Whether this is mere political bluster or necessary change depends on your view, but cities across the state are navigating a complex array of new rules that aim to simplify approval processes and levy penalties on those who won\u2019t allow new homes.<\/p>\n
The Business Journal recently sat down with Christopher Koontz, Long Beach\u2019s director of Community Development, to understand where our city stands in its housing supply, and which new laws have had the biggest impact.<\/p>\n
Long Beach has picked up the pace<\/p>\n
Koontz admits the city wasn\u2019t building a lot of housing a decade ago. In 2014, it permitted 300 housing construction projects; in 2024, that number rose to 1,704. Officials expect to see a continued rise in construction, as well as entitlements \u2014 a preliminary step in a long approval process \u2014 when 2025 numbers are released early this year.<\/p>\n
The city was required to make room for over 26,000 new units between 2021 and 2029, which would amount to a roughly 14% rise in its total housing inventory of 181,500 units.<\/p>\n
The city adopted a framework for meeting that aggressive target and has gradually rezoned the city, parcel by parcel, to implement the plan. This tedious process, however, is not the same as actual construction \u2014 the latter of which is mostly out of the city\u2019s control.<\/p>\n
Higher interest rates and tariffs on building materials, among other factors, have slowed construction over the past few years due to lack of financing. But Koontz said he\u2019s seeing signs that builders may be gaining access to more money.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/12-16-25-housing-2-217059-e2v47rf9-802863-gbwmdvon-1024x585-462902-kcwyhuij-653240-TW7Q7ptz.jpg\")
Mayor Rex Richardson, second from right, and Community Development Director Chris Koontz, center, celebrate the more than 5,000 homes that have been entitled in the city over the last three years. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/p>\n
Six months ago, projects weren\u2019t moving, he said. This year, \u201cWe do have projects that have been able to get loans.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city does have control in some areas, like customer service and faster turnaround times for entitlements, permits, engineering and more. Improvements in internal processes have already created \u201crepeat customers\u201d who want to work in Long Beach, he said.<\/p>\n
Holland Partner Group, for example, built the Volta complex at Seventh Street and Pacific Avenue downtown, then pitched plans for an even larger project nearby at Third and Pacific. The firm then won approval in 2023 for a development on the opposite end of the city\u2019s coast, the 281-unit complex at Studebaker Road and Pacific Coast Highway<\/a> that is now visibly underway.<\/p>\n \u201cDevelopers who have a positive experience here tend to come back,\u201d Koontz said.<\/p>\n Laws that have impacted Long Beach<\/p>\n Which new laws have led to new homes in Long Beach?<\/p>\n The \u201c1, 2 and 3\u201d answer, Koontz said, is the cumulative effect of ADU reform.<\/p>\n Roughly 40% of the city\u2019s housing supply consists of detached, single-family homes, which occupy an outsized share of physical space in a coastal city that is already built out. The state, as well as the city, has made it far easier and less expensive for homeowners to build secondary homes on these lots.<\/p>\n The city often touts its success with ADUs after reducing fees, removing zoning restrictions and standardizing approvals, among other changes \u2014 all requirements of new state legislation.<\/p>\n Of the city\u2019s 1,704 approved construction permits in 2024, nearly half were for ADUs.<\/p>\n The benefits of ADU construction, Koontz said, go beyond the numbers: This particular type of housing is being added more evenly throughout the entire city rather than being concentrated in one place, like downtown.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have our nine council districts, and there are ADUs being built in every district,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In a similar vein, new legislation that standardized building requirements \u2014 eliminating subjective decisions that increase risk for developers\u00a0 \u2014 has spurred interest among builders locally, Koontz said.<\/p>\n A new law that caused significant uproar, SB 9, allowed homeowners to split their lots to accommodate duplexes. It banned subjective denials of these projects around factors like \u201cprotecting the character of a neighborhood\u201d \u2014 which Koontz said can mean \u201c10 different things in 10 different cities.\u201d<\/p>\n