DISQUS

The Toad · 1 year ago

Just how does ANYBODY get property rezoned in a single week without violating the law?

Barbie_N · 1 year ago

Jack O'Halloran admires, loves, worships CSULB, as do we to him! ;) Long Beach Studios—sounds amaaaazing!

Juan Pardell · 1 year ago

Its a big project. As with most, the devil will be in the details. Let's wait for the plans first. Long Beach, has gotten used to splashy proposal that never come to fruition.

lbresident · 1 year ago

What a surprise...Juan Pardell sees the glass half full.

lbresident · 1 year ago

Typing too fast. Meant to say half empty.

Paul Sanderson · 1 year ago

Does that mean Long Beach Airport just lost their north parking. City council has been fighting them on their buliding of a parking structure, now residents can't park at the airport and fly on business.
The mayor can change zoning in 1 week, but can't do a darn thing for our rundown airport.
That's a shame, well atleast if they want to shoot a movie, it only takes some debris out front of the terminal and it fits right in to a 3 world airport.
Great representation for the city of long beach, welcome to the slums. Guess everyone thinks it just for gangsters like the rap videos say anyway. Time to move from this town!!!!

John_B · 1 year ago

How about we all just relax a little?

Long Beach Studios is by no means a done deal. If O’Halloran et. al. do pull this venture off, great! Such a project could really prove to be a great booster shot-in-the-arm for *all* aspects of our local economy.

I must say it’s VERY refreshing to see the City actually working *with* a prospective major employer and encouraging trade rather than passing (and later rescinding) ill-advised ordinances (like Big Box bans) to suppress it.

Parking impacts are always a concern, of course, but there is plenty of space on the Boeing parcel to put to use in that way without encroaching a single space-worth on the Airports Parking Lot D. The City need only require (as a part of their business licensing and other permits) that the studio designers include sufficient parking entirely within the footprint of the existing property. Concern addressed and problem solved, and by the developer, as is appropriate.

If Long Beach Studios doesn’t come to fruition, that’s ok too. That’s prime available property in a City that’s now almost completely built out. It’ll be put to good use, in one way or another, before very long at all.

So relax, Long Beach, avoid borrowing trouble on this. Between the City's ongoing budget challenges; the Museum of Art; the School District; our shoddy infrastructure and various failing RDA projects, we have plenty of real problems to fret about without creating more where none, as yet, exist.

Alden Hutchinson · 1 year ago

I wonder how much $$ the "Long Beach" Studio is going to end up costing LB taxpayers??

John_B · 1 year ago

Alden: This project need not cost us a dime. We have the property. If a developer wants to use it, they should be required to do so according to the guidelines we, as a city, dictate.

As long as no County, State or Federal laws are violated *we* make the rules where our properties our concerned.

If a developer isn't willing to take on the project they propose for this parcel without publicly-funded subsidies, then we simply find one who will. This particular developer has already derived huge benefits from us through fast track re-zoning and the enterprise zone-related state tax savings.

If that's not enough incentive for this developer, then we should politiely but firmly advise them to find someplace else for their studio.

It really is just that simple.

John_B · 1 year ago

I just realized that I may have goofed. I had thought the Boeing property was ours (i.e. owned by us and leased to Boeing...much like the Navy properties that we bought back after they were vacated) but that may not be the case here.

Even so...if Boeing owns the property, they can sell it to whomever they want but whoever buys it still has to pull permits from us to develop it.

We still control the development of the property in that manner.

Sorry for the confusion. Happens to us cranky old guys from time to time.

Dave in Alamitos Beach · 1 year ago

Well, people are really working hard to find problems with this proposal. As for myself, at least as far as what has been reported, I find this plan to be absolutely brilliant! I'm serious. To the naysayers I ask, what else could go into this spot that would generate jobs like this? An RV parking lot? An airport parking lot? Come on. So people will have to park their cars farther away to use our charmingly antique airport? We should be so lucky to have this as a problem.

Hats way off to Jack O'Halloran and Bob Foster, and I really hope for everyone's sake that this comes to fruition and is used by Hollywood. I think perhaps a phone call to Steven Speilberg is in order? If I recall correctly, he just ended an untidy alliance with Paramount and was told by Brad Grey to leave and take all his employees/friends with him. He might be looking for a flexible home for his productions and I seem to recall that he has a soft spot in his heart for Long Beach, no?

The Toad · 1 year ago

My original comment was rhetorical; I have no problem with this project as described so far. However; NOBODY can get property rezoned in a week without trampling all over the law. That is precisely how Jet Blue was able to erect the "temporary' hold rooms at the airport without any pretense of due process. When the mayor and/or the city manager start telling city employees NOT to do the jobs that we taxpayers are paying them to do, they should be recalled/fired! Just because somebody likes a project is no excuse to turn a blind eye to due process.

John_B · 1 year ago

Hmm...perhaps we should find out some specifics before accusing others of misfeasance?

Is it possible that there's a practical explanation for the comments attributed to O'Halloran? Is it possible that O’ Halloran isn’t fully aware of all of the procedural aspects of this project that have occurred to date? Is it possible that the comments attributed to him are inaccurate?

I don’t know.

But we won’t ever know unless we ask straightforward questions of those who can provide us with accurate answers.

There’s evidence that this project has been in the works for some time now. This quote, for example, from the original PT story, seems to indicate as much: “About five months ago, Schipske visited the site with executives involved with the project.” This tells me that we have been involved with this project, at the Council level, for at least five months.

A lot of staff work can, and often does, occur before a Councilmember puts in a personal appearance on something like this. Is it possible that ‘executives involved with the project’ may have been working on the zoning change for at least that long if not longer?

Again, we won’t know unless we ask.

luan · 1 year ago

why are we so worried about losing parking at the airport anyway, take a shuttle. have a friend drive you. this is an amazing opportunity for the city of long beach, not to mention the filmmakers in the area, for which there are many, as well as the schools... not just CSULB.

John_B · 1 year ago

A little research goes a long way and allows us to discuss facts, rather than rumor and to maintain a better awareness of what our government is actually doing on our behalf, rather than hypothesizing that it may be doing too much, too little or nothing at all.

As initially suspected, Boeing, the City and Long Beach Studios LLC have been working on this project for well over a year.

All of the facts and background documents are readily available (i.e. nothing hidden, nothing secret, nothing sinister) through the City Clerk's page on the City's Internet website. Look for references to "PD-19" and "Ordinance 07-0058". Both items actually refer to two (2) separate Boeing properties. The one of interest to this article is identified as "Parts 17 and 24"

Once found (and the Clerk's Office really can't make it much easier...even for the internet challenged like myself) all related public documents answer most, if not all, of the questions that have been raised on this topic here on DW. Here's a sample:

Questions: "What about Airport Parking Lot D?"
Answer: "This amendment to PD-19 does not include the surface parking lot on the south side of Conant Street, east of Lakewood Boulevard"

Question: "What about the 'Fly DC Jets' sign?"
Answer: "The potentially historic resource, the "Fly DC Jets" sign, shall be retained in place, protected and maintained throughout the interim period."

These are both verbatim quotes from Ord. 07-0058 and the ordinance number will demonstrate that it was written last year. Nothing about this happened overnight. Nothing about this happened in secret. It’s all readily available for public view if we would just assert our responsibility as self-governed individuals and seek it out.

So if I may presume to repeat: "How about we all just relax a little?"

luan · 1 year ago

im with John!

jeanine · 1 year ago

John B is right. This is actually old news--Shipske announced it on her blog months ago, and that was weeks after the "official" announcement in late June/early July. Much of the prep work toward zoning, etc., was done previous to the official announcement.

The project sounds like it has been well thought out. This is one of the finest opportunities to come to Long Beach in decades. It will cost the city of LB very little, but will generate decent revenue while simultaneously creating thousands of jobs, bring affluent people to Long Beach, and spark the local economy when the productions use local vendors and restaurants. The film industry calls on many different industries--people from all walks of life will benefit from the studio being in LB.

Also, the commenter who said, "Great representation for the city of long beach, welcome to the slums. Guess everyone thinks it just for gangsters like the rap videos say anyway" should know that very little filming in LBC is done for rap videos, or even shows like "Cops." The majority of filming in Long Beach is nothing but great PR for Long Beach. Long Beach is typically cast as "Anywhere USA" or glamorous Miami. Many parts of Long Beach are very nice and this is why our city is popular for filmmakers. Areas like Bixby Knolls, Virginia Country Club, the Peninsula, the Bluff Park area, Carroll Park, and Park Estates are representing LB in the movies-- not slums. We have a fantastic city, its beauty is a tremendous asset. Stop being negative about the LBC!