Issue: Dredging the Lagoon

The city of Long Beach is considering a proposal to bulldoze 40-acre Shoreline Aquatic Park, dredge the lagoon, and create a tourist harbor surrounding Shoreline Village to connect downtown to the sea and help revitalize the business district. Another park would be opened. Is the plan a good idea?

Robert Lamond: Sierra Club representative , Former advisory committee , Long Beach coastal plan I don’t know. I’m trying to keep an open mind. First of all, we need to know who uses the lagoon’s park. Then we have to replace that park with another, and any other park would have to be just as good. An environmental impact report needs to be finished to see what effect this would have on the water and wildlife. Of course, that whole shoreline is artificial. But before I could made a decision, I would have to see assurances that environmental damage could be mitigated and that the replacement park would be as good or better. I would also need to see if the economics would be worth it, if this could really be helpful to the city. I hate to give up the park. I like it. But if it can be shown that this harbor would be really advantageous to the city, I might be willing to give it up.

Warren Harwood: City Councilman I think it’s an outrageous proposal. They’re talking about destroying an irreplaceable public park, a 40-acre area. That park is what the people got in exchange for commercializing the shoreline. That was the agreement with the Coastal Commission: The developers got Shoreline Village and the people got the park. It was not expendable. That park was supposed to be there in perpetuity. I suggested a much more rational plan. I suggested they dredge out the section immediately south and east of Shoreline Village for their development. That way, they wouldn’t have to destroy the park. You would still have a developed area and you could save the park. I’ll tell you something, as far as I’m concerned, this is a land grab, pure and simple. Some downtown business interests see an opportunity to grab some valuable land, while saying they’re trying to help the economy.

Catherine Larosa: President , Beach Citizens for Long Beach It seems to me they’re putting the cart before the horse, here. We’ve got to clean up crime first so people will want to go down there. People are afraid to shop in Long Beach so it seems like they would be putting more businesses in that would just go out of business. Most of the people in our neighborhood organization will not shop out at Shoreline Village because it’s not safe. They don’t feel safe walking to their cars, so I don’t see how it could succeed. Let’s make it secure first. Let’s get those 100 police officers first, clean up the area and then think about new shopping areas.

John Morris: President , Downtown Long Beach Assn. I think it’s the most exciting thing to happen in Long Beach in years. I think it will make the energy of the area so vibrant that a lot of it will expand to downtown. People will go down to the harbor one night, then filter up Pine Avenue the next night. And with the convention center expansion, there will be a lot more bodies in the area. There may be some competition, but I welcome it. If the lagoon is a retail area, and the park is moved across the way, it would be a lot more exciting. The layout would be nicer, and access to the area would be better. They’re talking about plans for an amphitheater in the new park along the lines of the Hollywood Bowl. That would bring even more bodies downtown to fill the hotels and restaurants. It would be great.