Long Beach : 9 Parking Spots OKd After a Decade

Against a decade of neighborhood opposition, the Long Beach City Council voted 7 to 1 this week to open nine parking spaces in space-squeezed Belmont Shore.

For 10 years, the owners of a 3,000-square-foot paved lot at 207 St. Joseph Ave. have wanted to open the area to parking, but their plans were stalled by city regulations and community opposition.

Now, F&M; Bank must secure approval from the California Coastal Commission to lift the chains that have surrounded the vacant property since 1985, the year the bank demolished a residence it had purchased there in order to make space for employee and customer parking.

The Coastal Commission has the final authority over the area because of its proximity to the beach, which is only a few blocks away.

For 10 years, the very idea of parking on the lot has polarized the area. Residents around the property fear the parking lot could set a dangerous precedent for business invasion into their neighborhood. They also are concerned that the parking lot could lower property values.

But council members who supported the plan cited a recent study showing that Belmont Shore has a severe parking shortage. They also pointed to the support of the Belmont Shore Improvement Assn., which until a recent change in leadership had vehemently opposed the plan.

“Nine [parking spaces] doesn’t seem to be much, but that’s nine more people with a parking place,” said Vice Mayor Doug Drummond.

The council’s decision Tuesday reverses a ruling by the Planning Commission two years ago that the site be limited to residential development.