Council approves one‑year occupancy agreement to house 55 people at Colonial Motel

The Long Beach City Council on March 17 authorized the city manager to execute documents for a one‑year occupancy agreement, with two one‑year renewal options, to use the Colonial Motel (802 East Pacific Coast Highway) as temporary shelter space for the Encampment Resolution Program.

Health and Human Services staff said the Colonial Motel is a two‑story, 57‑room property and the negotiated city lease covers 55 rooms and on‑site parking. Staff reported the rent will be $85 per room per day, producing an annual rent obligation of $1,768,425. The city will be responsible for collection of soiled linens and restocking rooms; the landlord will maintain common areas, building systems and pay most taxes except transient occupancy taxes for rooms occupied by the city. The city will not have termination rights during the first six months but may terminate with 60 days’ notice thereafter.

Staff framed the motel use as a short‑term, place‑based approach to connect people experiencing homelessness to services, case management and pathways to permanent housing. Staff said PATH (a contracted service provider) will operate case management on site. The city described the proposal as building on previous encampment resolution work and noted that the county’s previous contract at the site is ending, creating an immediate need to continue capacity.

Councilmembers discussed the site selection process, equity in siting shelters across council districts and the importance of earlier and meaningful community engagement. Councilmember Thrash said residents had previously expressed concern about siting temporary shelters and asked staff to ensure transparency and mitigate neighborhood impacts; staff responded that community engagement informed the selection and that the department seeks to balance bed placement across districts.

During public comment, Terry Rivers urged the city to consider buying city property rather than leasing and raised concerns about program curfews and barriers that could prevent some people from using the motel. City staff and the mayor thanked community participants and indicated staff would continue outreach.

The council voted to approve the occupancy agreement; the clerk announced, “Motion is carried.” Staff said next steps include executing the agreement, coordinating with PATH and other service providers, and monitoring outcomes during the lease term.

Why it matters: The occupancy agreement provides immediate shelter capacity and case management space for people experiencing homelessness, but it is a short‑term leasing approach that councilmembers and residents said should be balanced with long‑term strategies and distributed equitably across neighborhoods.