Long Beach has begun work to install a tall, wrought-iron fence around the Billie Jean King Main Library in downtown, a move that will drive encampments and homeless residents off the outdoor terrace where they often gather.
Workers on Tuesday began placing a temporary fence line they say will wrap three sides of the building by Wednesday. Public Works officials say it will then take eight weeks to erect three permanent fences along the building: a 6-foot-tall fence along the side facing West Broadway and another eight-foot-tall fence on the side parallel to Pacific Avenue and wrapping around the terrace facing Lincoln Park. The fence should cost at least $790,000, they said.
Along the fence line, doors will be unlocked during operating hours, allowing access to the library. After hours, they’ll be locked, keeping people from sleeping there overnight.
In a March 14 newsletter, Councilmember Mary Zendejas, who is up for re-election this June to represent the downtown district, said the new design was approved “several budget cycles ago,” and will “improve the terrace and enhance its usability and create a safer, more welcoming space for the whole community.”
The fenceline, she wrote, will “minimize indoor disruptions,” and allow for library programming like “book sales, crafts, games, lunch programs and other family-friendly events.”
It’s a dramatic change for the library in Lincoln Park, where a higher concentration of homeless people have pitched tents or rolled out sleeping bags under the eaves or rear canopy that extends toward the park’s lawn.
Crews and police officers were seen outside the library early Monday morning, clearing tents around the building’s rear. A small group of men was gathered by a wagon stacked with belongings and a couple of leashed dogs. One man, who wished not to be identified, said the city has repeatedly fenced off the library without offering an alternative place to stay.
Facing the building, he cursed the city administration, saying he had followed every step to exit homelessness but still remained on the streets. In front of him, a worker collected black trash bags from a pile by the stairs and tossed them into a truck.
Zendejas said the project shouldn’t cause any disruption to welfare assistance offered through the city’s Homeless Services Bureau.
“Outreach teams are continuing to conduct outreach to notify people experiencing homelessness in the area about the project and offer connections to supportive services and resources,” she wrote.
Signs announcing a cleanup this week are posted around the Billie Jean King Library in Long Beach on Monday, March 16, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
The city has already targeted the site as a focus area in its enforcement of an anti-encampment policy passed in 2024. Since then, the number of police citations and arrests at the library and Lincoln Park has risen dramatically, according to a city memo, as officials attempt to move people from homeless encampments that block public access to parks, libraries and beaches.
The city, for a time, erected a temporary fence around the library during the coronavirus pandemic. It has also passed an updated code of conduct that makes it easier to ban disruptive people from using public libraries in Long Beach.
Public shelters currently run at 98% capacity, while interim housing programs see 97% occupancy with few beds turning over each day, according to city data. People wait an average of nearly 50 days from the time they accept shelter to the point they’re given a bed.