Roughly half of the 6-8 p.m. meeting, organized by a neighborhood group and held at Patrick Henry Elementary School, was consumed by agendized presentations on topics other than the LUE; LBPD's new East Division Commander discussed crime, a Public Works Dept. staffer then discussed street and sidewalk repair) until at about 7:15 p.m., residents began shouting to discuss the Land Use Element. Councilwoman Mungo replied that she didn't set the group's meeting agenda but for the remaining fifty minutes of the meeting discussed the LUE, heard residents' comments (none in support of city staff's proposed density and height increases) and fielded audience questions.

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Word of the Friday night meeting spread via the grassroots Council of Neighborhood Organizations (CONO) and dispatches on NextDoor.com. CONO's Robert Fox, Nick Rose and other supporters staffed a table outside the auditorium distributing CONO fliers and CONO orange lawn signs ("Say NO to the Land Use Element.") Councilwoman Mungo and CONO collected email addresses for future contacts (CONO outside the auditorium, Mungo circulating sign-up sheets during the meeting.)

Councilwoman Mungo said there's been staff discussion and some staff division regarding mixed use density in ELB areas including Bellflower/Spring, where June 15 revised maps included five story mixed uses (ground floor commercial plus four stories of residences above) at the NE quadrant ("KMart-Lowes" area) with some three story mixed uses at the other Bellflower/Spring quadrants. Staff has also proposed to allow four story "mixed uses" in some current commercial areas along Los Coyotes Diagonal. Councilwoman Mungo said it's currently unclear what staff will propose in its upcoming map revisions but said that she conveyed to staff that she doesn't support current maps regarding the 5th district [released by staff on June 15] that proposed "mixed-use" developments and supports letting ELB commercial corridors "remain commercial."

However Councilwoman Mungo didn't say if she opposed additional commercial building heights. She was vague about her stance on allowing up to three story commercial uses proposed by city staff at the Spring St./Palo Verde "Plaza" quadrants (proposed by staff on maps released before and after June 15), an area that already has some three story buildings [two medical type facilities at the SW quadrant allowed many years ago. In late April 2017, Councilwoman Mungo declined to help Plaza area resident Corliss Lee in opposing three story commercial building heights at the Plaza area.

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Councilwoman Mungo noted that staff's upcoming map revisions (after hearing public testimony at four "Town Hall" type community meetings nearly entirely opposed to increased density) will eventually reach the Planning Commission for its recommendations before going to the City Council for decisional votes. She said it's currently unclear how many meetings the Planning Commission will hold on the map revisions, or if there'll be other citywide organized public meetings, and if so where or how many.

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Speaking extemporaneously, Councilwoman Mungo offered a Land Use Element chronology with a few facts out of place but accurate in conveying basic civics: that a majority of LB's nine-member City Council, whose members are elected from individual geographic districts, will decide on the Land Use Element and can make tweaks or changes to city staff's proposed density increases (subject to a Mayoral veto that six Councilmembers can override.) Several audience members objected to letting the Councilmembers decide and suggested that the maps go to a vote of the people...to which Councilwoman Mungo replied that a public vote hadn't always worked out well, citing locations now allowed for marijuana dispensaries.

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Councilwoman Mungo recommended that her constituents adopt an approach different from CONO's citywide opposition to major aspects of the proposed Land Use Element. Councilwoman Mungo advised individual neighborhoods to organize themselves, agree on land use changes that they do or don't favor, and then work with her as she tries to persuade four of her Council colleagues to try and reach what she called an acceptable outcome. Councilwoman Mungo discouraged residents from relying on CONO's bright orange lawn signs (increasingly visible in her Council district) to which one woman shouted that the signs were how she learned about what's taking place.

On several occasions, Councilwoman Mungo referred to LB's Planning Commission as "volunteers," which is true...but didn't mention that they were all chosen by Mayor Garcia and approved by the Council (including her.) This includes the most recent Planning Commission appointee who moved into Long Beach roughly six weeks before Mayor Garcia chose him and the Council approved him and is part of the leadership of a building trades union whose PAC made contributions to campaign or "officeholder" accounts to the Mayor and some Councilmembers (not including Mungo.)

Asked about SB 35 (text here; in specified circumstances eliminates certain public CEQA rights to environmental (neighborhood) impact reports, prevents public appeals of some developer-sought large multi-unit residential projects, enables lesser parking requirements than city ordinances require and eliminates a number of City Hall local controls), Councilwoman Mungo said the City Attorney's office and the city's Government Affairs management staffer are working on preparing a memo of some type on the matter. SB 35 was introduced in December 2016, went through amendments in passing the state Senate (June) and the Assembly (early September) and was signed into law by Governor Brown on Sept. 29. At no point was SB 35 discussed by the City Council's State Legislation Committee...on which Councilwoman Mungo is a member.

Councilwoman Mungo and four other Council incumbents plus Mayor Garcia face re-election in April 2018. Mungo has one challenger to date, a former Mayor Foster-chosen Harbor Commissioner who in April 2017 contributed to Mayor Garcia's 2018 re-election campaign with time remaining for other candidates to surface in the coming weeks.

Councilwoman Mungo said she has no aspirations for higher offices, but indicated she wouldn't decline serving as the City's Vice Mayor (presides in the Mayor's absence, next member will be chosen by the Council in July 2018.

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