Long Beach has been reevaluating many of its historic preservation programs, which have been in place for a number of years.

On August 18, 2015, the Long Beach City Council rejected a proposed provision that would have allowed owners of historic properties to “opt out” of preservation. Instead council members voted 8-0 in support of “Version A” of the amended Cultural Heritage Commission Ordinance which improves the City’s preservation program yet still retains all the important tools. The City’s Cultural Heritage Commission openly opposed this change and in July voted to send the draft ordinance amendments forward only if they did not include the proposed owner consent provision.

In 2009, the city updated its historic preservation ordinance and adopted a historic context statement, the first phase of a multi-year plan to complete Long Beach’s first citywide historic resources survey.

Designated historic resources in the city number over 100 local landmarks and seventeen historic districts. 

In 2010, Long Beach adopted a new historic preservation element as part of the city’s General Plan update. The city has been a Certified Local Government since 1992. 

The city had offered the Mills Act property tax abatement program as a preservation incentive for many years but suspended it in 2006; discussions on reinstating the program are currently taking place.