Blocking of Cargo Terminal Is Appealed
Lawyers for the Port of Long Beach have appealed a judge’s order blocking construction of a cargo terminal on the site of the city’s closed naval station.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien had ruled that port officials improperly made a commitment to build a terminal for China Ocean Shipping Co., or Cosco, before an environmental impact study was completed. City officials contend that the judge had no jurisdiction to stop the project.
In an effort to satisfy the judge, the port’s governing board withdrew its approval of the project, canceled Cosco’s lease and conducted an additional public hearing on uses for the closed base. But O’Brien, siding with preservationists who oppose the demolition of the 55-year-old base, refused to change his order.
Meanwhile, local critics and national political figures took port officials to task for their plans to build the $200-million terminal for Cosco, a shipping giant owned by the People’s Republic of China. Port officials defended the plan, noting that Cosco has been a customer with space at the port since 1981.
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