In 2018, the City of Long Beach Development Services, along with the project team, began a study to develop a citywide inclusionary housing policy that best fits the needs of communities in Long Beach. The inclusionary housing policy’s aim is to help create housing that is affordable to people at all income levels by requiring all new housing developments to include or provide funding of homes affordable to a mix of incomes.

As part of the inclusionary housing study team, The Robert Group (TRG) led the public engagement efforts of community workshops and stakeholder round table discussions to ensure the policy reflects the interests and aspirations of residents, stakeholders, advocates and developers. TRG kicked off the project by preparing and incorporating a Public Engagement Plan (PEP) that strategically targets the unique demographics and communities within Long Beach and utilizing methods to include the many organizations and businesses involved in housing.

TRG was responsible for coordinating and facilitating community workshops that engage the community through interactive informational boards to allow community members to participate one-on-one with project team members and at various levels of the study development.

Given the local and statewide concerns and issues with housing, TRG coordinated with local housing advocates and developers separately to provide focus-group discussions. The focus-group discussions were designed as consensus-building efforts to help inform and gain key feedback, while providing resources to key organizatons.