Weighing City’s Liquid Assets : Council Looks at Plan to Dredge Lagoon and Develop Shoreline Aquatic Park

The fate of Shoreline Aquatic Park, a 40-acre area of grassy knolls surrounding a small lagoon, is likely to spark some heated debate this week when the City Council considers a plan to develop the waterfront.

The council will hold a special meeting Monday night to decide whether to endorse the plan, which includes bulldozing the park and dredging its lagoon to make way for a tourist harbor.

Under the proposal by Ehrenkrantz & Eckstut Architects (a city-hired consultant), a shopping and restaurant district would be built north of the new harbor to create jobs and tax dollars for Long Beach.

Those who back the proposal, including Mayor Ernie Kell and the Chamber of Commerce, say the best use for the land would be a development that would inject some economic life into downtown Long Beach.

“It could be a real catalyst to really turn our shoreline around,” Kell said. “We desperately need money for the general fund.”

But those who oppose losing the park, such as Councilman Warren Harwood, say that the idea of a tourist harbor sounds promising but that many of the city’s residents who live in or near downtown use the park, which is downtown’s largest one, to picnic and socialize.

On a recent sweltering day, a boy plunged like a hungry pelican into the lagoon to escape the searing heat.

A pair of cyclists glided by on the smooth bike path that encircles the park, and Esau Iakopo had a barbecue with his family, as he does about once a week, he said.

“Not only that, but about six days a week I jog around here,” said Iakopo, a Long Beach resident. “I’ve lost a lot of pounds around here.”

The park also is used for community events such as the annual lesbian and gay pride events, boat and car shows and chili cook-offs.

Under the proposal, a replacement park would be created on the other side of the mouth of the Los Angeles River, near where the Queen Mary is moored.

“I do not see (Shoreline) Park being used a lot by the local residents,” Kell said. “To have the park on the other side, to me, makes a lot of sense.”

Harwood, on the other hand, said the replacement park would be less accessible and too close to the industrial activity in the Port of Long Beach. “This is a real land grab as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “It would take away from the disadvantaged downtown kids who don’t have much park area.”

Under the proposal, the new harbor would feature a landing for tour boats and would offer paddle boats and other family recreation.

Long Beach would have to obtain permission from the California Coastal Commission, among other agencies, for the development.

The commission would be concerned about environmental effects of the proposed changes in the shoreline, said Chuck Posner, a commission analyst.

Richard Klingbeil, a marine biologist with the state Department of Fish and Game, said lagoons such as the one in the park are often sanctuaries for young California halibut and other marine life.

The Coastal Commission also would determine whether the development would meet the provisions of the California Coastal Act of 1976, which requires diverse use of coastal lands.

If the City Council endorses the plan, the consultant would be charged with working out the details of the proposed development, including the cost. Public hearings would have to be held, and final approval would be months away, officials said.

The city would probably foot the bill to create the new harbor, and private developers would pay for other parts of the venture, officials said.

To create the tourist harbor, the city would have to tear up a portion of a 113-acre landfill that it put in place in the 1960s, at a cost of $10.2 million. Shoreline Aquatic Park, with its playground equipment, public restrooms, bike paths, recreational vehicle camping area and other improvements, opened in 1982.

The park was a key part of Long Beach’s coastal development program, which was approved by the City Council and certified by the Coastal Commission in 1980.

The plan called for Shoreline Aquatic Park to be “dedicated in perpetuity.”

The City Council would have to amend the development program to replace the park with a tourist harbor, said Pat Garrow, a city planner who reviews development proposals to make sure they are in compliance with the coastal program.

“It’s a major change . . . that would undergo a tremendous amount of scrutiny,” she said.

The city’s coastal development program was put together with the help of a citizens advisory group, which had about 40 members from business and community organizations.

Bob Lamond, who represented the local chapter of the Sierra Club on the advisory panel, said he has an open mind on the proposal but added, “The park is a needed recreational facility for a lot of people. I would certainly want to see it duplicated or maybe even improved upon.”

Long Beach lawyer Charles Greenberg, who represented the Chamber of Commerce on the advisory panel, said he had largely favorable impressions of the proposal. He said the proposed replacement park would probably be an acceptable alternative to Shoreline Aquatic Park.

“As a citizen of Long Beach, I think it would make a wonderful environment for people who live here,” Greenberg said.

The proposal could incorporate the Queen Mary tourist attraction, if city officials so desire, the consultant said.

As an attraction, the historic ocean liner has been losing money, and city officials have not decided its fate. The Walt Disney Co., which has operated the tourist attraction since 1988, will drop out at the end of the year. The city is searching for a new operator or buyer for the ship.

The special meeting Monday on the development proposal begins at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers at City Hall.