Business Owner / Manager Petition:
No Parklets in Belmont Shore

As business owners and managers, we urge Long Beach city officials to: 1. Wind down the temporary parklets program in Belmont Shore by June 30, 2022; and 2. Prohibit permanent parklets or similar structures on Second Street and around Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier.

(Full Petition text at bottom)

We, as impacted owners and managers of businesses in Belmont Shore, call for the Long Beach City Council to wind down the temporary parklets program by the planned June 30, 2022 sunset date and to create a legislative carve-out barring any permanent parklets or similar structures on Second Street and in the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier area.

Permitting permanent parklets and similar installations would result in irrevocable harm to the safety, walkability, aesthetics, and essential character of this vital retail corridor, while principally benefiting only a narrow group of business in the bar and restaurant sector to the overall detriment of other businesses and adversely impacting the local residents who comprise the essential customer base for commerce in Belmont Shore.

We recognize and underscore the area’s long history of traffic and parking hurdles and the geographical limitations that make the area unique among Long Beach’s retail corridors.

These characteristics make permanent parklets an untenable imposition on the area such that:

• Some 60 to 80 parking spaces were lost during the temporary parklets program, and more would almost certainly be eliminated under a permanent initiative.

• Customer access — by both local residents and those traveling from outside the immediate area — would be detrimentally affected.

• Traffic obstructions by delivery and service vehicles would impede parking and transit, especially during peak periods, and further reduce the pool of parking spaces available to shoppers, employees, neighborhood residents and visitors.

• Obstacles to cleaning, maintenance and safe operation around permanent structures would amplify existing sanitation issues with trash, vermin, drainage and effective street sweeping and walkway cleanup.

In recognition of these and other considerable impacts to the Belmont Shore area, we call for the Mayor, Council Members and all city departments to cease and abandon all efforts to implement any permanent parklets and similar OAPs and OEPs* on Second Street and in the area surrounding Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier.

* OAP = Outdoor Activity Permit. OEP = Occasional Event Permit