Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Use District Map of the City of Long Beach as said Map has been established and amended by amending portions of Part 10 of said Map from CHW (Regional Highway Commercial) to CCN (Community R-4-N Commercial), read and adopted as read.  (District 6)
Thank you. And if we go into the there, obviously this is a special meeting. So we have we just have a few items on the agenda, but we do have to continue to hear it. So I want to go ahead do those. It's going to get to continue hearing at a number two. Report from Development Services recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, concluded the public hearing. Find the project exempt from secure and adopt ordinance approving a zoning change for the properties addressed as 9012945 East Pacific Coast Highway District six. Okay. If I can turn this over to staff, please. Thank you. Christopher Coons, deputy director, will give the staff report. Good evening, Mr. Mayor. Members of the council. And we're here to talk about a project in the vice mayor's district. Uh, this project is on Pacific Coast Highway. It involves a former redevelopment property that was then transferred to the successor agency. And through a competitive process, was awarded to Mercy Housing. Mercy Housing acquired the adjacent property, a former auto facility. And they're turning that piece of land into a 68 unit affordable project. The Affordable Housing Project has already been approved by staff and the Planning Commission. And what's in front of council tonight is the technical matter of changing the zone on the property to a zone that allows for this residential use. So it'd be from c h w to cc n. Um, and the effect of that would be consistent with the existing adopted land use element and would allow for this positive development . This is going to be a project that provides high quality housing to seniors of limited means. It's a very attractive design that was complimented by both the public and our planning commission and planning staff. And it's being done using modular construction, which is the exciting way to lower the cost of delivering housing projects throughout the city and throughout the state of California. Um, so I could go on, but it's all positive regarding, um, this project. So I'm going to pause here and answer any questions that the Council may have. Thank you. I'm going to go ahead and go to public comment. Madam Clerk, first. Yes. Our first speaker is Erika Villar Blanca. Your time starts now. Hi. Good afternoon. Good evening, Mayor. And Members of the City Council. My name is Erika Blanca, and I'm the director of real estate development for Mercy Housing, California. Thank you for your time this evening. Our Long Beach. Senior Housing Project will provide 67 units of much needed affordable housing to low income seniors. Aged. 62 and over. We'd like. To extend our thanks to the Planning Department and city staff for all their efforts in working with us to. Get to this point. We're very excited about this project and have received a lot of support from the community since we first started reaching out to immediate neighbors and other organizations about a year ago last August. Together with our architecture. Team, Studio 111, I'm here to answer any questions you may have, and we're looking forward. To the day our. Vulnerable seniors will be able to call this place home. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Myron Wolin. Hello. I am the president of the Long Beach Gray Panthers, a senior advocacy group in Long Beach. I want to speak in favor of the council approving the zoning change so that the proposed housing project by Mercy Housing can be built in Long Beach. The project will provide housing for 68 units for homeless seniors and veterans in Long Beach. As we all know, there is a homeless crisis in Long Beach. There is a need for housing for the homeless, especially homeless seniors. Today we see seniors who are homeless in Long Beach, and we expect a 13% increase in senior homelessness this year. In the future, we expect the problem to get worse. And seniors living below the poverty line increase and to be almost 25% of all seniors in five years. You can be sure there will be a subsequent increase in homelessness. The project will be an asset to the neighborhood and probably improve it. The new housing will transform a site that is currently vacant into new housing that will help serve as a new anchor for the neighborhood. Within a short walk of less than a half a mile, a bus lines, parks, medical clinics and senior services at Long Beach City College. In addition, this housing will include indoor community rooms for residents and an outdoor courtyard. It will also be secured bike parking. We call on the council to approve this item with all the museum's amenities. And thank you for your consideration. Thank you. Our next speaker is Karen Reside. This is Karen Recite also with the Long Beach Gray Panthers. And we have been advising Mercy Housing on this project since they started the outreach to the community. The Gray Panthers support the approval of this project and the rezoning. This project. Is going to be built. In a much. Needed area that will eliminate blight that has been longstanding in the community and begin the process of implementing really a corridor for affordable housing with some other projects that are coming on board. Mercy Housing has been a wonderful partner to work with. They have engaged the community from the beginning and they are going to be providing community benefits with this project. They are also including local artists by including their art in the decor, which will be resident selected. The language Gray Panther supports the development of additional projects by mercy housing. For older adults like this project, as well as other developers. We now know that there is not enough housing for seniors in our community. The waitlist for on affordable housing are now from 5 to 10 years. Way too long for seniors. Who may not make it. Until that point. So we support the City Council on changing the zoning for this particular project. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Jordan Wynn. Hi there this is Jordan win with the everyone in campaign speaking in support of the 67 new units being built at Long Beach senior by Mercy Housing. We're seeing housing has been a wonderful community partner with everyone in and within the Long Beach community that has over the past few years engaged the community in very constructive and incredible ways to really make one be senior, a dedicated community space that will be a shining star along the Pacific Coast Highway. This comes at the heels of other affordable and supportive housing projects being built in the same area. And it is a welcome and much needed sight for our citizens and Long Beach. Miami Beach has a ongoing homelessness crisis that has been exacerbated by COVID 19. Many individuals, including seniors, find themselves vulnerable on the street with very little protection from the virus, from other health complications and very few. Resources for housing. I'm using your help to provide a safe place for refuge for many of those people who have been previously dealing with homelessness and gives them a road to recovery by a supportive housing. What we see here is a shining star. Honestly, within our community, it will be one of the best new projects being put up in the city. And I'm really excited to see a site that has been empty for the past, you know, at least ten years or so, ever since I was going to be passing by there. Could not think of a better use than converting that into supportive and affordable housing for our previously homeless and needy needs. So I'm speaking in support of Lumbee Senior. I hope everyone on the council will do the same. Thank you very much. Thank you. That concludes public comment for this item. Okay with that, I'm going to turn this over to Vice Mayor Andrews and a second. Thank you, ma'am. First of all, I want to let everyone know I'm very supportive of this project and this line of thinking. Since we tore down the blight, in fact, illicit activities, it took a long time to find the right operators for this site, and I am glad that I have the process brought mostly housing as a recommendation. We have seen that our senior homeless population is increasing and I've seen on most of the operators at St Mary's Towers, they've done a great job there. I'm hopeful that we're going to have a beautiful project along PCH corridor and I would like to thank Mercy Housing Team for engaging with the community throughout the entire process , answering questions the town and looking to transform this intersection. So I'm looking forward to breaking ground, and I invite my colleagues to please support me in approving this project. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. I have count some of your anger. You have a second? Yes. Fully supporter of the project. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Price. I was just queuing up the second. I'm supportive as well, I think. Great. Thank you. And I just want to add, I really want to just congratulate the entire team, Mercy, Housing, just the community, the seniors that have been involved. What what a great project. And really, it's really exciting, I think, to see what's all what's happening along on Beach Boulevard in PCH as relates to developing affordable housing, especially for seniors and low income folks. There's a lot of progress going on. And just want to congratulate you, vice mayor, and just the whole team on a really great project. So that's very supportive. Let's go ahead and do a roll call. A councilman and Dallas. Thank you, Mayor. I just also wanted to say congratulations on this awesome project that is coming up. I can't wait for the seniors in our city to be able to enjoy, enjoy it, really take advantage of this. I think this is great for for the whole community. And I'm always in favor of for more affordable housing for our seniors. So congratulations, Vice Mayor De Andrews on this wonderful project. Before we do the roll call vote. If I can have if you're not speaking, please be on mute. That includes all the staff. We are getting some feedback, so I've gotten to do a roll call vote. Madam Clerk. District one. I. District two. I. District three. I district for. My. District five. District five. II. District six. II, District seven. I. District eight. I. District nine. Right. Motion carries.