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Council orders emergency-preparedness study, transit outreach and a survey on short-term rentals ahead of 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics
Summary
Manhattan Beach Council authorized an emergency-preparedness assessment, asked staff to pursue changes to transit routing and to seek public input (including a standalone survey and adding questions to an existing survey) about temporary short-term rental allowances during major international events, and directed staff to scope cultural programming and torch-relay outreach.
Manhattan Beach’s City Council spent more than two hours on Sept. 16 weighing how the city should prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Staff framed the issue as one of scale: regional planners estimate millions of visitors and tens of millions of ticketed events across the LA region. Communications Manager Alexandria Latronia said LA28 projects an $18 billion economic output regionwide and that the Olympics will draw substantially more attendees than the 1984 Games.
Council approved several pieces of direction to staff:
- Emergency-preparedness assessment (5–0): Council authorized staff to develop a scope and pursue a consultant to assess public-safety readiness, interoperability with regional partners and traffic/evacuation procedures. Fire and police chiefs said the work would help test newly purchased interoperable radios and identify gaps in communications, cell boost needs and staffing for surge event periods.
- Transit routing outreach (5–0): Council asked staff to contact Beach Cities Transit and regional partners to explore re-routing or stop changes to Line 109 (the bus that serves the South Bay–LAX corridor) to improve regional access during major events and to report timelines and feasibility.
- Short-term rental outreach and survey (4–1): Council directed staff to pursue public engagement on temporary short-term rental permissions during major global events and to develop both a set of targeted survey questions (a standalone, statistically valid survey) and to include targeted questions in the city’s already-scheduled True North community survey. The council also directed staff to consult monitoring platforms and listing services about practical enforcement, geo-fencing and licensing options should the council later direct a time-limited permit program. The motion passed 4–1; Council Member Sherillian voted no.
- Cultural programming and limited event exploration: Council asked staff and the Olympics subcommittee to return with concrete proposals for community programming (training partnerships, youth clinics, public art, walk-of-fame-style displays and a live-watch site) and to explore whether Manhattan Beach might request a torch-relay segment; staff noted torch segments and other opportunities are often competitive and may require external sponsorship.
Council members emphasized protecting residents’ daily lives and minimizing neighborhood impacts while preparing for an influx of visitors. Several asked staff to prioritize resident notification, multilingual materials, and clear traffic and parking mitigation so that emergency access and neighborhood access remain reliable throughout event windows.
Next steps: staff will return with proposed scopes, consultant options and cost estimates for the emergency-preparedness assessment, a timeline and feasibility report on transit discussions, and a public-engagement plan that includes proposed survey language and estimated costs.
