Volunteers Transform County Eyesore Into a Greenbelt

A group of neighborhood volunteers combed the bushes for empty beer bottles and Styrofoam coffee cups, yanked a few weeds and raked away tangles of dead ground cover.

With the ceremonial placing of a 15-foot eucalyptus tree-- voila!-- the eyesore began to resemble a greenbelt again Saturday. “Hopefully, this is the start of something,” said Jeff Baker, president of the homeowners’ association that organized the cleanup of the 60-foot-wide strip of land on the east bank of the Los Angeles River in Long Beach.

Baker and about 40 neighbors of the Wrigley area toiled on a couple acres of the largely barren lot that they say has been ignored by its owner, Los Angeles County. Besides improving the looks, they say they want to send a message to the county that the entire 13-acre riverfront strip from Willow Street to Wardlow Road should be left as an undeveloped, park-like greenbelt.

Ray Grabinski, a Long Beach City Councilman who represents the district, watched the clean-up and called it “a classic example” of how residents can band together to improve their neighborhood.

And it all started with Andy Kowal’s broken foot.

Kowal, whose wife publishes the neighborhood newspaper, said he became interested in the fate of the vacant property as he lay at home recuperating.

“I had to keep my foot elevated,” Kowal explained as he hobbled around in a foot cast. “So instead of watching TV, I started calling the county and the city to see the status of the land.” He said he found out that the county is offering the land for sale, a move that residents fear would bring new development on the edge of a tract of small, custom-built homes mostly built in the 1930s.

Researching further, he said he discovered that new development could force relocation of the several underground high-pressure gasoline and oil lines feeding local refineries that lace the vacant property. Also, rainwater runoff from the neighborhood collects on the property before finding its way into the river.

The findings, he said, present a convincing case against development. Kowal said he contacted leaders of the Wrigley Assn. to organize Saturday’s cleanup and went to the county for a permit. The county waived the normal $50 permit fee, which Kowal said he appreciated, considering the association was cleaning up county land.

He added that he was told not to plant any trees. So he disregarded the rules and joined the whole crew in the planting of a single, symbolic tree, the eucalyptus donated by a Signal Hill nursery.

Gabe and Cheryl Ferramola said they came to pick up trash to show their support for the neighborhood. “Because I live here, I’m concerned about development in the area,” Gabe said. “We definitely don’t want any developments.”