Long Beach
The seventh-largest city in California and home to one of the world's busiest seaports, Long Beach pairs a working waterfront with a dense downtown, miles of coastline, and a charter government that runs its own utilities, airport, and health department.
- Population 466,742
- Size band large
- Area 51.4 sq mi
- Government Council–Manager (charter)
- Council by-district
- Incorporated 1897
- Meetings YouTube channel ↗
Coverage: 41 meetings · 645 substantive items · 2025-12-02 → 2026-07-21 · agenda source: PrimeGov
Long Beach's council agenda from June through July 2026 is dominated by three overlapping priorities: major infrastructure investment, public safety capital spending, and a sweeping land-use modernization effort. The single largest commitment is a $50 million amendment to the city's as-needed road maintenance contract with All American Asphalt, complemented by a $14.6 million citywide parking operations award and a $5 million playground and fitness equipment contract through 2029. Public safety draws the next largest concentration of spending: a $13.5 million construction contract for a new police crime lab, roughly $1.8 million in fire and EMS equipment and supply contracts (Zoll Medical, Life-Assist, emergency medical supplies), plus a cluster of state and federal grants totaling over $870,000 for traffic enforcement, forensic science, ABC crime prevention, and World Cup 2026 security. Municipal risk management alone accounts for more than $21 million when excess liability ($13.9M) and property/cyber insurance ($7.2M) are combined.
A parallel zoning overhaul is the most structurally significant legislative thread. In a single June 16 session, the council adopted four separate ordinances: updated speed limit code, two new commercial zoning districts (Mixed-Use Main Street and Commercial Main Street) applied across major corridors, a rezoning of Greater Bixby Knolls properties, and a site-specific General Plan map amendment at Lime Avenue moving the parcel from low-density residential to higher-density use. These changes, alongside an MOU with SCAG for Main Streets planning assistance, signal a deliberate push toward corridor densification and commercial mixed-use development. Environmental stewardship also runs throughout: a $4.78 million trash excluder installation contract, $699,000 for Los Cerritos Wetlands management, a $2.5 million EV charging infrastructure award, and a $297,000 state water quality grant.
Workers' compensation settlements are a recurring operational cost across every meeting in this period, with individual authorizations ranging from approximately $13,000 to $106,000 and appearing as repeated consent-calendar items. The July 21 agenda adds financial transparency milestones — the FY 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and the FY 2026 mid-year budget performance report — alongside a new home-buying assistance pilot via a credit union agreement and a $600,000 workforce development contract through America's Job Center of California, reflecting a sustained (if smaller-dollar) investment in economic mobility programming.
(Synthesized from the 120 most recent items.)
What to watch AI-generated
Key items (8)
- [46] Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 36566 (Specifications No. R-7196) with All American Asphalt, of Corona, CA, for providing as-needed major and secondary highway construction services, to increase the annual contract amount by $50,000,000, for a revised total annual contract amount not to exceed $100,000,000. — Long Beach, 2026-06-16 · $50 million road maintenance amendment is the largest single expenditure in the period, anchoring the infrastructure investment theme.
- [47] Recommendation to adopt Plans and Specifications No. R-7254 and award a contract to New Dynasty Construction Co., of Tustin, CA, for construction of the Long Beach Police Department Crime Laboratory TI Project, in the amount of $13,520,817, authorize a 10 percent contingency in the amount of $1,352,082, for a total contract amount not to exceed $14,872,899, at the discretion of the City Manager; and, authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contract, including any necessary subsequent amendments; and Increase appropriations in the Capital Projects Fund Group in the Public Works Department by $12,500,000, offset by future bond proceeds, to fully support Project delivery, including design, construction, and associated administration and design support costs. — Long Beach, 2026-06-16 · $13.5 million police crime lab construction is the largest public safety capital project and illustrates the council's multi-year investment in law enforcement infrastructure.
- [53] Recommendation to adopt ordinance amending Title 22.11, 22.12, 22.15, 22.30, 22.40, and 22.41 of the Long Beach Municipal Code (ZCA24-005) to establish two new zoning districts, Mixed-Use Main Street (MU-M) and Commercial Main Street (C-M) that will implement the Neighborhood Serving Corridor Low (NSC-L) and Community Commercial (CC) PlaceTypes of the Long Beach General Plan Land Use Element and minor amendments to all existing zoning districts contained within Title 22, read and adopted as read. — Long Beach, 2026-06-16 · Establishes two entirely new zoning districts (Mixed-Use Main Street, Commercial Main Street) across major corridors — the centerpiece of the land-use modernization effort.
- [45] Recommendation to adopt Specifications No. RFP PW-26-714 and award a contract to LAZ Parking California, LLC, of Los Angeles, CA, for providing citywide parking operations and management services, in an amount of $14,559,041, authorize a 10 percent contingency in the amount of $1,455,904, for a total contract amount not to exceed $16,014,945, for a period of three years, with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager; and, authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary, including any subsequent amendments. — Long Beach, 2026-06-16 · $14.6 million citywide parking operations contract with LAZ Parking represents one of the largest recurring service outsourcing decisions of the period.
- [22] Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all necessary documents, including any necessary subsequent amendments, with the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee, LLC, to receive and expend the subrecipient award under the Los Angeles World Cup Program 2026 Safety and Security Grant Program (LAWCSSGP), in the amount of $318,423, for the period of July 4, 2025, to July 31, 2026; and Increase appropriations in the General Grants Fund Group in the Police Department by $318,423, offset by grant revenue. — Long Beach, 2026-07-21 · World Cup 2026 safety and security grant signals an emerging, event-driven public safety planning track not present in earlier agendas.
- [35] Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Landscape Structures, Inc., of Delano, MN, for providing outdoor fitness equipment, playground equipment, water play equipment, installation, surfacing, site furnishing, and related products, accessories and services on an as-needed basis, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Sourcewell (Contract No. 101625-LSI), in total contract amount not to exceed $5,000,000, until the Sourcewell contract expires on December 17, 2029, with the option to renew for as long as the Sourcewell contract is in effect, at the discretion of the City Manager. — Long Beach, 2026-07-21 · $5 million playground and fitness equipment contract through 2029 is the most visible community-quality-of-life investment in the July agenda.
- [37] Recommendation to approve the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-2027 Action Plan for the expenditure of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home Investment Partnerships Program Grant (HOME), and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds; Approve the Substantial Amendments to the FY 2019-2020, FY 2020-2021, FY 2021-2022, FY 2022-2023 and FY 2025-2026 Action Plans; and Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all necessary documents with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other entities, to receive these funds and execute agreements necessary to implement and comply with related federal regulations. — Long Beach, 2026-06-16 · CDBG/HOME/ESG FY 2026-2027 Action Plan approval sets the framework for all federally-funded housing and community development spending.
- [34] Recommendation to receive and file the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 26) Mid-Year Budget Performance Report providing an update on the City of Long Beach's FY 26 financial status and projections. — Long Beach, 2026-07-21 · FY 2026 mid-year budget performance report is the primary near-term fiscal accountability item and will shape second-half spending decisions.
Scorecard vs 6 cohort peers
Each topic is shown as this city's share of council attention (% of its substantive items) next to the median share of its peer cohort — so size doesn't distort the comparison. Dollars are shown per resident (a causal denominator) and suppressed where too few peers have extracted amounts.
| Topic | Attention share | Peer median | vs peers | $ / resident | Peer median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget & Finance | 39% | 25% | ▲ +14pp | $1036.14 | $264.43 |
| Governance & Administration | 19% | 19% | ▲ +1pp | $10.95 | $1.96 |
| Permitting & Land Use | 10% | 7% | ▲ +3pp | $22.98 | n/a |
| Public Safety | 10% | 7% | ▲ +3pp | $399.13 | $9.72 |
| Streets & Infrastructure | 7% | 14% | ▼ -6pp | $919.70 | $273.29 |
| Economic Development | 5% | 6% | ≈ | $50.52 | $6.38 |
| Climate & Environment | 4% | 6% | ▼ -2pp | $131.53 | $159.21 |
| Homelessness | 2% | 1% | ▲ +1pp | $123.54 | $14.80 |
| Housing | 2% | 7% | ▼ -5pp | $26.31 | $53.54 |
| Other | 1% | 1% | ≈ | $1.70 | n/a |
pp = percentage points of attention share. Peers: Glendale, Pomona, Claremont, Redondo Beach, Los Angeles, Culver City.
📅 Browse all meetings & agendas (36) — filter by date, topic, or keyword
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Peer cohort comparable cities
Cities most comparable to Long Beach by population, size, governance, and sub-region — the basis for fair comparison. Budget attributes are not loaded yet; cohort uses size, governance, and sub-region. With a small sample this is a soft grouping — the framework scales as cities are added.
Decisions worth knowing
Biggest dollars
Contested votes
Vote records are partial — captured only where a city publishes minutes or an official council journal (chiefly Long Beach and Los Angeles); this is not a cross-city contestedness comparison.
Learning from peer cities
Matches found from similar agenda wording across cities — useful starting points to investigate, not proof that one city copied another.
Where Long Beach and peers overlap
Matters Long Beach worked on that peer cities also took up.
Ideas from peer cities (not found here yet)
Matters peer cities acted on that we haven't found a comparable item for in Long Beach.
Data gaps & notes (6)
- 2026-07-14 City Council Meeting - Cancelled: No agenda document published for this meeting.
- 2026-07-07 City Council Meeting - Cancelled: No agenda document published for this meeting.
- 2026-06-23 City Council Meeting - Cancelled: No agenda document published for this meeting.
- 2026-06-02 City Council Meeting - Cancelled: No agenda document published for this meeting.
- 2025-12-23 City Council - Cancelled: No agenda document published for this meeting.
- 686 items ingested; brief generated from the first 160 by recency for length.