It took a long time, but Long Beach’s City Council ultimately approved a shortened version of the controversial Land Use Element early Wednesday morning.

The hearing took nearly seven hours, with more than three hours of public comment and another three hours of council speeches. Each council member, going from the District 1 to District 9, added specific changes to proposed land uses in their own district. With only a few exceptions, every change was to lower building height and reduce uses.

A Land Use Element (LUE) is part of the city’s general plan, which is required by the state. Long Beach’s last LUE was passed in 1989 and forecasted to 2000. This plan was designed to go out 20 years, but council members quickly restricted that by requiring a major review at the end of five years. It remains a 20-year plan, though, officials stressedWednesday. Annual reports to the Planning Commission and reports to the council every other year also were added.

Staff has been working on this version for years. Proposed changes became public in early 2017, sparking backlash from the public, primarily because of the emphasis on density to create more housing.

Residents said they were concerned that “high-rise” (usually five stories) buildings next to single-family home neighborhoods would violate privacy and cause parking problems. Others complained that mixed uses in former commercial-only areas would also cause parking and crowding issues.

Staff members pointed out that these uses only were what was possible, with no guarantee any development would occur. Some higher building limits also were put in place to match what was already there, they added.

There were some LUE supporters Tuesday, mostly arguing that density would allow more affordable housing. But there were many more opponents.

After a rebuff from the Planning Commission, another round of public meetings was scheduled. The first of those meetings devolved into a shouting match, resulting in changes in the format — and changes in the proposed land use maps.

There were two more rounds of changes, each reducing density and building height, before Tuesday’s hearing. That wasn’t enough for some of the public, who urged the council to start the process over or give it up all together.

Mayor Robert Garcia, who conducted nine roundtable meetings late in the process, said that the public participation could have been better, but that the land use planning was necessary.

“We should have done a lot better in engaging the community,” Garcia said after public comment ended. “No question the city, I, have learned lessons…

“The land use process is a state-mandated process, and I believe we must plan for the future appropriately. I believe we have done that.”

Garcia has championed increased housing density downtown and along major transportation corridors, primarily the Blue Line light rail line. That emphasis remained Tuesday, with downtown council members Lena Gonzalez (District 1) and Jeannine Pearce (District 2) accepting most of the proposed uses. District 6 Councilman Dee Andrews argued that the central part of the city couldn’t continue to bear the brunt of increased density, but made only a few changes to the proposed uses.

It became clear early in the council portion of the debate that every council member had been given the OK to change land uses in his or her own district without opposition. Most offered specific corridors for lower heights and one, 7th District Councilman Roberto Uranga, went all the way down to specific addresses.

At about 12:15 a.m. Wednesday, the council voted 8-1 to approve the Land Use Element, including all the changes made by council members that night. Fourth District Councilman Daryl Supernaw voted no, although he made changes to the maps as well.

Tom Modica, assistant city manager and acting Development Services director, said new maps reflecting all the changes should be available in a week. Those maps will be posted on the city’s website, www.longbeach.gov.