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NEW! COASTAL COMMISSION HEARING SET FOR APRIL 11, 2024
On Thursday, April 11, 2024, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) will consider an appeal of the Coastal Development Permit (CDP) for the American Tin Cannery Hotel and Commercial Project. The project was approved by the City Council on January 12, 2022, and was appealed by several parties shortly after. In the intervening 2+ years, the CCC staff have worked with City staff and the project applicant on project revisions and additional conditions of approval that would be applied to the project. With these revisions, additional information, and additional conditions of approval, the CCC staff are recommending approval of the project, as revised.
The project’s public hearing notice, which was prepared by CCC staff for the April 11, 2024 hearing, may be accessed at the following link:
California Coastal Commission Public Hearing Notice
The CCC staff report for the April 11, 2024 appeal and the consideration of the revised project may be accessed at the following link:
California Coastal Commission Staff Report
The deliberations on the ATC Hotel Project and the associated appeal will be conducted by the California Coastal Commission. Comments on the project and the associated appeal should not be addressed to City staff. Instead, any such comments should be directed to the CCC staff. The public hearing notice has information on how to submit comments, either in advance of the Coastal Commission’s hearing, or by providing in-person or remote testimony at the hearing. The meeting will be held in Long Beach; however, there is an option for remote participation and testimony. For information on the appeal hearing procedure or any questions on providing comments or testimony, please contact Coastal Commission staff, as indicated in the public hearing notice.
Project History
The project was reviewed by the City's Architectural Review Board (ARB) on December 15, 2020, and the Planning Commission on October 28, 2021 and November 18, 2021. The ARB recommended changes to the project, and several of these were incorporated into the plans reviewed by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission denied the project on a 4-2 vote with Chair Lilley recused. The applicant appealed the Planning Commission’s decision and four members of the City Council called-up the project. The City Council held a de novo Special Meeting on January 12, 2022. At this meeting, the City Council upheld the applicant's appeal overturning the Planning Commission's denial on a 6-1-0 vote. By this action, the Council certified the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), approved all of the associated permits, and adopted a Resolution of Intent Vacate a portion of the Sloat Ave. right-of-way. As portions of the project are within the designated Coastal Commission appeals jurisdiction, the City Council’s approval was appealable to the California Coastal Commission, at least for those portions within the appeals jurisdiction. The City Council’s CDP approval was appealed, with consideration of the appeal and the project subject to the jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission.
SLOAT AVENUE ROW VACATION
Under California Streets and Highway Code, the vacation of a ROW requires two separate City Council actions: passage of a resolution of intent to vacate, followed by a separate resolution to vacate the ROW. As part of the City Council’s approval of the project entitlements on January 12, 2022, the City Council adopted a resolution expressing the intent to vacate the Sloat Avenue ROW. After being continued from the February 2 and February 16, 2022 meetings, the City Council considered the vacation of the Sloat Ave. ROW on March 2, 2022. No action was taken on the item, and it was continued to a date uncertain. The item was agendized again for consideration by the City Council on May 18, 2022, where no further action was taken. The City Council
decided to defer action on the Sloat Avenue ROW vacation pending outcome of the Coastal Commission’s action on the CDP and associated appeal as well as additional outreach to non-ATC property owners along this section of Sloat Avenue. As such, the second step of the ROW vacation will need to return to the City Council for final action at a subsequent City Council meeting, following any approval of the CDP by the CCC.
CEQA Review
An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared for the environmental review of the project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The American Tin Cannery Hotel and Commercial Project's Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was released on July 30, 2020, and the Draft EIR’s comment period closed on Monday, September 28, 2020. The required 45-day comment period was extended to 60 days to provide for additional comment opportunities. Over 100 comment letters were received, including those by individuals who wrote more than one email or letter. Kimley-Horn and Associates, the EIR preparer, prepared responses to each of the comments received during the comment period and included these comments, along with appropriate updates to the EIR, in a proposed Final EIR. The Final EIR was considered and certified by the City Council along with the project permits on January 12, 2022. A lawsuit challenging the adequacy of the certified EIR was filed, and the CEQA challenge has been stayed or paused pending the outcome of the Coastal Commission’s consideration of the project’s CDP approval. The FEIR is available for review at the Community Development Department at City Hall as well as on the City's CEQA webpage.
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