A Jan. 31 deadline meant all temporary parklets had to be removed. Some businesses, though, are applying to resurrect theirs, this time through a much more stringent and costly process.
The Long Beach City Council voted Tuesday to change the city's municipal code, which will remove language that allowed community groups' input to be a deciding factor in whether a business could be given a permit to build a permanent parklet.
The current Long Beach ordinance allows community groups to essentially veto applications. The changes would make their input just one factor the City Council could weigh.
A 2018 city ordinance says that permanent parklets built in Long Beach need community group consent before a business can apply to construct one, but the City Council could vote Tuesday to amend that ordinance to merely make community input part of the process.
The program had been extended multiple times and was set to end June 30, but some business operators hoping to make their additions permanent could have until the end of September to operate temporary parklets as their applications are processed.