LONG BEACH, Calif. — Long Beach announced changes on Monday to its Animal Care Services that the city says will enhance future operations and create long-term benefits for the roughly 4,000 animals that come under its care each year.

After a 26-year partnership, the city has terminated its lease and leaseback agreement with spcaLA due to what it calls "several areas of non- compliance" with the pact, which since 2001 has overseen operations of the animal adoption center located on the campus, city officials said.

"While we appreciate aspects of our longstanding partnership with spcaLA, the time has come to embark on a new journey to better serve our animals and communities," LB Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement.

"This transition will allow us to provide a higher level of care and quality of life for the animals who come into our space as well as enhance the critical animal care services we provide for Long Beach and other adjacent cities."

In addition to Long Beach, Long Beach Animal Care Services provides animal care to the communities of Los Alamitos, Cerritos and Signal Hill.

Long Beach first entered into a contract with spcaLA in October 1998 to address the overwhelming euthanasia rates that Long Beach, among other municipal shelters, was experiencing at the time and to help find more positive outcomes for animals entering the facility, city officials said.

The intention of the partnership, according to the city, was for spcaLA to construct and operate a modern state-of-the-art campus that provided both animal control facilities, led by LBACS, and an adoption center, managed by spcaLA.

The intention of the partnership was for spcaLA to take responsibility for groundskeeping, maintenance and animal adoptions, leaving LBACS to focus on critical animal control issues and stray animal intakes. 

As part of this agreement, it was the understanding that both organizations would work together to assist the other in fulfilling their primary goals at the time, the city of Long Beach stated.

Under the contract, the city pays 50% of operating costs for the entire campus and is afforded the right to share with spcaLA the common areas of the campus. The city owns the land where the campus is located and the contract includes a lease and leaseback agreement, both of which were signed on Oct. 2, 1998, and were valid until 2053. The LBACS campus opened to the public in 2001.

Over the years, spcaLA has taken control of more than 50% of the campus, forcing the city to incrementally decrease its operating footprint and significantly limiting the city's use of the shared common areas, according to Long Beach officials.

Currently, the city says it has unrestricted access to only approximately 19% of the campus. This has caused strain on LBACS and negatively impacted operations by keeping the shelter at or over capacity and affecting the health and well-being of shelter animals, according to LBACS.

The city has repeatedly attempted to address these concerns with spcaLA, to no avail, according to LBACS.