We are at a tipping point in Long Beach. People are hurting badly because of the parking situation.

Our beautiful area will suffer a great deal of damage while other cities will do much better solely because they planned for parking.

The City has actively contributed to parking issues for decades by approving buildings with inadequate parking and not having a plan. New developments take away parking lots and will not have enough parking for their own residents and customers. Long Beach hasn't even had a staff member dedicated to parking management for years. To its credit, the City of Long Beach has implemented some parking improvements. However, a comprehensive plan with many components working together is needed.

This petition begins to chip away at the obstacles by asking the Planning Commission to at least review the city policies that are contributing to the issue and study the solutions that are working in other cities.

The parking group TAPS has offered to have a parking consultant, Michael Kodama, present his preliminary evaluation of the parking issues and solutions to the Planning Commission. We ask that the Planning Commission and City Council set an agenda item to hear this information and consider the need for a comprehensive parking plan. It's urgent that our city leaders review the current parking requirements asap because several large new developments will soon be approved with inadequate parking, making solutions much more expensive later.

See the TAPS website for more info: LBparking.com

I urge all Long Beach City officials including the Planning Commission to tackle the parking issue with a comprehensive parking plan and professional help. Please take the first step by setting an agenda item for a study session on parking!

I am a Long Beach resident or property owner or business owner.

Respectfully, the Undersigned,