Long Beach, Port Foes OK Pact

The Port of Long Beach and a group of preservationists intent on saving part of the Long Beach Naval Station declared a truce Friday in the rancorous dispute over the port’s effort to build cargo terminals on the closed base.

As part of a wide-ranging agreement, port officials promised to establish a $4.5-million trust fund to buy historical properties in Long Beach if architecturally significant buildings at the base are demolished to make room for new facilities.

Meanwhile, Long Beach Heritage, a preservation group, vowed to withdraw from an ongoing lawsuit that challenges the port’s now-frustrated plan to build a $200-million terminal on the facility for China Ocean Shipping Co., or Cosco, China’s government-owned shipping company.

“We are tired of the divisiveness in the community that the lawsuit has caused,” said Nancy Latimer, a board member of Long Beach Heritage, the main plaintiff in the case. “We feel the deficiencies have been cured, and we are ready to discuss the alternatives for reuse of the base.”

The controversy began in late 1996, when port officials signed a lease agreement with Cosco to develop a large container ship terminal on 145 acres of the 500-acre base. Cosco, which opened its current facility at the port in 1981, had outgrown its site and wanted more space.

The terminal was scheduled to open in July, but strong opposition on a number of fronts delayed the project indefinitely. Joining the fray were environmentalists, preservationists, anti-communist groups, veterans organizations and two conservative congressmen who say they don’t want Chinese communists to establish a “beachhead” in California.

Shortly after the Cosco deal was signed, Long Beach Heritage sued the port, alleging violations of state and federal laws that require environmental impact reports for proposed construction projects. Part of the environmental review process requires consideration of alternative uses of a site.

The group was particularly interested in preserving a 40-acre campus on the base that served as the Pacific Fleet’s headquarters shortly before World War II. A number of international style buildings on the site were designed by prominent African American architect Paul Revere Williams. The base also is eligible for listing in the National Registry of Historic Places, the only Long Beach landmark with that distinction.

Long Beach Heritage contends that the city and port of Long Beach have never given adequate consideration to alternative uses for the base that would preserve many of its historical structures.

In May 1997, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien ruled in the group’s favor. He said port officials had committed themselves to developing a terminal for Cosco well before the review process was finished, thus reducing the environmental assessment to a mere formality.

The port, which canceled its lease with Cosco because of legal obstacles, appealed O’Brien’s ruling last month. Since then, at least 117 cities, Los Angeles County and the California Assn. of Counties have filed court briefs in support of the port’s appeal.

The cities of Vernon and Compton, which originally joined Long Beach Heritage in the lawsuit, are still contesting the port’s appeal. Hearings are scheduled for the spring.

Port officials and members of Long Beach Heritage said Friday’s agreement should clear the way for further discussions and a final determination of how the base will be used.

“The information is now on the table for the people to use to make their decision,” said Peter C. Devereaux, vice president of Long Beach Heritage. “This is a fine step forward and provides a fair opportunity for consideration of the alternatives.”

The Navy, drawing from three options, is expected to release in May its recommendations for reuse of the facility. The Navy can select one of the options before turning the base over to the city. It also can make no recommendation before relinquishing control.

One plan calls for the port’s original proposal, which does not include any preservation. In the second alternative, an auto terminal and a museum would be built, thus saving most of the buildings designed by Williams.

In the third choice, a cargo terminal could be built, but police, fire and harbor administrators would share the historical structures with the museum. The second and third choices also include a ship repair facility.

“I think we are all ready to put the arguing and the litigation behind us,” said Yvonne R. Avila, the port’s communications director. “The preservationists say they will abide by the decision that results. If any historic buildings are demolished, we have agreed to pay for them.”

Avila said Cosco is still interested in developing a terminal on the base, but port and city officials cannot resume discussions with the company until the reuse plan is finalized.

If the port’s original proposal is selected and the structures in question are razed, the port will set up the $4.5-million trust fund to benefit preservation efforts in Long Beach.

Long Beach Heritage members said they will push for the option that includes a terminal, a 90-acre ship repair facility, and institutional use of the 40-acre campus where Williams’ buildings are located.

“The fund would be appropriate compensation,” Latimer said. “Of course, our hope is that the buildings will not be torn down. This is a very important historical site. We would like these buildings preserved and used.”