Long Beach : Marina Project in Violation of Federal Permit

Work has started on a marina project in Alamitos Bay in apparent violation of a federal permit.

While the city of Long Beach has received approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a seawall at an Ocean Boulevard marina, it was not supposed to start the project until it had also begun an associated environmental project. It has not done that, and the director of the city Parks and Recreation Department says there is no particular timetable for doing the environmental work.

“I think there was a misunderstanding,” parks Director Ralph Cryder said, insisting that he was not aware of the permit stipulation that the environmental work be undertaken before, or simultaneously, with the marina project. Saying he would “look into it,” Robert Burns of the Corps of Engineers regulatory office would not comment on whether the city has violated the conditions of its permit.

The parks department also is planning to build a seawall in the Cerritos Channel area. Both projects will destroy habitat for marine life, so the city has agreed to create some sandy beaches in the Marine Stadium area as a replacement.

At the same time, a community group is fighting the plan to put in new beaches along Marine Stadium, a narrow, rock-lined waterway used by boaters and rowers. Although Cryder said swimming will not be permitted at the beaches, opponents fear swimming will be allowed, interfering with boating activities.