Wilmington Auto Junkyard’s Plan to Expand Draws Fire

Wilmington residents are gearing up to fight a proposed expansion of an auto salvage yard, saying they want to reverse the community’s longstanding reputation as the junkyard and heavy-industry capital of Los Angeles.

Presented as an amendment to a revised Wilmington-Harbor City District community plan now being considered by the city, the proposal would increase by half the size of Ecology Auto Wrecking at 1710 Eubank Ave. The amendment was approved by the city Planning Commission in October, but the entire community plan still must be approved by the Los Angeles City Council.

Some neighbors of the site complained this week that they were unaware of the proposal until they discovered it was on the agenda for a meeting last Monday of the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

The revision of the 1970 community plan has been in the works for five years, and one of its key components would keep industrial uses out of residential areas. Many worry that a successful bid for expansion by Ecology Auto Wrecking may show other businesses that a temporary window exists in which they may expand their operations.

“It seems like everybody wants a junkyard in Wilmington,” said Gertrude Schwab of Wilmington Home Owners, a neighborhood group. “But when we aren’t made aware of proposals like this until the last minute, it’s no wonder this community is in the condition it’s in. We don’t have anybody looking out for us, it seems.”

Long considered an industrial center for Los Angeles, Wilmington has the highest concentration of heavy industry and junkyards of any community in the city, according to city planning officials.

After a hasty meeting with an Ecology Auto Wrecking representative last week, neighbors persuaded the company to delay until March 13 the Planning and Land Use Management Committee’s consideration of its expansion plans. Residents and the company plan to meet in the meantime to seek a compromise.

Under the proposal approved by the Planning Commission, Ecology Auto Wrecking would be allowed to expand its auto salvage operations to an adjacent lot bought several years ago. The salvage operations are now on a 9.68-acre site. Under the expansion proposal, 4.5 acres now used to store derelict cars would be converted to a full-scale dismantling facility.

The commission told the company it must expand the yard’s access lanes to Lomita Boulevard to avoid traffic congestion caused by delivery trucks, and must landscape to improve the salvage yard’s appearance from the outside.

Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, who represents Wilmington, has not taken a formal position on the proposed expansion, but she recently sided with San Pedro residents in a similar battle over a scrap metal yard on North Gaffey Street.

But even without the expansion, neighbors complain that salvage yard traffic already severely harms nearby residential areas and that customers of the yard frequently use surrounding streets to install parts bought there. They also say the proposed landscaping would do little to improve the shabbiness of the yard’s perimeter.

“I think we have all decided that they can’t make it pretty enough for us. A junkyard is a junkyard is a junkyard,” said Peter Mendoza, president of the Wilmington Home Owners.

But in requesting the expansion, Ecology representatives say they are standing on firm legal ground.

“The bottom line is, under current zoning, almost unlimited industrial uses could be allowed on the site,” said Rob Katherman, consultant to Ecology on the planned expansion. Katherman said “auto salvage is a significantly lighter use of the property,” than other industries such as chemical processing and manufacturing, which could be allowed under current zoning rules.

However, in approving the expansion, the Planning Commission proposed downzoning the area to limit the property to light industrial uses, such as auto parts salvaging. Because the property lies on potentially unstable landfill, permanent buildings such as those needed for manufacturing and processing would not be allowed, Katherman said.

Ecology already parks cars to be used for parts on the proposed expansion site, though salvaging takes place inside the yard.

“I assure you that, even if the expansion is not approved, we will continue to be there. We already have a right to park cars on the new lot,” said Katherman.

Many residents blame the slow pace of revising the 1970 community plan for the spread of industrial businesses into what are largely residential areas. Under the draft of the revised plan for the Wilmington-Harbor City District supported by local residents, much of north Wilmington, where Ecology Auto Wrecking operates, would be rezoned to disallow such industrial uses if they are next to residential areas.

Under a state law approved in 1985, local governments must bring zoning ordinances into agreement with community plans. However, many cities and communities still are in the process of making those changes, and have relied on the most recent zoning maps to make planning decisions.

With the revised Wilmington community plan still winding through the city bureaucracy, residents say they have been left unprotected from proposals such as the Ecology expansion.

“Of course we would like to see all of the junkyards get out of the residential areas, but it’s almost impossible to get them to leave,” said Mendoza. “But the last thing we want to do is encourage them and give them an opportunity to expand. We don’t want to give them an inch, or they all will try to capitalize now. We want them to wait until we have a revised community plan.”

Calvin Hamilton, former Los Angeles Planning director and consultant on the proposed update of the community plan, said it contains strong restrictions on industrial zoning.

“Part of our recommendations are that all auto parts yards be moved from west of Alameda Street to the far east side of town,” away from residential areas, Hamilton said. “That’s what the community asked for.”

Residents say they intend to oppose Ecology’s plan at the March hearing, and hope to persuade Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores to support them.