Long Beach : Tandem Parking to Return

Responding to criticism from developers, the City Council Tuesday rescinded a moratorium on tandem parking in most sections of the city.

Developers use tandem parking--in which one car is parked in front of another--as an inexpensive way to meet city ordinances requiring 1 1/2 parking spaces for every one-bedroom apartment or condominium, and two spaces for every two-bedroom unit.

The council, which last month imposed a citywide moratorium, voted Tuesday to limit the moratorium to the shoreline area and part of the central city.

“I don’t like the impact of a moratorium on the development industry that is providing jobs and housing in the city,” said Councilman Warren Harwood, who proposed rescinding the ordinance Tuesday.

Developers had protested that the moratorium was imposed with no advance notice, and that it affected numerous proposed projects. The moratorium, imposed Sept. 4, was supposed to last until November, when city officials are expected to draft new parking regulations.