In the Wrigley neighborhood of West Long Beach, an equestrian community is struggling to survive.
Founded on historic land known for its preservation of horses and ranchos tracing back to the 1700s, residents in the strip of 18 homes between Spring Street and 31st Street in Wrigley Heights are fighting to preserve the land crucial to maintaining their rancho lifestyle alive.
Walking down San Francisco Avenue along the Los Angeles River, you might spot a horse trotting by or a horseowner training a young steed at a private stable. However, after several city development projects have threatened to eliminate the few remaining pathways for these horses to live and thrive, this little pocket of paradise – as one resident described it – is in danger of losing its home.
Residents display signs in their front yards against the approved project at Pacific Place in a neighborhood between Bixby Road and Country Club Drive on Nov. 11, 2025, in support of the Riverpark Coalition. The “parks not pavement” motto refers to recently-approved plans to build a car wash, office buildings and RV parking lot in a space once slated as public park space for West Long Beach residents. (Jorge Hernandez | Signal Tribune)
“The trails are life blood; that’s like the lifeline that connects these equestrian communities from Point A to Point B,” said Renee Lawler, a Wrigley resident, horseowner and board vice president of Riverpark Coalition.
The nonprofit works to preserve green spaces, equestrian trails and other natural environments in West Long Beach, and has filed lawsuits against the City for past development projects.
“If you continue to develop properties densely up to the river … It’s like extinction,” Lawler said.