LBC Meeting Notes
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Live Twitter-based coverage of Long Beach city government meetings. Goal: increase accountability, transparency, & civic participation. A @forthelbc project.
Long Beach, CA
Joined December 2017
What Happened to the Firehouse Community Farm in North Long Beach? https://t.co/WSApNFZV1f
forthe.org
What had once been a vibrant space where community gardening classes, university research projects, and a monthly crop swap event took place, has been closed to the public by the city.
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Check it out! This item will be heard at the council’s 5 p.m. meeting today.
The Long Beach Police Department plans to seek City Council approval today to spend $1.2 million in federal grant money to purchase additional mass surveillance equipment. https://t.co/SSItZz9hco
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Procrastinators: Less than an hour left to vote or drop off your ballot!
Have you voted in the #2022CAGeneralElection?! There's still plenty of time. Vote Centers and Ballot Drop Boxes are open until 8 PM! Return your ballot or find a Vote Center in your neighborhood: https://t.co/PUcdMNlFB1
#EveryVoteIn #LAVOTES #LACounty
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Austin said he can point to "more than a handful" of properties in his district that have been vacant for a decade.
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Allen is concerned that landowners may be facing difficulty finding tenants in the aftermath of COVID.
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"This is a serious livability and quality of life issue for many of our neighborhoods," Austin said.
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According to that study, Oakland, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. have similar initiatives that disincentivize speculative ownership of property. The item asks city staff to come back with a plan to implement a policy to address vacant commercial properties in 90 days.
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A study on a vacancy tax was conducted in 2019 but momentum for the policy was derailed by the pandemic.
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A tax on vacant commercial property is being proposed by Councilmember Al Austin, who says “activation of long vacant locations could revitalize corridors in low-income communities and lead to a more equitable distribution of quality businesses throughout Long Beach.”
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The item passes without discussion. The change will come back to council.
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The item also proposes that an outdated rule requiring public commenters to disclose their name and address be stricken from the code.
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The bill defines "disruptive behavior" as behavior that “actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting.” A warning is not required for removal when a disruptive person uses force or makes a true threat of force.
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SB 1100 was signed by the governor in August and requires that individuals disrupting a public meeting first be given a warning before they can be removed by force.
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The council will vote on whether to amend city code in accordance with a new state law that clarifies the process for removing disruptive people from a public meeting.
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LB Firefighters President Rex Pritchard said the pay increase will help with worker retention. Departments citywide are facing retention issues, and have been for the past year.
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According to the city, the new agreement would add $4.5 million to the budget shortfall that will need to be resolved by fiscal year 2024, bringing the total to an estimated $28.1 million. The agreement would also add an additional $857,000 to the projected 2025 budget hole.
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The council is being asked to approve an agreement with the Long Beach Firefighters Association that will give the 396 firefighters represented by the union a 12.5% increase in pay by 2025. The wage increase will be phased in with incremental raises each year.
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