10/29/2026
To all of DOGZ Friends and followers who are Long Beach residents, your help in providing “public comment” here on the attached city link by tomorrow to select the status quo option as it relates to nightlife in Belmont Shore and potentially the whole city is much needed. Below is a detailed description from a city consultant. Please participate and share asap if you would.
Dear Long Beach Hospitality Alliance Members,
I wanted to provide an important update on the City's proposed Late Night Public Safety Response Options and ask for your participation in the City's public comment process before Friday, October 30.
As many of you know, this process began following serious public safety concerns in Belmont Shore last year. What started as a discussion about late-night incidents on Second Street has expanded into a broader set of proposals that could impose additional fees, operating restrictions, enforcement requirements, and changes to Title 5 of the Municipal Code on businesses throughout Long Beach.
At the recent Downtown Long Beach Alliance board meeting, City staff presented these options and heard considerable concerns regarding their potential impact on restaurants, bars, and other businesses already facing substantial financial and regulatory pressures.
Our position is that none of the proposed options should advance in their current form.
We strongly support public safety and appreciate the increased police presence on Second Street. However, we believe the City's proposed approach is too narrowly focused on regulating licensed establishments without adequately addressing the underlying causes of many late-night disturbances, including unauthorized alcohol sales by street vendors, amplified music, public drinking, loitering, and activity in parking lots after businesses have closed.
We are particularly concerned about three issues:
1. The City should complete its Vibe City nightlife and music recommendations before changing Title 5.
The City has retained a consultant to develop broader nightlife, music, and entertainment recommendations anticipated early next year. These could result in substantial changes to the Municipal Code, including entertainment permitting, amplified music, outdoor patios, and other operating requirements. Adopting additional restrictions now risks creating regulations that conflict with the City's forthcoming recommendations and may need to be rewritten shortly afterward.
We should be modernizing and simplifying our nightlife regulations, not continually adding new requirements without evaluating which existing restrictions should be modified or eliminated.
2. Additional regulations may not address the actual public safety problems.
Responsible restaurants and bars should not be burdened with new requirements that do little to address unlawful conduct occurring outside their establishments. The City should prioritize targeted enforcement of existing laws, particularly illegal alcohol vending, amplified music, public drinking, and disruptive activity continuing in streets and parking lots after 2 a.m.
Existing enforcement tools should be used strategically against documented problem operators rather than imposing additional restrictions across an entire industry.
3. Additional fees are particularly concerning given the financial pressures facing businesses.
The City is contemplating annual fee increases of up to $2,026 for certain establishments, along with other funding mechanisms. These are substantial additional costs for restaurants and hospitality businesses already struggling with labor, insurance, licensing, and operating expenses.
Before imposing new fees, the City should demonstrate that the additional revenue would produce measurable improvements in public safety and that the necessary personnel and resources are actually available.
Action Requested by October 30
The City is currently requesting public feedback before returning to City Council in November for further direction.
Attached is a Public Comment Questionnaire Guide that walks through all 14 questions, explains our position on the proposed options, and provides suggested responses and talking points for the Title 5 and additional comments sections.
For members who share these concerns, the guide provides a straightforward reference for completing the questionnaire and expressing your own views.
I encourage everyone to submit comments by October 30 and share this email and attachment with other restaurant owners, hospitality operators, employees, and community stakeholders.
We are also coordinating outreach with other business organizations and intend to follow up with additional tools to make participation easier.
This is part of a longer process. We will need to remain engaged when the matter returns to City Council and continue our conversations with individual council members. For now, it is important that the business community's concerns are reflected in the public record before staff determines its next steps.
Thank you for your continued involvement and support.
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=wxE_MWhCak-NO8fmUBg-eBPZCcvV9w9PurZY_DG3T95UOFJVMEVJWldDNUdVRVJNMjZYMVI2NVNJRC4u&origin=QRCode
