2nd & PCH

Parking woes for sailors… why this development is so important for Alamitos Bay Marina tenants.

2nd & PCH is a 220,000 SF retail mall located across Marina Drive and the parking lot for boat owners in ABM Basin 2 and 3. The ownership and management for this retail development has decided that they will have paid parking which is a primary concern of the slip owners since our lot is essentially open and no charge.

There are three major points of contention:

1) People will park in the marina parking lot to avoid paying for the parking charged by 2nd & PCH or the parking meters planned by the City for Marina Drive.

2) The Long Beach City Council and the Economic Development Department will put meters in the parking area currently allocated for ABM Basin 2 and 3 and we want to protect our “free” parking area for us and our guests that is contractually guaranteed to us by The Tidelands Commission and California Coastal Commission.

3) The Safety and Security of our boats and visitors is compromised with the increase in traffic that this development will bring to the marina.

Hot Topics

Many concerns have been raised in the public meetings.

Follow this link for answers to questions posed to CenterCal Development (the 2nd & PCH project developer) during the public comment period meeting held at Long Beach Yacht Club in September 2019.

There were follow-up public hearings held by Walker Parking Consultants in January and we are waiting for the answers to those questions.

Here is a summary of some of the more relevant answers posted after the September 2019 meeting that we consider to be Hot Topics of interest to Alamitos Bay Marina boat owners.

  • 2nd & PCH Parking charge will be free with purchase for the first 90 minutes and $2.00 per each additional 20 minutes with a daily maximum of $30.
  • The project was developed at a parking ratio of 5.1 stalls per 1,000 SF of leasable area. This exceeds the LB Municipal Code requirement of 5.0/1,000 and exceeds industry standards for development of a regional shopping center.

Note: BOA conducted a parking analysis and found that the development was short by approximately 464 parking stalls. The city has continued to deny this shortfall and at the outset of the September meeting Councilwoman Suzie Price prohibited further comment on this issue. While retail developments require only 5.0 stalls per 1,000sf, restaurants and bars require twice as much parking.

  • The parking plan includes parking spots for employees. Employee stalls will not be physically “allocated.” The document did not answer the question if employees would be compensated for their parking.  It is BOA’s understanding that each retail establishment sets their own policy as to if they cover the cost for their employees to park in the garage. UPDATE: we were informed that the management at 2nd & PCH was making employees park in our parking lot, and advising tenants that if their clients didn’t want to pay, or complained about the parking charge, to advise them to park in the marina parking lot.
  • The Farmer’s Market continues but has been relocated to the far north end of Basin 3 near Marina Shipyard.
  • A parking study for the Alamitos Bay Marina parking lot is currently in-process by Walker Parking Consulting with anticipated completion during the first quarter of 2020. Public hearings were held mid-January. City staff anticipates the implementation of parking meters to be approximately within 12-18 months.  Any fees and proceeds stay in the Tidelands Trust and subject to input and approval by the California Lands Commission and the Long Beach City Council.
  • Marine Bureau is rolling out several improvements to Basins 2 and 3 including better identification of boat owner parking stalls, temporary signage and better enforcement of by citing visitors who park in boat owner assigned parking spots.
BOA went on a tour of the development prior to the grand opening to discuss these issues with the retail center management.

We still have questions:

  • We understand how the license plate data is being used to expedite parking and traffic flow within the parking structure. Our question is how else is this data being utilized? Is the data being sold to any 3rd party vendors? Is it being used to profile the customers?
  • When will the meters go up on Marina Drive?
  • When will 2nd and PCH start charging for parking? Will there be times when the $2. per 20 minutes will be adjusted based on traffic?
  • We are anxious for the results and plan of the Walker Consulting parking and circulation. We anticipate they will recommend parking meters and those will be installed by the end of 2020. If we can’t stop this, then we want to at least make sure boaters are protected.

Key initiatives:

  • We were successful in stopping the two Jumbotron signs that were planned for the exterior of 2nd & PCH that would face both 2nd Street and PCH.
  • All obligations for promised parking spaces must be honored and protected.
  • 2nd and PCH employee parking should be covered by the employers not the employees.
  • Work with the City and Walker consulting to give input and to improve marina parking  and circulation.
  • Work through the MAC, the Marine Department and the City to protect the boaters and to disperse information on a timely basis to the boating community.
  • Focus on Safety and Security. Security for our boats so they are not broken into or vandalized. Safety for visitors who are going to wander the docks, possibly drunk or otherwise impaired and trip and fall . We have been through this in Basin 1 with Ballast Point we need to take “lessons learned” from this experience so that it doesn’t happen in Basin 2 and 3.

Who’s Who:

City of Long Beach: Long Beach Economic Development Department

The Economic Development Department of the City is the main group of the City that is charged with developing this area and this project.

City of Long Beach: Public Works Department

If parking meters are approved this department will be involved with the bidding, purchasing and installation of the parking meters.

  • From their website: The Public Works Department strives to operate, preserve, and enhance the City’s physical infrastructure and transportation systems. The Department provides a variety of community services including the repair, rehabilitation and general upkeep of City streets, trees, sidewalks, and City structures. We also provide emergency support services throughout the City.
  • 411 W. Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90802, Phone: (562) 570-6383
  • http://www.longbeach.gov/pw/

City of Long Beach: Marine Bureau

The Marine Department is involved because the marina is across the street from the development. They are the city employees that are representing the marina as this project develops and expands. The Marine Bureau is under the direction of Parks and Recreation.

  • Alamitos Bay Marina, 205 N. Marina Drive , Long Beach, CA 90803, (562) 570-3215 
  • Monday – Friday: 7:30 am – 5:30 pm, Saturday: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, Sunday: 8:00 am – 2:00 pm
  • http://www.longbeach.gov/park/marine/

3rd District Councilwoman Suzie Price

The 2nd and PCH development is located within the 3rd District of the City of Long Beach.

  • Third District Council Office: 333 W. Ocean Boulevard, 14th Floor, Long Beach, CA  90802
    (562) 570-6300
  • https://www.suzieaprice.com/

Property Developer: CenterCal

From their web site: A privately held development company established 2004 by Fred Bruning & Jean Paul Wardy. Projects are located in Oregon, Idaho, Washington State, Utah and California.

2nd and PCH Parking Lot vendor: LAZ Parking

From their web site: Specializes in the management, leasing, ownership and development of parking facilities.

Established in 1981, 3006 parking lots, 1.2 million parking spaces located in 36 states and 420 cities with revenues of $1.4 Billion.

Parking and Circulation Study Contractor

Walker Parking Consulting:

From their web site: Established in 1965 as a structural engineering firm, Walker rapidly morphed into a parking design and consulting firm and by the 1980s was the leading parking consulting firm in the United States. Today, Walker Consultants is a global consulting firm with 22 domestic and one international office. Our team of over 325 multidiscipline professionals bring experience working in all 50 states and 20 foreign countries.

  • https://walkerconsultants.com/about/firm-profile/