LONG BEACH, CA — Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson announced today a series of events, dubbed “Long Beach Housing Innovation Week,” showcasing the innovative work that the City of Long Beach is undertaking to address the regionwide affordable housing crisis. Taking place between May 6th and May 10th, events include a roundtable on affordable housing, establishing a youth right to housing, and the announcement of the 2024 Homelessness Point-in-Time Count results.
“Long Beach is a city that believes in building housing that is affordable for our residents to live in,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “We are pushing forward full steam ahead to ensure that Long Beach residents of all ages and backgrounds to have quality, stable places to live.”
Richardson also announced new actions to further stimulate affordable housing production, including a group of policies submitted to the Long Beach City Council that include proposals to establish a right to housing for local youth and the adoption of citywide inclusionary zoning.
The Long Beach Housing Innovation Week schedule of events is as follows:
- May 6th: Convening on the Long Beach Housing Promise
- May 7th: Mayor’s Housing Innovation Policy Package at Long Beach City Council – Public meeting.
- May 7th: Signature Submission for the Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions, and Prevention Now Initiative – Open to media.
- May 8th: Homelessness Point-in-Time Count Results Announcement – Open to media.
- May 9th: “Roadmap to Functional Zero” Youth Homelessness Convening
- May 9th: Affordable Housers Roundtable Convening – Open to media.
- May 10th: Mayoral Housing, Transportation, and Jobs Summit Panel Discussion at LABC, “Leading with Urgency on Homelessness and Housing Reform” – Public meeting.
Further information, including location details, follows.
About the Long Beach Housing Promise
The Long Beach Housing Promise is a partnership between the City of Long Beach, California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach City College, and the Long Beach Unified School District to collaborate over the next 5 years on ways to ensure that quality, affordable housing is available for all residents, students, and families of students in Long Beach. This meeting begins the functional implementation work of this first-in-the-nation framework. More information can be found here.
About the Mayor’s Housing Innovation Policy Package
The Mayor’s Housing Innovation Policy Package is a recommendation to request the City Manager to explore and report back with recommendations on the following immediate and longer-term actions to speed up the development of new affordable housing, increase the supply of affordable units, increase incentives for the development of both ownership and affordable rental housing, support the preservation of existing affordable units, and empower the Community Development Department to improve the affordable housing environment in the City of Long Beach:
- Continue Housing Development Acceleration Strategies from the January 10, 2023 Emergency Declaration;
- Implement Inclusionary Zoning Citywide;
- Pursue a Youth Right to Housing Through the Long Beach Housing Promise;
- Increase Homeownership Supports for Long Beach Residents; and
- Explore Innovative Solutions for Inclusive and Sustainable Housing.
The full Item can be found here. The Long Beach City Council will meet in the Council Chambers at Long Beach City Hall (411 W. Ocean Blvd.) on Tuesday, May 7th at 5:00 p.m.
About the Signature Submission for the Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions, and Prevention Now Initiative
On May 7th at 10:00 a.m., nearly 100 organizations will gather at the LA County Registrar-Recorder’s Office in Norwalk (12400 Imperial Hwy., Norwalk, CA 90650) to celebrate submitting nearly 450,000 signatures collected to qualify Measure A—the Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions, and Prevention Now Initiative.
This citizens’ initiative will be on the November ballot and aims to replace existing funding with a new approach geared towards keeping the nearly 30,000 people currently receiving housing support connected to that support, scaling up homelessness prevention programs, and making housing more affordable for residents across LA County.
About the 2024 Point-in-Time Count Release Press Conference
Long Beach will release the results of the 2024 Homelessness Point-in-Time Count on Wednesday, May 8th, at 10:00 a.m.
About Neighborhood Revitalization in Overlooked Communities
This event is being organized by the American Institute of Architects Long Beach/South Bay Chapter. More information on the event can be found here.
About the Roadmap to Functional Zero Youth Homelessness Convening
In his 2024 State of the City address, Mayor Richardson announced that he would convene partners and seek City Council action to commit to ending youth homelessness. This candid roundtable discussion will facilitate that planning. Roundtable participants include Director of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness Jeff Olivet and representatives from the following agencies:
- City of Long Beach
- US Interagency Council on Homelessness
- US Housing and Urban Development Region IX
- US Health and Human Services Region IX
- CA Governor’s Office
- CA Department of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing
- LA County, including the LA County Homeless Initiative
- LA Homeless Services Authority
- Youth Advocates
- Youth Serving Organizations
Additional Information to follow.
About the Affordable Housers Convening
In support of the Mayor’s Housing Package, Mayor Richardson will convene leading nonprofit affordable housing developers in Long Beach and the greater region for a candid discussion on the challenges today and what they see on the horizon. This discussion will help inform City policies surrounding the stimulation of affordable housing development. The event will take place on Thursday, May 9th at 1:00 p.m.
About the “Leading with Urgency on Homelessness and Housing Reform” Panel
This discussion is part of the Los Angeles Business Council Mayoral Housing, Transportation, and Jobs Summit. Panelists include:
- Mayor Rex Richardson, City of Long Beach
- Mayor Matt Mahan, City of San Jose
- Mayor Darrell Steinberg, City of Sacramento
The Summit’s schedule is available here. Please RSVP for location and parking information.
# # #
Rex Richardson is a husband, father, and the 29th Mayor of Long Beach, California. Mayor Richardson’s history in Long Beach is grounded in empowering communities to have a seat at the table.
Mayor Richardson has a distinguished record of public service. He serves on the Advisory Board of the United States Conference of Mayors and, regionally, is Vice Chair of the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency. Richardson has previously served as President of the Southern California Association of Governments.
Mayor Richardson and his wife, Dr. Nina Richardson, are proudly raising their two young daughters, Alina and Mila, in the North Long Beach community.
