Lomita Council Joins Opponents of Port Expansion

Joining a rising volume of discontent over pollution and traffic from the region’s two seaports, the Lomita City Council has voted unanimously to oppose the predicted expansion of the Port of Los Angeles.

“This is a first step,” Councilman Tim King said after Monday’s 5-0 vote. “Our hope is that it will encourage adjoining jurisdictions to address the burgeoning problems that will be caused by the port.”

A port official said Tuesday that the city’s action unfairly pinpointed only one source of harmful emissions and freeway congestion.

“It’s a regional issue, and I don’t think the Port of Los Angeles should be singled out,” said spokeswoman Rachel Campbell.

A port forecast says the amount of cargo passing through its gates would quadruple by 2025. Expansion opponents in Lomita, five miles northwest, say traffic and smog from ships, big rigs and equipment have reached intolerable levels.

“There’s no control on pollution or traffic,” King said.

Last month, Long Beach port commissioners voted 5 to 0 to rescind support of a 115-acre expansion of their facility, after environmental activists argued that air contaminant issues needed more study.

Noel Park, president of the San Pedro and Peninsula Homeowners Coalition, praised the Lomita council and said his group would try to get other cities to follow suit.

“I think this makes a profound statement, that this small city stepped up and said, ‘The emperor has no clothes,’ ” he said. “The ports don’t benefit us nearly as much as they cost us in terms of health and traffic.”