Some Have Reservations About Ambitious Port Plan : Harbor: Expanded retail, entertainment and recreational facilities are proposed. Lost business is among the concerns of community activists.

Picture this: Los Angeles Harbor with a first-class business district, a line of popular retail shops, expanded recreational boating facilities and a modern entertainment center.

The private sector will race to invest in commercial development; an influx of tourists will finally put the harbor on the map as a travel destination; the communities of San Pedro and Wilmington will be renewed; the city of Los Angeles will reap more taxes.

If all goes according to a new and ambitious plan approved in concept by harbor commissioners recently, this will be the Port of Los Angeles as it enters the 21st Century.

But community activists have concerns about the plan that are not reflected in the rosy pictures painted by port authorities.

The proposal calls for the public and private development of seven parcels of land, totaling about 170 acres, over the next 20 years. Work on three of the properties is scheduled to begin this year.

An 18-member task force--appointed nearly a year ago by port officials and Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan--has suggested developing a former 30-acre Unocal tank farm on 22nd Street in San Pedro into a retail mall for Pacific Rim manufacturers.

Ports O’Call village, a 30-year-old commercial recreation attraction, will be renovated.

Cabrillo Marina will be extended for an additional 760 boats in a development expected to cost the port $12 million to $14 million.

Private funding for the six other development sites is expected to total about $180 million, said Sid Robinson, the port’s director of planning and research.

The public has greeted the plan with some reservations.

Although speakers who addressed the harbor board agreed that the task force had sought opinions from the community, they were concerned because the developments mean some organizations and businesses will have to move.

Crescent Warehouse Co., the port’s second-oldest tenant, will lose two of its warehouses near the old Unocal property.

Crescent Vice President Don Hiniker said he is worried about losing business while the port builds replacement warehouses. He urged port officials to build the replacements before tearing down current buildings.

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Barbara Fowler of the San Pedro and Peninsula YMCA also asked the port to quickly find an alternative site for Bloch baseball field. In five years, the port wants to turn the field into a 16-acre multimedia complex.

“If we don’t have a baseball field, we’ll have 400 low-income kids without something to do,” Fowler told harbor commissioners.

In Wilmington, some residents do not like the port’s plan to reduce the number of slips at the community’s marinas to make way for an adjacent 37-acre commercial development. Leases at seven marinas will be renegotiated in November.

“Four marinas will be impacted seriously,” said Kevin Ketchum, who represents many of the marina owners. “Wilmington is concerned about further reduction in its water access.”

Other San Pedro residents and the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce want revitalization of the San Pedro business district to be included in the plan.

Port officials said they are committed to the developments, which they envisage as a “string of pearls” from the Catalina terminal to Cabrillo Beach.

“I think this is a great start,” said Commissioner Leland Wong. “It’s the best in terms of maximizing use of land around the waterfront.”