Long Beach | Coastal and Historic

Long Beach Coastal Zone and Historic Districts: Coastal Permits, Housing Replacement and Historic Review

Two kinds of Long Beach land carry an extra layer of review. The Coastal Zone is the strip along the shore where the state Coastal Act applies, and every project there needs a coastal approval on top of the usual permits. A historic district is a neighborhood the City Council has protected for its older buildings, and every outside change there needs historic review. This page explains both, from the Municipal Code (Supplement 52) and the City's own pages.

The Coastal Zone and the Local Coastal Program

The City's Coastal Planning page says "Long Beach's Coastal Zone covers over 3,100 acres, stretching from the Los Angeles River to the San Gabriel River." The state Coastal Act of 1976 asks each coastal city to adopt a Local Coastal Program (LCP), a set of land use policies and zoning rules that the California Coastal Commission certifies. Once certified, the city issues most coastal permits itself. The City's Local Coastal Program document records that it was "Adopted by the Long Beach City Council Feburary 12, 1980" and "Certified by the California Coastal Commission July 22, 1980."

The LCP is also the reason Long Beach zoning changes in the Coastal Zone take longer. The City page says "Amendments to Title 20 or Title 21 require review and certification by the California Coastal Commission." Recent examples appear in the Council minutes: on June 9, 2026 the Council adopted a resolution sending the Enhanced Density Bonus changes to the Commission as Local Coastal Program Amendment LCPA26-001. The 2023 Subdivision Ordinance also awaited Coastal Commission action for coastal lots, as the lots and subdivisions page explains.

The City is also studying new coastal zoning. Its Zone In page describes "Everyone's Coast," "a coastal community rezoning and mobility planning effort with the goals of supporting equitable housing development in Long Beach's coastal areas." No Everyone's Coast ordinance appears in Supplement 52 or in the 2026 Council minutes read for this guide.

Which Coastal Approval You Need

Section 21.25.903 says "All development in the coastal zone shall be required to obtain either a coastal permit pursuant to Section 21.25.904 or a coastal permit categorical exclusion pursuant to Section 21.25.906," and that the approval "must be issued prior to the start of development." The City issues a coastal permit for these projects:

• "Development on the first lot located on, adjacent to, across the street from, or abutting the beach, bay, ocean or tidelands," except minor additions to a house;
• "All development projects which require additional discretionary review (such as a conditional use permit, subdivision map or standards variance)";
• work within fifty feet of a coastal bluff edge or extending into tidelands, sensitive areas, coastal waterways or public parkland;
• legalizing an unpermitted unit under the amnesty program, and a few public works and short-term rental cases.

Everything else that meets the zoning and the LCP, and needs no discretionary review, gets a Coastal Permit Categorical Exclusion (CPCE). A house on a first-row lot also qualifies for a CPCE when the addition is "less than ten percent (10%) of the existing floor area and shall not create an additional story or loft." One cross-reference in the code is wrong: Section 21.25.903.B.1 points to "Subsection 21.25.901.C" for that exception, but Section 21.25.901 is the purpose statement and the exception sits in Subsection 21.25.903.C. The City's coastal permit flow chart cites "Subsection 21.25.903.C."

Sources: Long Beach Municipal Code 21.25.903 to 21.25.906; City Planning Bureau Fee Schedule, revised October 1, 2026.

Section 21.25.904 assigns the decision: "The Planning Commission shall consider all local coastal development permits for developments requiring a tract map, a parcel map, conditional use permit or planned development permit," and "The Zoning Administrator shall consider all other local coastal development permits." The hearing body must find that the project "conforms to the certified local coastal program, including but not limited to all requirements for replacement of low- and moderate-income housing," and, for sites seaward of the nearest public highway, that it meets the public access policies of the Coastal Act.

Coastal ADUs: No Hearing

The code and the City's practice differ on ADUs. Section 21.25.904.B says "A public hearing shall be required prior to the approval of a local coastal development permit," with an exception only for units legalized under the amnesty program. The City's ADU bulletin says "Any ADU or JADU project in the Coastal Zone is required to obtain an Administrative Local Coastal Development Permit (LCDP). No public hearing is required." The Coastal Planning page adds that for ADUs "A hearing is not required, and you cannot appeal the decision locally," and that these approvals "can only be appealed to the California Coastal Commission."

State law sides with the City practice. Government Code 66329 says the local government "shall not be required to hold public hearings for coastal development permit applications for accessory dwelling units" and must decide them "within 60 days of receiving a completed application." For an ADU, the statute controls over the hearing rule printed in Section 21.25.904.B. The coastal permit is filed at the same time as the building permit, and coastal ADUs cannot use over-the-counter plan review.

SB 9 projects need coastal approval too. The SB 9 checklist asks the owner to confirm that "the appropriate Coastal approval will be obtained," the City page calls for "an administrative (no-hearing) Local Coastal Development Permit," and for an urban lot split, Section 20.18.060 says "A parcel map shall not be submitted for processing or approval from the Department of Public Works until procedures outlined in Division IX of Chapter 21.25" are complete.

Appeals and When a Coastal Permit Takes Effect

Section 21.25.908 sets an appealable area, mapped in the certified LCP. "Only local actions on projects located within the appealable area may be appealed to the Coastal Commission." The City must send notice of its final action to the Commission "Within seven (7) calendar days." Outside the appealable area a local coastal permit is effective "On date of final action." Inside it, the permit takes effect "At conclusion of the twenty-first day after final local action," or after the Commission rules on an appeal. A CPCE is effective when the Zoning Administrator decides, and anyone who disagrees may ask the Coastal Commission's Executive Director to review it.

The City page says "If you are an aggrieved person with a project in the Coastal Zone, you may file an Appeal Application within 10 days after a decision is made." Projects in the Commission's own permit area, the tidelands and submerged lands, go straight to the Commission's South Coast District Office.

Replacing Affordable Homes in the Coastal Zone

Chapter 21.61, the City's version of the state Mello Act, aims "to maintain the present number of very low, low and moderate income housing units within the coastal zone." It requires any applicant for a coastal development permit to be "responsible for replacing existing very low, low and moderate income housing on a one-to-one basis." "No coastal permit and no permit to demolish units shall be issued" until the applicant shows how it will comply. The one exception is a building that has been condemned and would need repairs costing "fifty percent (50%) or more of the improvement value."

The Director decides which units count, averaging rents "over a three (3) year period" so that a short-term rent increase cannot take a unit out of the rule. Replacement units must match the removed ones in bedrooms and income level, sit in the part of the city south of a line along Anaheim Street, Pacific Coast Highway and Seventh Street described in the code, and rental replacement units carry a recorded covenant for 55 years or the life of the project, whichever is longer. Residents displaced by new construction in the Coastal Zone "shall have the first option to rent or buy affordable housing." An owner may pay an in-lieu fee instead:

Source: Long Beach Municipal Code Table 61-1, as printed in Supplement 52. Section 21.61.070 escalates the fees each year by the Construction Cost Index, so ask the City for the current figure.

The Coastal Zone has its own impact fee as well. Chapter 18.19, the Sensitive Coastal Resource Impact Fee, applies to projects on the parcels shown in the fee study and is charged on the "net increase in gross residential or nonresidential building square footage," at the rate in the current fee resolution. That rate was not in the fee schedules read for this guide. Parking also rises in the Coastal Zone: Table 41-1A requires 2 spaces for a one-bedroom unit there, against 1.5 elsewhere.

Historic Districts and Landmarks

The City's historic districts page lists "18 neighborhoods that the City Council has so far designated as historic districts." They include Bluff Park, adopted July 29, 1982; California Heights, "the City's largest historic district," with "nearly 1,500 homes"; Rose Park, Belmont Heights, Bluff Heights, Carroll Park and Drake Park/Willmore City; and the Grant Neighborhood, adopted October 15, 2019, "the first landmark district in North Long Beach." The landmarks page says "there are over 150 historic landmarks in Long Beach."

Chapter 2.63 governs designation. A landmark district must represent "a significant and distinguishable entity," and "A minimum of sixty percent (60%) of the properties within the boundaries of the proposedlandmark district qualify as a contributing property." A contributing property is one that adds to the district's historic character. The City web page states a different bar: an area "may qualify for historic district status if at least two-thirds of the houses are original older homes." The code's 60 percent controls.

A nomination needs "A petition that a simple majority of the property owners within the boundaries of the proposed Landmark District support the designation." Staff run a survey, the Cultural Heritage Commission holds a hearing "no more than 60 days after the application is deemed complete," and the City Council acts by ordinance within 60 days of the Commission's recommendation. While a nomination is pending, demolition and alteration permits are paused, ending on the 181st day after the application is complete. An owner planning a teardown or SB 9 project in an older neighborhood should check for a pending nomination as well as an adopted district.

Certificates of Appropriateness

Section 2.63.080 says "All modifications made to Landmarks or properties within Landmark Districts require a certificate of appropriateness whether or not the alteration, demolition, removal or construction of such property requires a City permit." The City's Certificate of Appropriateness page adds that "Interior alterations, ordinary maintenance and repairs with no physical exterior changes do not require historic review." The work is split two ways:

• Staff review. The Director decides windows and doors replaced with like materials, siding, porch and garage door repairs and similar work. The City page lists "additions of less than 250 square feet, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and utility enclosures and equipment such as solar panel installation" as minor work. Determinations come "within forty-five (45) days after the applicant has submitted an application and the Director determines it to be complete."
• Cultural Heritage Commission. The Commission decides "substantial alterations" to landmarks and contributing buildings. The City page gives "adding a second story or new addition over 250 square feet" as examples. Hearings and decisions come "no later than ninety (90) days from the date that an application has been deemed complete."

To approve, the City must find the work "Will comply with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties" and with the Design Guidelines for the district. A certificate "shall become void unless construction relating to the approved modification is commenced within thirty-six (36) months of the date of issuance," with one 12-month renewal. Appeals must be filed "within ten (10) calendar days," and appeals of Commission decisions go to the Planning Commission. Painting and re-roofing in a district need review but carry no fee.

Section 2.63.130 lists incentives for landmark and contributing properties: "Variances for height or setbacks consistent with existing structures," "Waivers from requirements for covered parking or parking spaces," Mills Act contracts, the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance and the State Historical Building Code. The City's Mills Act page describes contracts of "a minimum 10-year-term" that renew each year, and by the City's own account the tax cut averages "between 30% to 50% for new property owners." The 2026 application window closed on March 20, 2026, with a processing fee of $1,026.75 on that page, while the fee schedule effective October 1, 2026 lists a Mills Act application at $3,627.68 with the surcharge. Ask the City which fee applies to the 2027 window.

Historic status also limits SB 9. A contributing structure in a historic district and a designated landmark cannot use an SB 9 two-unit project, and Section 20.18.070 bars an urban lot split on any lot "within a City Historic District, on a designated Historic Landmark property." See the ADU and SB 9 page.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Long Beach overview, the lot eligibility checks and the California rent and tenant rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)