Long Beach, CA Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)

Chapter 5.57, adopted by Ordinance ORD-20-0002 in 2020, targets motels that generate repeated calls for service, drug-related arrests, or other nuisance activity. Section 5.57.030 spells out that 'a motel that is deemed a nuisance site shall retain its business license only if it conforms to any and all combination of the following regulations as deemed required by the City Interdepartmental Team.' Item 4 on that list is the door-hardware standard: the owner or operator must 'install deadbolt locks, peepholes, window locks and door chains or swing bars on all guest room doors.' The Interdepartmental Team that decides which combination of the chapter's 22 listed measures applies is led by the Planning Bureau within the Department of Development Services and draws on the Health Department, Code Enforcement, Fire Department, Police Department, City Prosecutor's Office, and City Attorney's Office, per Sections 5.57.010 and 5.57.020(E).

A motel reaches nuisance-site status and this security requirement through the enforcement path in Section 5.57.040: the City investigates a complaint, works with the operator on a correction within 30 days of written notice, and if the violation isn't fixed can issue an administrative citation under Chapter 9.65 or start nuisance abatement under Chapter 9.37. Persistent noncompliance can lead to suspension or revocation of the motel's business permit under Chapter 5.06, or revocation of a deemed-approved conditional use status under Title 21.