Port Officials Extend Olive Branch to Communities

The Port of Los Angeles on Wednesday announced an unprecedented plan to improve its relationship with San Pedro and Wilmington--two waterfront communities that long have endured the worst effects of the harbor’s growth in cargo operations.

Hoping to end the so-called Hundred Years’ War with neighbors, harbor commissioners outlined an initiative to give San Pedro and Wilmington more say in planning and to improve communication on issues that directly affect them.

Both communities, which are considering seceding from Los Angeles, have often criticized the city Harbor Department for planning new cargo terminals without regard for neighborhood concerns about air pollution, industrial blight and truck traffic.

Local activists Wednesday applauded the port’s overtures, but remained skeptical about whether their input would ever affect planning decisions. “Seeing is believing,” said Gertrude Schwab, a former harbor commissioner and head of the North Wilmington Neighborhood Assn.

But Harbor Commission President John C. Wentworth insisted that the change is significant and real.

“This is a commitment to comprehensively plan and to bring in the public,” Wentworth said. “This is new territory for all of us. We all have some growing to do. I hope this will result in a showcase of successful projects.”

T. Keith Gurnee, a design consultant brought in by Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, unveiled the specifics of the proposal during a harbor commission meeting. It was standing room only as more than 100 community leaders, activists and citizens filled the hearing room.

Gurnee made the presentation a month after Riordan vowed at a San Pedro luncheon to make port communities more of a partner in harbor projects. The mayor, who leaves office in May, is particularly concerned about secession efforts throughout the city, including the harbor area.

“We want to develop a seamless interface between the harbor area and the port,” Gurnee said. “We need to balance industrial demands against being a good neighbor and mitigating impacts on the community.”

To help accomplish that, the port wants to immerse itself in the community by holding extensive interviews in the weeks ahead with businesspeople, community leaders and residents, Gurnee said.

Port officials said they will work more closely with both communities on a variety of major projects, including proposals to refurbish the cruise line terminal, to develop a parcel off 22nd Street and to rebuild Ports O’ Call Village, a cluster of waterfront shops that has lost at least half its tenants.

Gurnee said the port would like to better involve citizens on other matters such as harbor lighting, a proposed bicycle path, a proposed waterfront promenade in San Pedro, terminal projects and assessing environmental impacts of planned facilities.

“There has been unparalleled expansion and prosperity in the port,” said Commissioner Jonathan Y. Thomas. “The one frontier not tackled has been port-community relations. We need to round out the mayor’s tenure in order to be a complete success.”

Port officials said they hope the policy will help end the conflict with the community that has existed since the harbor was established in the early 1900s. The tension has intensified during the last 20 years as the volume of cargo has more than doubled. If trends continue, the volume is expected to double again, maybe even triple, in the next two decades.

The phenomenal growth has resulted in more pollution, truck traffic and industrial eyesores, as well as the destruction of beaches, neighborhoods and commercial areas to make way for new cargo terminals.

Harbor commissioners said they want to make substantial headway on the new policy while they still have the support of Riordan. They also promised to maintain the initiative as new mayors take office.

Frank O’Brien, a community activist in San Pedro, said he supported the port’s effort as long as harbor officials put “everything out on the table” and made quality of life part of their mission.

He and others said they would like to see more community members assigned to the advisory committee that is evaluating proposals for Ports O’ Call, the cruise line terminal and the 22nd Street parcel. The panel, which wants to complete its work by the end of February, includes a developer, a former port official, an aide from the mayor’s office and a current port staff member.

“It looks like the good old boys club, the usual suspects,” said Dr. Robert Gelfand of San Pedro, who addressed the commission. “This is about power. There needs to be real power sharing with the community.”

Later in the meeting, community activists and residents tested the new policy by voicing their opposition to a terminal project that will eventually level Knoll Hill, an old residential area in San Pedro near the Vincent Thomas Bridge. For the last 15 years, the port has been acquiring property in the area for new cargo operations.

One longtime resident, Alice Livermore, said the port’s project has made Knoll Hill “look like Kosovo reborn.” She said harbor officials have done little to reduce the blight from ongoing construction and may have removed old palm trees and jacarandas unnecessarily.

Commissioners promised to look into the complaints about Knoll Hill before approving a wharf extension that is part of the overall plan to turn the area into new cargo terminals. “I don’t want this to go unanswered,” said Commissioner Carol Rowan.