2008 Annual Report - Superior Court of California - County of Los ...

Long Beach Courthouse
F
or more than a decade, our Long Beach Courthouse has symbolized the challenges posed
by outdated, sometimes decrepit and overcrowded facilities.
Long Beach has endured chronically inoperable elevators and escalators, architecture
that frequently requires that dangerous defendants in custody be moved about the courthouse
through public hallways, a literal growing gap between two parts of the courthouse that were
constructed at different times and a crumbling structure that presents seismic safety issues.
Long Beach’s problems have been extensively chronicled in local news media and in our own
magazine, Gavel to Gavel, among many other places.
In 2007, work began on an emergency earthquake safety upgrade that is scheduled for
completion in this year. The $16 million upgrade, authorized by the Los Angeles County
Board of Supervisors, will ensure that the building can be safely evacuated in the event of a
serious earthquake.
For many years, however, there has been a growing recognition that the deficiencies of the
Long Beach Courthouse cannot be overcome, and the facility needs complete replacement. As
a state review of the courthouse last year concluded: “This outdated and undersized building is
and will remain incapable of meeting the region’s growing demand for court services.”
In the second half of 2007, the Board of Supervisors and the Administrative Office of the
Courts began the process of transferring ownership of the Long Beach Courthouse from the
county to the state. Eventually, every courthouse will change ownership, but Long Beach is the
first in our jurisdiction. The final steps in the transfer process are to occur in the first quarter
of this year.
Also last year, the AOC revised its priorities for statewide courthouse replacement, and
Long Beach moved up to near the top of the list. The new structure would house 31
courtrooms.
Like the larger countywide and statewide dilemma of courthouse replacement and
expansion, however, the Long Beach solution is far from in view. Replacement of the
courthouse would cost more than $340 million at today’s prices. Construction costs have been
rising rapidly, however, and the ultimate total price is difficult to project.
With the exception of two court facilities that are in rented space, all of our courtrooms
were built in conventional public building fashion — financed, constructed and owned by Los
Angeles County.
Today’s environment is far different, however, so consideration is being given to a major shift
toward creation of a public-private partnership in which a commercial developer would
construct the courthouse — probably on land already owned by the city of Long Beach or the
county. The state would, essentially, lease the courthouse back over several decades.
The concept is untested in courthouse construction. However, in August of 2007 the AOC
began the process of examining the legal and practical feasibility of building courthouses in
this fashion. As this Annual Report goes to press, the search for a potential private partner is
in its very first phase.
Los Angeles Superior Court Annual Report 35