Politics & Government

Councilman DeLong on Late-Night Second Street

Third district representative explains his views on efforts to reduce late-night drinking impacts on residents, other businesses.

On June 7th, the Long Beach City Council discussed an agenda item associated with improving the Belmont Shore 2nd Street environment. I placed this item on the council calendar in response to a significant number of complaints I’ve received from residents and businesses regarding the problems associated with late-night Belmont Shore, as well as statistics from the Long Beach Police Department indicating there was a significant number of alcohol related arrests.

To make sure I was on the right path, I sent out an email on Monday morning June 6thasking residents whether or not they felt the City should take some action. Within several hours, I received almost two hundred emails.

The vast majority of these emails were requesting the City to do something towards reducing the inappropriate behavior that was occurring in the Belmont Shore area,particularly after midnight. Not only was the surrounding neighborhood being negatively impacted, but local restaurants were suffering as some residents indicated that they wouldn’t go to Belmont Shore any more for a late dinner.

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While in hindsight it was probably a mistake on my part not to take action sooner, I believe it was appropriate to attempt to work with the bars, and have also participated in numerous meetings with City staff looking for solutions. Some of the changes that were made last year include:

1. Restricting queue hours2. Installing ID Scanners3. Not allowing any new patrons to enter the bars after 1:00pm.

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Additionally, the businesses have installed Internet enabled video cameras on the outsideof their buildings to assist the Long Beach Police Department by providing video after an incident has occurred.

For many Belmont Shore residents, they’ve been frustrated for many years. For me, it’s been building for 5 years – since I assumed office in July 2006. It’s difficult to imagine the calls I receive from people of all ages, from residents who have lived in the Shore for 3years as well as from those who have lived in Belmont Shore for 63 years, and everywhere in between. At the end of each call I feel a little more pressure on my conscience - I should do something to fix this.

However, I believe it’s appropriate to give people a chance to fix a problem. There are times when I’m not patient enough and push too hard to get something fixed. Perhaps this time I was too patient. What I do know is that I believe over-serving of alcohol has been occurring in Belmont Shore for quite some time, and the surrounding residents have been bearing the brunt of alcohol fueled misbehavior. And finally, I’m feeling a bit of angst that my 2nd (and final) term will end in 3 years.

While it may seem like a long time (and some days it seems very long . . .), I would regret not making an effort to improve the environment in Belmont Shore before my public service expired.


Additionally, rather than have the City develop more regulations, I believe it would be a better solution if the restaurant/bars fixed the problem themselves. I’m not a fan of more and bigger government. Yet they aren’t fixing the problem, and in fact it’s become worse,so I feel the City should take action. I can’t in good conscience sit by and do nothing.


At the June 7th City Council meeting, my motion to request the Planning Commission,Planning staff and City Attorney to work together to evaluate the potential benefits of a Conditional Use Permit process passed with a solid majority. However, I am open to a better solution if one exists and will continue to meet with both residents and businesses and listen for the better idea. All stakeholders should be at the table in order to ensure a positive outcome.


My goal is to reduce the amount of neighborhood disturbances caused by the over-serving of alcohol, and to protect and promote our wonderful 2nd Street business district as much as possible. I believe an improved 2nd Street environment will benefit the existing businesses as much as the residents.

http://www.longbeach.gov/district3/default.asp


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