Community Divided Over Proposal for New Scrap Yard : Wilmington: Residents claim the Hiuka facility poses environmental hazards. Supporters, including the Chamber of Commerce, see the plant as an economic boon.

Fiercely debating a project that has divided Wilmington and sparked bitter feuds among residents, more than 200 people turned out last week for a public hearing on a proposal to bring a new scrap yard to the community’s waterfront.

The controversial proposal, pending before the Los Angeles Harbor Commission, would allow Hiuka America Corp. to open a scrap metal facility at the port’s Berth 147. The 13-acre facility would replace Hiuka’s San Pedro scrap yard, which has drawn so many complaints over dust, noise and traffic that Los Angeles city officials have moved to declare it a public nuisance.

Although Hiuka and port officials contend that the new yard would be enclosed with state-of-the-art environmental safeguards, opponents made it clear at Thursday night’s 2 1/2-hour hearing that they do not believe the port has adequately studied the project’s environmental hazards.

“Your staff has made a mockery of the environmental process,” Jo Ann Wysocki, president of Wilmington Home Owners, told port commissioners in a speech that drew loud applause.

“It’s ludicrous to say you can bring 650,000 tons of junk into a community without a major environmental report being necessary,” Wysocki added, presenting the latest of 1,226 petition signatures opposing the project.

The question facing port commissioners is whether the Harbor Department staff erred by deciding that a full environmental impact report on Hiuka’s project is not necessary. In early June, the staff declared that the facility would not have enough environmental consequences to require a full report.

That conclusion goes to the Harbor Commission at Wednesday’s meeting. If the commission agrees with its staff, as seems likely, Hiuka and the port will complete negotiations on a 30-year lease for the property.

But as Thursday’s emotional hearing illustrated, many Wilmington residents, and all of the community’s large homeowner groups, fiercely oppose Hiuka’s relocation to Berth 147, convinced that the new scrap yard should instead be moved to Terminal Island or a proposed landfill in the outer harbor.

“I’m not here to oppose Hiuka. I’m here to oppose the proposed site,” community activist Joe Mendez said.

Mendez blasted city officials, including Mayor Tom Bradley and Harbor Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, saying they had been co-opted by political contributions from Hiuka just as community supporters of the project had been won over by the corporation’s promise of 50 new jobs and at least $400,000 over the next five years for community organizations.

Said Peter Mendoza, another Wilmington activist: “Hiuka’s public relations tactics have been deplorable. They come out and wave money in front the community and it’s caused a feeding frenzy.”

But community supporters, ranging from Chamber of Commerce officials to youth group organizers, described the project as environmentally sound and a potential boon to the community. They also took issue with accusations that they had been bought off by Hiuka.

“I’m here to see that some of the youths I work with . . . have a chance at the American dream,” Wilmington Teen Center Director Connie Calderon said.

After the hearing, Harbor Commission President Ronald Lushing and the port’s executive director, Ezunial Burts, said they did not know how the commission will vote on the project’s environmental report. But Burts said he did not hear anything at the meeting that persuaded him the project merits a new environmental study.

Meantime, David Creigh, Hiuka’s executive vice president, voiced optimism that the project’s environmental report will be considered adequate. He dismissed charges that Hiuka had won some community support only with its pledge of $400,000 for local organizations.

“Since 1985, we have probably contributed over $100,000” to Los Angeles-area organizations, Creigh said. “And this (funding pledge for Wilmington) is just a continuation of that policy.”