“What we really have been striving for is to have people come to us with creative ideas for reusing existing buildings in all sorts of different ways,” Steve Gerhardt, senior planner for Long Beach Development Services’ Planning Bureau, told the Business Journal.

Adaptive reuse, as it is to be defined in the new ordinance, is “a construction or remodeling project that reconfigures existing spaces, structures or buildings to accommodate a new use or to accommodate another purpose than what it was originally designed for.”

While the official ordinance has yet to be drawn up by the city attorney, a staff report summarizing it indicates that, in addition to concretely defining adaptive reuse, it will establish a requirement for a site plan review for most adaptive reuse projects. The ordinance will also accommodate the current setback and height of existing buildings as well as their often-limited parking availability.

via New Ordinance To Lay Groundwork For Adaptive Reuse Projects In Long Beach.