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Board grants temporary bar expansion at Beach Street Commons with 17‑seat limit after legal debate
Summary
The Long Beach Zoning Board approved a two‑year temporary conditional variance allowing Beach Street Commons to operate a larger bar footprint at 777 West Beach Street but limited seating to 17 and required the current lessee to remain; one commissioner read a detailed legal opinion concluding the application failed the use‑variance burden.
The Long Beach Zoning Board of Appeals on the record granted a two‑year temporary conditional variance for Beach Street Commons LLC to expand an on‑premises bar at 777 West Beach Street, while attaching specific conditions and recording explicit opposition from at least one commissioner.
Why it matters: The board’s decision allows the business to expand bar service for two years while placing enforceable limits on seating and tying the variance to the existing lessee — a compromise intended to limit neighborhood impacts while permitting business continuity.
What the board decided and why: Beach Street Commons sought renewal of an expired conditional temporary variance and an increase in bar length from an earlier 15‑foot‑11‑inch bar to a proposed 44‑foot‑6‑inch bar (an increase of 28 feet 7 inches). On the record, Commissioner Markowitz read a detailed legal statement invoking General City Law §81‑b: he concluded the applicant did not present the “dollars and cents” proof required to show an inability to realize a reasonable return under permitted uses, and he argued the requested change constituted a use variance requiring a showing of unnecessary hardship. Markowitz said that, on that legal basis, he would vote to deny.
Despite that written legal rationale from Markowitz, the motion to grant the two‑year temporary conditional variance passed. The conditions recorded on the record: bar seating limited to 17 seats and that the current lessee remain the lessee. The transcript records the mover (Commissioner Liss) and second (Commissioner Callahan) and a vote that carried with recorded yes and no votes.
Board context and enforcement: The board used a temporary two‑year term rather than a permanent change in zoning use, and limited seat count was the explicit mitigation measure recorded on the public record. The City Code provision cited on the record (Long Beach City Code section 9‑106.14 and related licensing language) was discussed in relation to licensing limits and the board’s authority.
Ending: The application was granted with conditions and will be subject to licensing and building permitting oversight; the transcript preserves Commissioner Markowitz’s dissent and legal rationale for the record.
