Community Input on Reuse of Navy Land
Following a realignment at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in the early ‘90s, Navy housing on Taper Avenue was declared surplus. The federal government transferred all of this housing to a homeless provider without informing or involving the community in this decision. In 1994, the federal law was amended to ensure greater citizen input into land reuse decisions.
The reuse proposal addressed in your Dec. 5 editorial is the result of the grass-roots process required by law. At numerous public hearings, the needs of the region’s homeless population were carefully weighed. The requests of other worthy applicants were also considered. In the end, the San Pedro Area Reuse Committee recommended that the best use for the surplus Navy land was for 76 units of housing for the homeless, various transitional services for the homeless, educational facilities and a medical research lab (that subsequently opted not to relocate). The committee’s plan also required the winning applicants to contribute almost $2 million to the L.A. Homeless Services Authority.
Conveyance of the surplus property was complicated by the discovery of an endangered species, the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, at the housing site. Now another delay -- one endorsed by The Times -- is likely. Rather than give final approval to the community’s recommended reuse plan, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has decided to mediate 45 days of negotiations between the city and a disgruntled homeless advocacy group.
If no compromise is reached, the result will be tragic. No one -- not even the homeless living in San Pedro who so deserve the aid of the providers selected by the reuse committee -- will win. We support the community process that produced the San Pedro reuse plan and urge homeless advocates to continue to participate in this process as additional surplus military housing becomes available. Holding up this decision much longer undermines the intention of the law.
Rep. Jane Harman
D-Venice
Janice Hahn
L.A. City Council
