Local Rules Near Downtown Long Beach

Long Beach bars off-road recreational vehicles from exceeding the city's district noise limits and separately prohibits repairing, rebuilding, modifying or testing a motor vehicle or motorboat in a way that disturbs residential neighbors.

Long Beach imposes a 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. residential noise curfew on radios, TVs, musical instruments and similar devices under LBMC § 8.80.200(A), backed by a general anti-disturbance rule in § 8.80.130 that applies around the clock.

LBMC § 8.80.200(D) makes it a violation to own, possess or harbor an animal or bird that "frequently or for continued duration howls, barks, meows, squawks, or makes other sounds" creating a noise disturbance across a residential or commercial property line or in a noise sensitive zone. Public zoos are exempt.

LBMC § 8.80.200(M)(3) bans leaf blower use in or near residential areas after 8 p.m. and before 8 a.m. on weekdays, after 5 p.m. and before 9 a.m. Saturdays, and after 5 p.m. and before 11 a.m. Sundays and holidays. Fines run $50 to $100, escalating to a misdemeanor for a fourth violation.

Long Beach doesn't grandfather existing industrial noise sources forever. Municipal Code § 8.80.300 gives nonconforming industrial noise sources only ten years from the noise chapter's effective date to meet its sound-level standards, and only if they sit in an industrial zoning district or hold a valid special-use permit predating the chapter. Expansions and post-damage rebuilds must comply immediately, with no extension of the ten-year clock.

LBMC § 8.80.200(B) bans operating any loudspeaker or amplified sound system between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. if it creates a noise disturbance across a residential property line, or at any time if it exceeds the district decibel limits in §§ 8.80.150 or 8.80.170, unless the Noise Control Office issues a variance.

Long Beach limits noisy construction work to 7 a.m.–7 p.m. on weekdays and federal holidays, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. on Saturdays, and bars it entirely on Sundays unless the Noise Control Officer issues a Sunday work permit.

Chapter 16.43 of the Long Beach Municipal Code sets a CNEL noise ceiling and per-runway SENEL limits for every non-governmental flight at Long Beach Airport, restricts touch-and-go training and engine runups to daytime hours, and lets the Airport Manager issue escalating money surcharges against owner/operators who exceed them.

Long Beach Municipal Code § 5.77.020(G) and (V) draw the line the whole STR chapter turns on: a 'hosted stay' requires the host to remain on-site throughout the guest's stay except during daytime/work hours, while an 'un-hosted stay' means the host resides off-site entirely.

Every Long Beach short-term rental guest pays a combined 13% transient occupancy tax, 6% under § 3.64.030 plus a separate 7% general purpose tax under § 3.64.035, and § 5.77.060(E) makes the operator, the hosting platform, or both jointly responsible for collecting and remitting it depending on who takes payment.

Long Beach makes hosting platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo directly liable for what they publish: they must block bookings for any listing lacking a valid City registration number, report registration numbers, host names, addresses and monthly booking data, and remove flagged listings on notice, or the platform itself is operating unlawfully.

Stays of 31 or more consecutive nights fall outside Long Beach STR rules and statewide TOT, operating instead as residential tenancies subject to landlord-tenant law including AB 1482 once the tenant accrues sufficient occupancy.

Three citations against a Long Beach short-term rental within an 18-month period puts the registration on the line: the Director can revoke, suspend, disallow it, or impose new conditions, and a revoked or disallowed unit is barred from re-registering for at least 12 months regardless of who operates it.

Long Beach Municipal Code § 5.77.020(K) defines a primary residence as the home where a person lives at least 275 days a year, proven with two forms of documentation, and § 5.77.030(B)(2) caps every operator at one primary-residence STR plus one non-primary STR citywide.

Long Beach Municipal Code § 5.77.040 makes an STR registration valid for one year, non-transferable, and renewable only if the operator pays the fee, submits a year of records, and has not racked up three or more citations in any eighteen-month period.

Long Beach Municipal Code § 5.77.060(D) requires every STR operator to maintain proof of liability insurance covering the short-term rental use in an aggregate amount of not less than one million dollars, or to book exclusively through a platform that provides equal or greater coverage.

Long Beach Municipal Code § 5.77.050(Q) makes it unlawful for any STR host, operator, occupant, or guest to make loud, unnecessary or unusual noise that disturbs a neighborhood's peace or violates the citywide noise chapter, layered on top of the Chapter 9.31 loud-party ordinance.

Long Beach Municipal Code § 5.77.050(C) limits un-hosted stays in a primary residence short-term rental to a maximum of ninety days per annual registration term, and subsection (D) lets the City prohibit un-hosted stays entirely in specific census tract block groups.

STR guests in Long Beach must comply with local parking regulations. Street parking is subject to posted restrictions and the 72-hour rule. Operators should provide parking information to guests.

Short-term rentals in Long Beach are subject to occupancy limits based on the number of bedrooms and dwelling size. Operators must comply with building and fire code occupancy standards. Overcrowding is a code violation.

Long Beach bans every kind of fireworks, not just the "dangerous" kind, inside city limits. Municipal Code § 8.81.020 makes it unlawful to possess, sell, use, display or explode any fireworks by whatever name known, with a narrow carve-out for licensed pyrotechnic displays under Chapter 18.48.720. Hosts who let guests set off fireworks on their property face a rebuttable presumption of knowledge and liability under § 8.81.050.

Under CA H&S Code §13113.7 and LBMC fire code adoption, all Long Beach residential units require working smoke alarms in each bedroom, outside sleeping areas, and on every floor. Replacement alarms must be 10-year sealed-battery models since 2015.

Long Beach Fire Code Section 18.48.240 bans open burning citywide except under three narrow circumstances: official fire-suppression training by a Public Safety Officer, industrial or institutional employee firefighting instruction, or a permit issued by the Fire Code Official for a specific purpose.

Long Beach requires a free permit from the Fire Code Official before any recreational fire -- fire pits, chimineas and similar backyard fires -- under Section 18.48.250's amendment to California Fire Code Section 307.4.2, layered on top of the general Section 307 recreational-fire standards.

Long Beach has limited wildfire risk as a coastal/urban city. Some hillside areas near Signal Hill may fall in fire hazard severity zones. Properties in SRA or VHFHSZ must comply with CA PRC §4291 defensible space rules.

Long Beach forms preferential parking districts under LBMC Chapter 10.32 when residents petition the City Council to curb nonresident on-street parking. A district requires a two-thirds resident petition, a public hearing, and proof the area meets the City's demand criteria before permits are issued.

Long Beach bars parking any 'Oversized Vehicle', over 85 inches high, 80 inches wide or 22 feet long, on a residential street under Municipal Code § 10.24.078, unless the owner displays a windshield permit valid only on the resident's own block. Commercial vehicles actively loading or unloading are exempt for up to 20 minutes.

Long Beach's Traffic Engineer marks curbs yellow, white, green or red to control parking: yellow gives two minutes for passengers or twenty for freight, white gives two minutes for passenger loading or mail, green allows ten to thirty minutes, and red bans all stopping except at a marked bus stop.

Long Beach marks curbs yellow for freight and passenger loading under Municipal Code § 10.26.010: two minutes for passenger loading, 20 minutes for freight, enforced only between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on non-Sunday, non-holiday days. White curbs allow two-minute passenger loading or mail drop-off, and green curbs limit parking to 10-30 minutes between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Long Beach zoning caps recreational vehicles stored on residential lots at seven tons, 36 feet long or 11'6" tall under Municipal Code § 21.41.276, and confines them to areas already usable for passenger-vehicle parking or, if blocked by a permanent building feature, to the side yard setback. Boats and camper shells visible from the street must sit on a licensed, operative vehicle.

Standard parking rules under LBMC Title 10. No parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant. No parking in alleys. Time-limited zones enforced citywide.

Long Beach has overnight parking restrictions in certain areas. Some neighborhoods require overnight parking permits. Street parking is limited to 72 hours per CA Vehicle Code §22651 (abandoned vehicle threshold).

Vehicles parked 72+ hours without moving on a public street may be cited as abandoned under CVC §22651 and LBMC Title 10.

Long Beach encourages EV charging installation. CA AB 2097 eliminates parking minimums near major transit stops. New construction must include EV-ready infrastructure per CALGreen Code. Streamlined permits available for residential chargers.

A fence built of wood, chain-link or similar material up to 7 feet tall needs no building permit in Long Beach; masonry, concrete, brick or heavy-timber fences drop that threshold to 4 feet. Above those heights, or in violation of the zoning code, a building permit from the Building Official is mandatory.

LBMC § 22.30.130(B) prohibits barbed wire 'or similar fencing with sharp, protruding objects capable of cutting or puncturing a person' on any fence or wall in the city's RMU, MU, and C zones, while expressly exempting decorative wrought iron from the ban.

A retaining wall or planter box in Long Beach needs no building permit if it's 4 feet or less from footing to top, doesn't hold back a surcharge or sloping earth, and doesn't retain flammable liquids. Any wall on a slope steeper than 1-in-5 (20%) needs a permit regardless of height.

Boundary fences in Long Beach follow CA Civil Code §841 (Good Neighbor Fence Act) requiring shared cost. Spite fences over 10 ft built to annoy neighbors are a private nuisance under CA Civil Code §841.4.

Long Beach caps residential front-yard fences at 3 feet and side/rear ("other") yard fences at 6 feet 6 inches, rising to 10 feet outside the required yard, under LBMC § 21.43.020's Table 43-1. Corner-lot cutoff areas are held to 3 feet, though taller open chain-link or wrought-iron fencing is allowed there if it doesn't block sightlines.

LBMC § 6.16.062 bars animal shops from selling, bartering, or transferring dogs, cats, or rabbits unless the animal was bred locally under a City breeding permit, or came from a public shelter or a private rescue/humane organization: an adoption-sourcing rule that took effect October 1, 2015.

Long Beach caps household pets at four weaned animals per site under Municipal Code § 21.51.210, though the limit doesn't count fish, rodents other than rabbits, or caged birds kept indoors. A residential dog breeder permitted under § 6.16.190 can keep an entire litter until the puppies turn four months old.

LBMC § 6.08.010(B) requires every cat over four months old to wear a City-issued license tag or carry an identifiable microchip at all times. Section 6.08.090 blocks licensing an unaltered cat unless a veterinarian certifies it unsuited for spay/neuter, tying licensing directly to the City's mandatory-alteration rule.

LBMC § 6.16.085 bars anyone from keeping a cat past four months or a dog past six months unaltered, unless the animal qualifies for a listed exception. Exceptions require veterinary certification or Animal Care Services Bureau approval at license renewal, so most pets in Long Beach must be spayed or neutered by default.

Long Beach lets small-scale veterinary care operate by right in most commercial zones, but boarding and adoption space triggers Municipal Code § 21.45.133: the site cannot adjoin a residential district, boarding is capped at 50% of gross floor area, and operators must document sound-abatement compliance before opening.

LBMC § 6.16.100 requires a dog on any public street, sidewalk, park, or private property open to the public to be on a secure leash no more than six feet long, held continuously by a person capable of controlling it. Designated off-leash park areas carry their own eighteen-item rulebook.

Exotic pets regulated by state and city. Ferrets and hedgehogs are ILLEGAL in California. CDFW permits required for regulated species. City prohibits dangerous animals.

Long Beach zones animal grooming shops under LBMC Table 32-1 as an "indoor animal related use," permitted by right in most commercial districts. Any such business must meet the § 21.45.133 development standards for location, noise control, flooring, ventilation, and animal density regardless of whether it also boards animals.

Long Beach caps residential goat-keeping at exactly two goats per property under LBMC § 6.20.170, and every goat requires an Animal Care Services Bureau permit with a microchip. Section 6.20.180 mandates neutering all male goats, and goats must stay at least ten feet from any neighboring dwelling.

Long Beach caps residential beekeeping at four hives per property under LBMC § 6.24.010 and requires County registration filed with the Director of the City's Animal Care Services Bureau. Hives can't sit in a front yard, must stay at least ten feet from every property line, and need a six-foot flight barrier or eight-foot elevation.

Long Beach regulates dangerous animals by behavior, not breed: LBMC § 6.16.250 defines a "vicious animal" as one that bites or attempts to bite without provocation. A Hearing Officer can declare an animal vicious after a public hearing, and the Director may order humane destruction ten days after written notice.

Long Beach prohibits feeding wildlife in public parks and beaches under LBMC Title 16. Feeding pigeons and other pest wildlife may constitute a nuisance violation under the city's nuisance code Chapter 9.37.

Long Beach bars removal of a required street tree in the parkway unless the Director of Public Works finds it dead, dying, or a hazard to curb, gutter, sidewalk or roadway, or clears it as part of a City-approved replacement program. LBMC § 21.42.050.B.3 requires that finding be recorded with the Department of Development Services before the tree comes down.

Long Beach's Public Works Department prunes City street trees to a minimum twelve-foot clearance over sidewalks and sixteen feet over streets, and no one else may trim, cut or remove a tree planted along a City street without a written permit from the Director of Public Works.

Long Beach follows the MWELO (Smartscape) ordinance for new landscaping. Projects 500-2,500 sq ft have streamlined permits; over 2,500 sq ft require a landscape professional. High-water turf is prohibited in parkways and medians.

Rainwater harvesting is encouraged in Long Beach as part of stormwater management. The city's LID standards promote capturing rainfall on-site. No permit is required for residential rain barrels under state law.

Artificial turf in Long Beach may cover up to 50% of a yard under LBMC rules. It is prohibited in parkways and public rights-of-way. The city is strengthening restrictions due to environmental and heat concerns. Not allowed in the Lawn-to-Garden program.

Long Beach requires property owners to control weeds and overgrown vegetation under LBMC Ch. 9.37. Properties with weeds visible from public view may receive a nuisance citation. The city conducts regular code enforcement sweeps.

Long Beach lets residents run a home-based business under Long Beach Municipal Code § 21.51.235, but the permit issues only when every standard is met: no more than two residents can work in it, on-site material storage tops out at 128 cubic feet, the garage must stay clear for parking, and the approval dies the moment that person moves out or the business ends.

A Long Beach home occupation cannot draw more traffic than an ordinary house: LBMC § 21.51.235(B)(9) caps business visitors at two per hour and eight per day, and limits deliveries of products or materials to twice a week, numbers Development Services checks before issuing or renewing the permit.

Long Beach bars any exterior signage for a home occupation outright: LBMC § 21.51.235(B)(2) says no sign can be visible from outside the dwelling, and even a vehicle carrying the business's name has to be parked where it can't be seen from the public right-of-way.

Long Beach zoning treats small family daycare homes as an automatically allowed accessory use and large family daycare homes as allowed too, provided the operator lives on-site under Municipal Code § 21.51.230. Providers need a State license, can't post extra signage, and must meet residential parking and Chapter 8.80 noise standards.

A backyard pool counts as a structure under Long Beach's building permit law, so any in-ground or substantial above-ground pool needs a Building Official permit. Only two narrow categories of very small, shallow pools are exempt under LBMC § 18.04.020(B)(16)-(17).

Long Beach pools must comply with the CA Swimming Pool Safety Act (HSC §115920-115929). At least two safety features required: barrier/fence, pool cover, alarms, or self-closing doors. Virginia Graeme Baker Act drain cover compliance is mandatory.

Long Beach requires the property owner to live in either the primary dwelling or the accessory dwelling unit under Municipal Code § 21.51.276.E.1.a, unless both units are leased to the same tenant who is barred in writing from subletting either unit to anyone else. The City records a deed restriction and can force removal of the ADU at the owner's expense for violations.

Long Beach bars short-term rental of accessory dwelling units: Municipal Code § 21.51.276.E.1.d requires that any rental of the ADU or the primary dwelling run longer than thirty (30) days, and subsection (b) blocks selling the ADU off from the main house altogether, keeping both restrictions tied to a single parcel and deed.

Converting a Long Beach garage into an ADU means losing the garage door for good: LBMC § 21.51.276(D)(3)(b) requires the opening to be removed and finished to match the house, while § 21.51.276(E)(3) lets the converted structure be rebuilt as needed for building, fire and life-safety code compliance without losing its existing nonconforming setback rights.

Accessory dwelling units in Long Beach must meet the same zoning standards as the underlying district, parking, height, setbacks, lot coverage and floor area ratio, under LBMC § 21.51.276(D), plus ADU-specific caps in Table 51.276-1: height tops out at 25 feet and two stories, side yards can shrink to 5 feet, and unit size is capped at 50% of the primary home's floor area or 800 square feet, whichever is less.

Long Beach bars carports outright from the required front yard and street-side yard setbacks citywide. Where the zoning code allows a carport in an interior side or rear yard, LBMC Table 31-3 requires the support column to clear the property line by three feet, with the eave or roof overhang permitted to come only within two feet six inches of the line.

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 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.

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'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 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 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'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 zones cannabis businesses in rather than opting out: LBMC Table 32-1 under Chapter 21.32 lists Adult-Use Cannabis Dispensary as a by-right (Y) use in eight commercial districts, CNP, CNA, CNR, CCA, CCP, CCR, CCN and CHW, but flags it "N" (prohibited) in the CS zone, and industrial-district Table 33-2 bars cannabis businesses outright in the Port-Dependent (IP) district.

California Proposition 64 lets adults 21 and older grow up to six cannabis plants per residence for personal use. Long Beach requires indoor cultivation only, with security and odor controls, and bans outdoor home cultivation citywide.

Long Beach prohibits cannabis retail, manufacturing, and cultivation businesses from operating within 600 feet of K-12 schools, daycares, parks, libraries, and other licensed cannabis businesses, measured property line to property line.

Adults 21+ may cultivate up to 6 cannabis plants per household for personal use under LBMC §5.92.520 and CA Prop 64. Plants must be in a locked, enclosed space not visible from public areas.

Long Beach Municipal Code Chapter 18.77 creates a mandatory expedited permitting track for residential solar energy and energy storage systems, applying to solar applications filed on or after September 30, 2015 and storage-system applications on or after September 30, 2023. Installations eligible for the streamlined process get only one inspection.

Long Beach treats every electronic billboard as a discretionary land use. A Conditional Use Permit is required before any new digital billboard is built or an existing static billboard is converted, and Municipal Code § 21.54.280(B) locks down message timing, motion and nighttime brightness once one is approved and installed.

Long Beach doesn't carve out a special political-sign category. LBMC § 21.44.420 says campaign signs "are not regulated as a separate class of signs." They fall under the general noncommercial promotional-activity exemption in Table 44-4, capped at 16 square feet per sign and 80 square feet total per lot, with no permit required.

Long Beach limits window signs to 10 percent of a window's total area under Municipal Code § 21.44.500's Table 44-4, sign class 5. The exemption lets businesses skip a sign permit and fee only if they stay within that cap, with density further capped at one sign per three linear feet of window, each window measured separately.

Long Beach allows one garage-sale sign per sale on the property holding the sale under Municipal Code § 21.44.500's Table 44-4, Class 9. The exempt sign can't top 4 feet in height or 6 square feet in area, and it can't be placed on public property such as medians, sidewalks or utility poles.

Chapter 18.29 of the Long Beach Municipal Code requires whoever controls a vacant lot to keep it free of weeds, dry brush, trash, junk, dumped vehicles and graffiti, secure it behind at least six-foot perimeter fencing, register it with Community Development within thirty days, and pay an annual Vacant Lot Monitoring fee, or face a lien and public-nuisance abatement.

Long Beach actively enforces property blight under LBMC Ch. 9.37 (Nuisance Code). Outside storage, junk, debris, discarded furniture, and appliances visible from public view are violations. Approximately 18,000 mattresses are illegally dumped annually.

Long Beach requires billboard illumination to be designed, aimed, and shielded so light falls only on the display surface under Municipal Code § 21.54.250, preventing light trespass into the night sky or onto neighboring property, with all service wiring run underground and compliance verified before a building permit issues.

In zones established under the City's Title 22 Transitional Zoning Code, corridor and activity-node areas outside the Coastal Zone, Long Beach Municipal Code § 22.30.110.A requires all lighting to meet Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and International Dark Sky Association (IDA) standards to prevent over-lighting of structures and spaces.

Long Beach requires every parking lot and garage citywide to be lit with fixtures directed and shielded to keep light and glare off adjacent properties under Municipal Code § 21.41.259, which also caps light-standard height against the distance to the nearest property line.

Long Beach Municipal Code § 18.02.020 defines a 'substandard building', the city's own habitability yardstick for rental units, covering sanitation, structural, wiring, plumbing and weather-protection defects severe enough to endanger occupants' life, health or safety. The Building Official and Fire Code Official enforce it under Chapter 18.20, which lets the City order repairs, vacate, or demolish rental units that fail these standards.

California Civil Code section 1950.5 caps residential security deposits at one month's rent for most landlords statewide, and Long Beach landlords must return the deposit, with itemized deductions, within twenty-one days after the tenant vacates.

California Civil Code section 1946.2 requires Long Beach landlords of covered units to give written notice of just-cause eviction protections and the statewide rent cap, using the state-prescribed language at lease signing or by August 1 each year.

California Government Code section 12955 prohibits Long Beach landlords from refusing to rent based on lawful source of income including Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, treating voucher payments as part of the tenant's income for screening purposes.

Long Beach Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance LBMC 8.97 lists permitted no-fault eviction grounds including owner move-in, withdrawal from rental market, government order, and substantial remodel, each requiring relocation payments to the displaced tenant.

California Civil Code section 1946.2 and Long Beach LBMC 8.97 allow voluntary buyouts where landlords pay tenants to surrender possession, but require written disclosure of tenant rights, signed agreement, and a tenant rescission window.

Long Beach landlords are barred from harassing tenants to force them out, including utility shut-offs, lockouts, threats, and bad-faith entry, under California Civil Code section 1940.2 and Long Beach Tenant Helpline guidance.

Long Beach Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance LBMC 8.97 requires landlords pulling no-fault evictions or imposing rent hikes above ten percent in twelve months to pay displaced tenants a fixed relocation amount before regaining possession.

Long Beach requires rental property owners to comply with the city's tenant protection ordinances. Landlords must provide required notices under LBMC Ch. 8.99 and Ch. 8.101 (anti-harassment). Business license may be required for rental operations.

Long Beach enforces a Just Cause for Termination of Tenancies ordinance under LBMC Ch. 8.99 (adopted 2020). Landlords must have an enumerated at-fault or no-fault reason. No-fault terminations require relocation assistance of 1 month's rent or $4,500 for demolition/remodel.

Long Beach requires green waste, tree limbs, shrubs, trimmings and grass clippings, to go inside city-issued carts without protruding, per LBMC § 8.60.040. Residents on manual collection routes must instead tie brush into compact bundles capped at four feet long and forty pounds, since loose green waste at the curb isn't guaranteed pickup.

New development and remodeled commercial, multifamily and mixed-use sites in Long Beach must enclose trash receptacles on three sides by a solid masonry wall at least five feet six inches tall under LBMC § 21.45.167, with a solid gate and, if visible from the street, a two-foot landscape buffer.

Long Beach mandates recycling under LBMC §8.60.370 (effective Jan 2022) and SB 1383. All accounts are auto-enrolled in organics and recycling. Tenants and employees must be educated on requirements. Inspections ensure compliance.

Long Beach requires every single-family, multifamily and commercial account to separate food scraps and other organic waste into a designated container under LBMC § 8.60.370, part of the City's SB 1383 compliance program effective January 1, 2022. Putting the wrong material in a recycling or organics cart can draw a Notice of Violation and an escalating civil penalty.

Long Beach Municipal Code § 8.60.120 bans depositing waste on any public street, public place or private parcel to avoid disposal liability, and bans dumping in someone else's receptacle without written permission. Violators risk administrative citations and permit revocation, enforced by the Director of Public Works and Code Enforcement under Chapter 9.65.

Commercial and multifamily accounts in Long Beach must use bins meeting City specifications under LBMC § 8.60.025(B), loaded weight capped at 1,250 pounds, four working wheels, a tight lid and address signage at least four inches tall, then set them out per § 8.60.060(D): on a hard, level surface in an alley, or in the gutter with the lifting spindles against the curb.

Long Beach residents can't just leave a mattress or old appliance at the curb. LBMC § 8.60.050(B) requires contacting the Department of Public Works refuse collection service to schedule bulky item pickup before placing tires, large appliances or furniture out, with special service charges billed under §§ 8.60.190 and 8.60.200.

Long Beach provides refuse collection to approximately 118,000 accounts under LBMC Ch. 8.60. Refuse collection vehicles are prohibited in residential areas between 7 PM and 7 AM. All accounts auto-enrolled in organics/recycling per SB 1383.

Long Beach Municipal Code § 5.73.120 bans stationary sidewalk vending outright in residential zones and layers numeric buffers on every other block, 500 feet from freeway ramps, 100 feet from fire and police stations, 25 feet from beach access points, and 20 feet between two stationary vendors, plus a 4-foot minimum clear path, 5 feet in high-volume pedestrian zones.

Food trucks in Long Beach need a city business license and LA County Health Permit per LBMC Ch. 5.37. The city's sidewalk vending ordinance (LBMC Ch. 5.73, effective Feb 2024) regulates roaming vendors in residential areas from 8 AM to 8 PM or sunset.

A vendor selling food from a pushcart, stand or other nonmotorized conveyance on a Long Beach sidewalk needs a health permit from the City's own Department of Health and Human Services in addition to the base sidewalk vendor permit. Municipal Code § 5.73.030(B) requires that health permit for all food sidewalk vending except very small prepackaged-food operations.

Long Beach requires anyone who peddles, going door-to-door selling goods or food, taking orders and delivering on the spot, to hold a City business license under Municipal Code § 3.80.210 before transacting any business, and to pay the peddling tax set by § 3.80.253(L). Chapter 5.66 layers curfew, school-zone and Tidelands restrictions on top of that license.

Long Beach regulates solicitors and peddlers under LBMC Ch. 5.66. Solicitors must respect 'No Solicitors' and 'No Peddlers' signs posted at residences. Violations are subject to administrative civil penalties under Ch. 9.65.

Long Beach closes every public park, beach, public building, amphitheater and plaza between 10:00 p.m. and one hour before sunrise under LBMC § 16.16.010(K). The Director of Parks, Recreation and Marine, working with the Chief of Police, may temporarily shift closing hours for public safety, and permitted events or overnight-permitted vehicles are excused.

Long Beach bans minors under 18 from public places between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. under Municipal Code § 9.58.010, with a separate daytime curfew of 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on school days under § 9.58.020. Nine exceptions cover parental accompaniment, work, school activities and emergencies. Police must ask age and reason before citing.

Long Beach caps residential building height by zoning district under Table 31-2A, from 24-28 feet in the small-lot R-1-S zone to 65 feet and five stories in the R-4-U high-density zone, with Section 21.31.220 setting separate exceptions for chimneys, flagpoles, antennas and rooftop equipment.

Long Beach caps building footprint in its industrial zones through Table 33-3: 55% in IL, 60% in IM, 80% in IG (60% in the Westside Redevelopment Project Area), and no restriction in IP. LBMC § 21.33.120 bars construction beyond these district-specific ceilings.

Table 31-2A sets a front, side and rear yard setback for every residential zoning district in Long Beach, from an 8-foot front yard in the compact R-1-S zone up to a 25-foot front yard in the R-1-L single-family zone, with side and rear minimums scaled to lot depth and story count.

Add a dwelling unit, pursue discretionary development or Site Plan Review, or build a fence under the special height provisions, and Long Beach requires one 24-inch box canopy street tree for every 25 feet of property line in the parkway. LBMC § 21.42.050.B.1 puts species approval and irrigation specs in the hands of the Director of Public Works.

Long Beach Municipal Code Section 5.40.030 caps how often a single address can run a garage sale: single-family addresses get two permits per calendar year, multifamily addresses get one permit per quarter (four per year), and every permit covers no more than three consecutive days.

Long Beach HOAs typically require an Architectural Review Committee (ARC) application before exterior modifications. Davis-Stirling requires reasonable, written standards and timely decisions (typically 45-60 days).

Filming that would impair traffic flow in Long Beach must use City law enforcement personnel and comply with Caltrans traffic control standards under § 5.61.070(E). Traffic and street closures can be restricted to a single twelve-foot lane and stopped intermittently, with emergency road work always taking priority over the shoot.

A filming activity permit application in Long Beach must be filed with the City Manager at least three working days before the first day of shooting, per Long Beach Municipal Code § 5.61.030(A), and must disclose the exact location, dates, personnel count, animals or pyrotechnics, and vehicles or equipment involved.

Long Beach requires an electrical permit for new wiring, alterations and most equipment operating above 25 volts or 50 watts, under LBMC § 18.04.010(C), enforced through the City's own adopted 2025 California Electrical Code. A defined list of minor, low-voltage or portable work is exempt.

Long Beach requires a plumbing permit before any plumbing, water piping, gas piping or water heater work under LBMC § 18.04.010(D), enforced under the City's own adopted 2025 California Plumbing Code. A short list of minor repairs is exempt from the permit under § 18.04.020(E).

Long Beach adopts the 2025 California Green Building Standards Code by reference as its own Green Building Standards Code under Chapter 18.47, then layers local amendments -- rerouting construction-waste compliance through the City's own recycling chapter and requiring separate utility submetering for every residential and nonresidential use in mixed buildings.

Long Beach requires a permit before any building, grading, electrical, plumbing, mechanical or sign work begins. LBMC § 18.04.010 bars erecting, altering, remodeling, moving, converting or demolishing any building or structure, or changing its occupancy, without a permit issued first by the Building Official in the Department of Community Development.

Long Beach can force a motel to install deadbolt locks, peepholes, window locks, and door chains or swing bars on every guest room door. Municipal Code Section 5.57.030(A)(4) makes this one of the corrective measures a nuisance-designated motel must adopt to keep its business license under Chapter 5.57.

Long Beach Municipal Code § 18.48.440 amends California Fire Code § 903.2.8 to require automatic fire sprinklers in every new multi-family building of three or more units, hotels, motels and similar occupancies, and, going further than the state model code, in every new single-family dwelling and duplex built in the city.

Long Beach's own Community Lead Hazard Control chapter, LBMC § 8.27, requires removal of lead hazards once the City Health Officer confirms a child under six has an elevated blood lead level, reaching any dwelling, hotel, child care facility, yard or soil where children live or gather. It's also unlawful citywide to apply or sell paint exceeding 0.06% lead by weight on any child-accessible surface.

Every permitted building project in Long Beach runs through a fixed inspection sequence under LBMC § 18.07.050, footing and foundation, framing, energy efficiency and a final inspection before occupancy, each one requiring the Building Official's written approval before work can proceed to the next stage.

Long Beach requires a City Manager permit before any organized gathering of 75 or more people assembles at a public park, place, or facility. Long Beach Municipal Code § 5.60.020(A) bars conducting a special event on city streets, parks, piers, or property without a written permit, and § 5.60.010(H)(2) sets the 75-person threshold.

Commercial filming is carved out of Long Beach's special event permit scheme entirely. Long Beach Municipal Code § 5.60.030(A)(4) exempts "filming activities governed by Chapter 5.61" from the special event permit requirement, so a movie or TV shoot on city property follows the separate Filming Activities chapter instead.

Long Beach requires a written permit from the City Manager before anyone holds a parade, demonstration, or other special event on city streets, sidewalks, parks, or piers. Municipal Code Section 5.60.020 covers formations of any size and gatherings of 75 or more people.

Block parties in Long Beach need a special event permit like any other street event, but Municipal Code Section 5.60.040 gives them their own shorter 10-working-day filing deadline and requires signatures from two-thirds of the affected block's households before the City Manager will issue one.

Restaurants that want to seat diners on a Long Beach public sidewalk need a Public Walkway Occupancy Permit from the Department of Public Works. Municipal Code § 14.14.045 bars occupying any part of the public walkway for dining or entertainment "except as permitted by this Chapter," with design and noise standards layered on top of the base permit in § 14.14.020.

Street fairs and festivals are expressly listed as "Special Events" under Long Beach Municipal Code § 5.60.010(H)(3), so organizers need a City Manager permit under Chapter 5.60, and any vendor selling food, beverages, or goods at the fair must hold the business licenses or permits required elsewhere in the Code under § 5.60.020(D)(14).

Long Beach requires a written Public Works permit for any parklet occupying the public walkway or right-of-way, escalating to a City Council permit if the parklet exceeds ten percent of nearby parking spaces, faces opposition, or serves uses beyond dining and seating. Parklets are barred on streets faster than 25 mph absent traffic calming.

Long Beach bans leaving goods, boxes, barrels or other articles on a public sidewalk or the parkway strip between sidewalk and curb for longer than sixty minutes. The rule targets stored merchandise and freight, not brief loading, and pairs with a separate ban on obstructing free passage on any street, alley, pier or park.

Long Beach bars building encroachments into the public right-of-way below eight feet, but allows awnings, canopies, signs and balconies above eight feet if clearance and setback formulas are met, and every encroachment requires a City permit under Chapter 14.48.

Long Beach caps sound in bars, nightclubs and other places of public entertainment on a sliding duration/decibel scale and requires a posted hearing-impairment warning sign wherever the venue exceeds those levels.

Long Beach requires any motor, machinery or pump, including portable generators, to be sufficiently enclosed or muffled so it does not create a noise disturbance, on top of the citywide 10 p.m.–7 a.m. quiet hours for power tools.

Long Beach sets fixed decibel ceilings for air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment measured at the neighboring property line, patio and window, with older units (pre-1980) allowed 5 dBA more than units installed since.

Long Beach caps any motor vehicle alarm at 15 minutes of continuous or intermittent sound under Municipal Code § 10.25.010, timed from the first audible emission. A first violation is a $25 infraction; a fourth violation becomes a misdemeanor, and police may enter the vehicle to disconnect the alarm and impound it.

Long Beach bans loud loading and unloading of boxes, crates, containers and similar cargo between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. across a residential property line, and prohibits it at any hour if it breaches the city's noise-level tables.

Under Long Beach Municipal Code § 18.30.120, City inspectors periodically check PRHIP-registered rental properties, sampling at least ten percent of units and all common areas and exits, and expanding to a full one-hundred-percent inspection if they find violations. Owners get fourteen days' written notice before an inspection under § 18.30.130, and registration is due within sixty days of acquiring a qualifying property under § 18.30.040.

California Senate Bill 793, upheld by voters as Proposition 31 in 2022, bans the retail sale of most flavored tobacco products including menthol cigarettes and flavored vape liquids. Long Beach enforces the ban through tobacco retailer licensing.

California Assembly Bill 1276 prohibits food facilities from automatically including single-use foodware accessories like utensils, straws, condiment packets, and napkins. Customers must specifically request them or check a box for online and delivery orders.

California Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act mandates at least 40 hours, or five days, of paid sick leave per year for nearly all employees. Long Beach has no expanded citywide leave ordinance.

Long Beach follows the California statewide minimum wage of $16.50 per hour for most employers, indexed annually to inflation. The city has no general citywide wage above the state floor.

Long Beach does not mandate E-Verify for private employers. California restricts mandatory E-Verify outside federal contractors, leaving the program voluntary for most Long Beach businesses.

Long Beach adopted sanctuary-city resolutions limiting cooperation between local police and federal immigration enforcement. The city follows California SB 54, the statewide TRUST Act, restricting ICE coordination.

Long Beach bans camping on any public property, including sidewalks and other rights-of-way, between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., under Municipal Code § 9.42.110. The ban covers tents, other temporary shelters, and non-city-designated cooking facilities set up inside or outside a vehicle, and it applies citywide except on public property the City has specifically designated for overnight camping.

Long Beach maintains an extensive bike network, including protected lanes, buffered lanes, and sharrows on streets like Broadway, Third, Pine, and the beach path. California Vehicle Code rules govern lane use, while the city enforces obstruction and parking restrictions in bike facilities.

Long Beach permits shared electric scooters and Long Beach Bike Share through a city-managed program. Operators pay fees, deploy in defined zones, and follow rules on speed, parking corrals, sidewalk riding, and rider age, with enforcement by Public Works and Police.

Long Beach's Table 15-5 permitted-use table lists 'Data center' as a 'Y' use, 'Yes, the use is permitted', in both Neo-Industrial zones, NI-1 and NI-2, under LBMC § 22.15.030. No conditional use permit or administrative use permit applies to the use classification itself; siting is confined to those two zones citywide.

Long Beach caps exterior noise at the receiving property line under Municipal Code Chapter 8.80. Table A in Section 8.80.160 sets 50 dBA day and 45 dBA night at homes, 60/55 in commercial areas, and 65 to 70 dBA in industrial districts. A data center's cooling and generators must comply.

Long Beach's citywide landscaping code requires decorative water features like fountains and ponds to run on recirculating systems, and mandates recycled water as the source whenever a recycled-water connection is available. The standard sits in LBMC § 21.42.030.A.9, part of the General Requirements every zoning district must meet before Development Services signs off on a Landscape Document Package.

Long Beach implements California's Density Bonus Law, allowing housing developers extra units, height, parking concessions, and waivers in exchange for restricted affordable units. The benefits stack with the city's tier-based Inclusionary Housing ordinance under LBMC 21.67.

Chapter 8.17 caps the default beverage restaurants may bundle with a children's meal in Long Beach: water, nonfat or 1% milk or a non-dairy alternative under 130 calories per serving, or 100% juice under 40 calories per serving, per LBMC § 8.17.030. Customers can still request a soda or other drink instead, the rule only sets the automatic default.

Long Beach requires every food facility to post its Health Department inspection summary report where patrons can see it, on the front door or window within five feet of the entrance, or another conspicuous spot the Health Officer designates, under LBMC § 8.45.050. Defacing, hiding or removing the posting is itself a separate violation.

Under California AB 551, Long Beach landlords must disclose bed bug information to tenants, refrain from renting infested units, and cannot retaliate against tenants who report infestations to property managers or code enforcement.

LBMC § 8.08.220 bars any owner, occupant or person in control of property from letting dead animals, manure, garbage, refuse or decaying material accumulate on the premises or a vacant lot, and specifically requires salvageable material to be stored so it can't become a rodent harborage or insect breeding site. Standing wastewater and unsanitary animal enclosures are equally prohibited.

Every food employee in Long Beach must obtain a state-approved food handler card within thirty days of hire and a certified food protection manager must be on staff at each food facility under California state law.

Long Beach Living Wage Ordinance requires city service contractors and certain airport and convention center employers to pay an hourly living wage above California minimum wage, with annual indexing.

Long Beach charges a combined 13% transient occupancy tax on hotel and short-term stays: 6% funds the special advertising and promotion fund, plus a separate 7% general purpose tax deposited to the City's general fund, both collected by the operator from the guest.

Long Beach designates cultural resources as Landmarks or Landmark Districts through its Cultural Heritage Commission under LBMC Chapter 2.63. Once designated, no owner, renter or occupant may modify the property without a certificate of appropriateness, and nominated properties get interim protection while review is pending.

Secondhand dealers in Long Beach must hold a police-issued permit and cannot resell purchased or pawned goods for 30 days. Municipal Code § 5.64.010(C) defines the covered business as buying, selling, trading, consigning, or auctioning secondhand tangible personal property, and § 5.64.150(A) sets the 30-day resale hold.

Long Beach requires new tattoo parlors to sit at least 700 feet from another tattoo parlor and 700 feet from any K-12 school under Municipal Code § 21.45.166, unless a business wins an Administrative Use Permit. Parlors can only operate between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and must post an 18-and-over notice at the front door.

Long Beach requires anyone operating a pawnshop to obtain a police-vetted permit before opening. Municipal Code § 5.64.020 bars conducting a pawnbroker business without a permit, and § 5.64.040(B) separately requires pawnbrokers, but not secondhand dealers, to file a faithful performance bond with the City.

Long Beach permits tow companies that contract with the city for police-initiated tows, with rotation rules, fee schedules, and storage standards. Private property tows must follow California Vehicle Code rules.

Adult entertainment businesses in Long Beach must sit at least 300 feet from any residential zone, 1,000 feet from a school or another adult business, 600 feet from a City park, and 500 feet from a church under Municipal Code § 21.45.110. The code also bars them from several named commercial corridors and caps hours to 9 a.m.–midnight.

Long Beach allows residents to repair their own cars and motorcycles at home as an accessory use under Municipal Code § 21.51.227, but only on vehicles they own, only on paved surfaces, never in the public right-of-way, and never between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Long Beach requires a Massage Establishment Permit, a Health Permit, and, when massage is the primary use, an Administrative Use Permit before any massage business can operate. Municipal Code Section 5.58.030 layers these on top of the standard Chapter 3.80 business license.

No one may sell tobacco in Long Beach without a City tobacco retailer's permit for each fixed location: mobile and foot-based sales are banned outright, permits run one year, and selling without one is a public nuisance in addition to being a crime under Municipal Code Chapter 5.81.

It is unlawful in Long Beach to loiter on or near any street, alley or public or private place for the purpose of drug activity or graffiti. Municipal Code § 9.36.010 defines "loiter" as delaying or lingering "without lawful business," and § 9.36.020 extends the same ban to loitering to commit graffiti.

Long Beach makes it a misdemeanor to urinate or defecate in any public place other than a regularly provided toilet facility. Municipal Code § 9.25.010, the City's stand-alone "Public Excretion" chapter, defines the offense using the code's broad definition of "public place" in § 9.02.090.

Long Beach bans skateboarding on any street, alley or sidewalk the City Council has designated and signed as a prohibited area under LBMC § 10.54.040, a list that covers dozens of specific downtown, beach and pier locations citywide.

Long Beach doesn't ban panhandling outright: it bans coercive panhandling. Municipal Code § 9.35.010 makes it unlawful to solicit by threatening, harassing, intimidating, or aggressively coercing someone on a public street, sidewalk, or place open to the public, defined to include blocking someone's path or persistently following and demanding money after a rejection. Section 9.35.020 separately bans all solicitation, aggressive or not, at specific high-traffic locations.

Public cannabis consumption is illegal across Long Beach under both state law and the city smoke-free ordinance, regardless of medical or adult-use status. Consumption is restricted to private residences.

Long Beach bans drinking in public almost everywhere in the city. Municipal Code § 9.22.010 prohibits transporting in, or drinking, any alcoholic beverage in any public place unless the premises hold an on-sale license under the State Alcoholic Beverage Control Act. A companion rule, § 9.22.070, separately bans any bather from drinking within one marine league, three nautical miles, of a Long Beach beach.

Long Beach bans smoking in improved City parks, beaches, the beach bike path, bus stops and most outdoor dining areas under LBMC §§ 8.68.065, 8.68.066 and 8.68.090. The Department of Health and Human Services administers the ban, with fines up to $500 for repeat offenses.

In Long Beach's Central Traffic District and in any business district, pedestrians must use a marked crosswalk unless crossing at a scramble-signal intersection: crossing mid-block or outside a crosswalk in these areas violates LBMC § 10.58.020.

Long Beach uses a bright-line distance test for loud parties: under Municipal Code § 9.31.010, any party noise audible fifty feet or more from the property is automatically deemed to disrupt the public peace, no decibel meter required. A first police response can end with arrest, citation, or a warning, but Section 9.31.030 makes the "responsible person" pay the City's full cost for every response after that within 30 days.

Long Beach's business license tax (LBMC Chapter 3.80) sorts every business into one of twelve statutory classifications, from contract construction to oil production to rental of residential property, because each classification is taxed under its own separate section of the code.

Long Beach permits public cardrooms only as amusement uses. Municipal Code § 5.69.010(D) defines a "public cardroom" as a place where the public plays cards "for enjoyment or amusement purposes only," expressly prohibiting wagering, and § 5.69.050 requires anyone operating one to first obtain a City Council permit or Conditional Use Permit.