the kids and families. So appreciate consideration on this. We try to bring some healthy energy to this area that needs it. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. I'd probably say goodnight, but that sounds too formal, too final. Mayor and City Council Members Lucy Johnson I live in the fifth District. However, I am frequently down in the third district at the pool area and near Olympics. I've been going there since the pool was built in 1968, and I cannot tell you that I've ever seen anybody using that out. As one of the other speakers mentioned, it's not paved. It's never been paved, to my knowledge. People really in their right mind wouldn't walk through there. And it will be much improved. If it's vacated. And Mr. Snyder and the other property owners and. It's basically it's not. Theoretically owned by the city, it's an easement to the city. And the property will revert to the. Both owners, the daycare center and the Olympics fitness center. It's not just people walking from Belmont Avenue and trying to cross the Ocean Boulevard, but it's not it's not useful for vehicle traffic. It's not useful for pedestrians. And there is plenty of access. Around either side. It's not blocking access like in Malibu, where the homeowners are adjacent to each other and completely fence. Off any access. So it's not. Going to be that kind of a detriment to public. Access. Also, one of the other speakers mentioned. Olympic Plaza will be closed to vehicle. To be closed and it will not be. Reduced to public access because it will be closed when the pool is built to vehicular traffic but still available for use by emergency. Vehicles. And so the public access along that, it'll. Be mostly, as I understand it, a walkway through there too. So it does not reduce any public access. So I encourage you to approve the vacation and let's move on with it and clean up that area. Thank you. Thank you. Final public speaker. Good evening. I'm Kurt Schneider, a developer of the property that's adjacent to the alley. Lucy was correct in stating that there's no giving of real estate here. As I stated last time before you, city council, the property owners that surround it own the land. The simple land is owned by the adjoining property owners. It's strictly an easement and the city is relinquishing that easement. So I'm just reiterating that point. So there is no giving. I'm not getting a gift. What we're looking forward to is making it a much cleaner spot in our community. Currently, when we started, when I bought this property three years ago, it was the armpit of Belmont Shore. I think you'll find it'll be a fantastic property when we're done. It already is remarkably better. I want to clarify just one point regarding Chuck's trash. We're happy to work with him as a good neighbor. We'll help him find an alternative suitable location for his trash over time. We're going to work with him. And until that time, we'll have a spot at the end of the alley for his trash can. Again, we try to be a good neighbor. I think the best way we can be a good neighbor is to improve this neighborhood and to make it so that you get more people coming down to the beach. The access to the beach on terminal as well as Bennett is much easier. And again, thank you so much. You've been here for 5 hours. I hope you all are able to go home soon. I'm going. Thank you. Thank you. Case. I want to go back to the council. Councilman Price. Thank you. So I want to just ask a few questions in regards to some of the comments that were made. Sean, you've been kind of the lead on this project since it came out, was presented to the city. Do you believe that there's any information outstanding that you would need to help you assess this request and determine whether or not this is an alley, that the city where the easement is is continuing to be needed? So when an alley is vacated, the finding that the city council makes is that it's not needed for public benefit or public use. And so through that process, all those types of public uses are investigated to see if those uses are still necessary. And in this case, they were not found to be needed for traffic, circulation, coastal access. Some of the items brought up tonight were emergency access. And for those concerns, our emergency service departments of the city are consulted with a vacation for coastal access. In this case, it did include the zoning administrator for the coastal development permit. But we also do site visits and investigations to make sure that coastal access or access in general is not necessary or public benefit for this alley. And the investigation, the staff was that public benefit is not needed for this alley. So staff conducted an investigation. Yes. In regards to this. And that's consistent with what we do any time such a request is made. That's correct. We did have a community meeting and I don't believe Miss Cotton or Ms.. Smith and or nor Ms.. Cantrell or anyone from the gym were there. It was on homelessness, and we received a lot of feedback regarding this particular area, not just at the alley, but near the pier, the businesses near the pier regarding homeless activity and syringes and things being found in this alley in particular, is this an alley that the city currently patrols or maintains in any way to ensure that there's no homeless activity taking place there? I would say. That the city responds to two calls and as they come in for service and has done so in this alley, I don't know that there's any routine, necessary patrols or anything that particularly targets this area. During your investigation, did you determine whether or not the surrounding business owners were okay with this alley vacation? So as part of the process for a vacation. Outreach is done to all of the surrounding property owners and any potential issues that arise as part of the vacation. It is encouraged that are worked out between the surrounding properties and that was done so in this case. Miss Cotton mentioned the road diet. I'm very familiar with that project, but I am unclear how that relates at all to the alley. Does it relate to the alley? So the road diet would be a change in the configuration of Ocean Avenue, but that does not alter access, particularly this. This alley has two streets that border it. Those are Termino and BURNETT. And so access to the coast is not impacted by the road diet. Thank you. I have nothing further. Councilman Gonzales. Anything? No. Councilman Supernanny. Yeah. I'd like to thank Mr. Goodhue for the invitation. As much as we'd enjoy going down and visiting the site with him. I just looked it up on Google Maps and Mr. Crumby, it looks like the the alley parallels terminal. And it's like within a couple of hundred feet, correct? That's correct. I would estimate it's probably 150 feet. Okay. So beach access is 150 feet away at Termino. And then it was also mentioned about Bennett. The other advantage there is both Termino and Bennett have crosswalks across ocean where the alley does not. Is that correct? Okay. That's correct. Thank you. Okay. There's a motion and a second. Members, please go ahead and cast your votes.