Environmental Rules in Long Beach, CA (2026)
7 verified environmental rules for Long Beach, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Stormwater Management
Long Beach's Stormwater and Runoff Pollution Control Ordinance bans dumping anything into the municipal storm drain system beyond rainwater. Municipal Code § 8.96.050(A) prohibits any illicit discharge into the MS4, and § 8.96.060 separately bans intentionally placing pollutants, from batteries and tires to yard debris, chemicals, and oil cans, where they can enter it. Enforcement runs through the Director of Public Works under NPDES permit authority.
Long Beach Stormwater Discharge Prohibition
Some RestrictionsLong Beach Municipal Code §§ 8.96.050(A), 8.96.060
No person shall cause or allow an illicit discharge to enter the municipal stormwater system. ... No person shall intentionally place, litter, accumulate, maintain, discharge or cause to enter into the MS4 any pollutant or any foreign object such as batteries, tires, waste receptacles, yard debris, refuse, rubbish, food waste, chemicals, animal waste or oil cans.
Erosion Control
No grading, excavation or fill work in Long Beach may start without a Building Official-issued permit under LBMC Chapter 18.75. The chapter also sets hard drainage numbers: graded pads must slope at least 2% to an approved device or street, and runoff can't be dumped across property lines beyond pre-grading levels.
Long Beach Grading & Drainage Permit Rules
Some RestrictionsLong Beach Municipal Code §§ 18.75.010(B), 18.75.070(D)-(E)
18.75.010 B. Permits required. Except as exempted in Section 18.04.020, no grading shall be performed without first having obtained a permit as required by Section 18.04.010 therefore from the Building Official. ... 18.75.070 D. Drainage across property lines shall not be permitted except for drainage that does not exceed that which existed prior to grading. Excess or concentrated drainage shal...
Coastal Development
Long Beach has extensive coastal zone regulated by the California Coastal Commission. Development in the coastal zone requires a Coastal Development Permit. Tree removal requires 2:1 replacement ratio within the coastal zone.
Long Beach Coastal Development Rules
Some RestrictionsCalifornia Public Resources Code § 30103 (Coastal Zone Boundary — Coastal Act of 1976)
Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 30103(a) specifically defines California's Coastal Zone as that land and water area of the State of California from the Oregon border to the border of the Republic of Mexico depicted on maps identified and set forth in Section 17 of that chapter of the Statutes of the 1975-76 Regular Session enacting PRC Division 20 (the Coastal Act of 1976). PRC Section 3010...
Flood Zones
Long Beach Municipal Code § 18.40.280 amends California Building Code § 1612.3 to adopt the City's own flood hazard map, based on FEMA's 1998 Flood Insurance Study and current Flood Insurance Rate Maps, and § 18.40.275 requires new construction in flood hazard areas to be elevated above the base flood elevation plus up to two feet of added freeboard for sea-level rise.
Long Beach Flood Hazard Area Building Rules
Some RestrictionsLong Beach Municipal Code § 18.40.280
1612.3 Establishment of flood hazard areas. To establish flood hazard areas, the City shall adopt a flood hazard map and supporting data. The flood hazard map shall include, at a minimum, areas of special flood hazard as identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in an engineering report entitled "The Flood Insurance Study for the City of Long Beach" dated July 6, 1998, as amended or...
Boat Dock Permits
Building or maintaining a private wharf, pier, float, bulkhead, seawall or similar structure anywhere in the Long Beach Marina area requires a permit from the Marine Bureau Director before work begins, plus a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission.
Long Beach Private Pier & Dock Permits
Significant RestrictionsLong Beach Municipal Code § 16.08.760
No person shall construct, reconstruct or maintain any wharf, pier, landing, float, bulkhead, seawall or other structure of any kind whatsoever within the limits of the Long Beach Marina area therein, for the benefit or use of any private person without first obtaining a permit therefor issued by the Director. No person shall make any filling of any description at any point below the line of th...
Vehicle Idling Restrictions
Long Beach bans on-site idling for vehicles queuing at diesel fuel pumps under Municipal Code § 21.52.222.F, one of several conditions imposed on diesel fuel sales sites alongside a 120-foot queuing lane, an eight-foot masonry wall next to residential districts, and a ban on overnight truck parking.
Long Beach Diesel Pump No-Idling Standard
Light RestrictionsLong Beach Municipal Code § 21.52.222.F
The following conditions shall apply to diesel fuel sales, whether in conjunction with gasoline sales or not: ... F. No on-site idling shall be permitted for vehicles queuing for pumps dispensing diesel fuel.
Flood Elevation Requirements
Long Beach's amended Residential and Building Codes push construction above FEMA's base flood elevation, not merely to it. Section 18.41.280 adds 12 inches of flood freeboard plus 6 inches for future sea-level rise when ASCE 24 is used, and Section 18.41.290 otherwise requires the highest of three benchmarks, including 18 inches of sea-level-rise freeboard above the City's mapped base flood elevation.
Long Beach Base Flood Elevation & Freeboard Rules
Some RestrictionsLong Beach Municipal Code §§ 18.41.280, 18.41.290
R306.1.1 Alternative provisions. As an alternative to the requirements in Section R306, ASCE 24 is permitted subject to the limitations of this code and the limitations therein. Where ASCE 24 is used as an alternative, the design flood elevation (DFE) shall be the greater of the DFE as defined in ASCE 24 and the base flood elevation (BFE) plus twelve (12) inches of flood freeboard and six (6) i...
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