The zoning question behind Space Beach: what Long Beach's industrial code actually lets you build

A lot of the Space Beach conversation is about demand. Less of it is about whether the city's own zoning code makes it easy to actually build what this tenant pool needs. In Long Beach, for the right site, the answer is yes, and the Relativity Space test stand approval is the clearest example of why.

What Relativity Space got approved, and how

In November 2024, the City of Long Beach approved a 131-foot-tall Vertical Test Stand at Relativity Space's roughly 50-acre site on Wardlow Road, for static testing of aerospace vehicles and systems. The approval was ministerial, meaning it went through as a matter of right rather than a discretionary hearing, because the use and structure were consistent with the site's zoning under the Globemaster Corridor Specific Plan's Business Park District.

By-right versus discretionary, and why it matters to you

• A by-right approval, like Relativity's, moves on a building permit timeline, not a public hearing calendar
• A conditional use permit, which other industrial projects in the city have needed, adds a discretionary review where neighbors and the planning commission weigh in
• Which path applies depends on the specific zoning district and the specific use, not just the general industrial label on the parcel

What this means if you own a Business Park District site

If your building sits inside a specific plan area already zoned for this kind of use, you may be able to offer a tenant a faster path to testing or manufacturing infrastructure than a competing building elsewhere in the city, and that speed is worth pointing out in the listing. If you are not sure which zoning district and specific plan actually govern your parcel, that is a five minute call to the Development Services Department before you market the building on specs alone.

The caveat worth noting

Relativity's approval specifically excluded engine test-firing. By-right zoning gets you to static testing and similar permitted uses, not automatically to every type of aerospace operation a tenant might eventually want. Confirm what the zoning and specific plan language actually permits before you promise a tenant more than the code allows.