While Councilman Al Austin says he cannot legally support or oppose the project, City Development Services may be "sponsoring" the developer.
OPINION - In a recent News letter, third term Councilman Al Austin assured residents that he had not taken a public position on the parcel dispute at 3701 Pacific Place because it would be unlawful to take sides at this stage. While Austin has not put his finger on the scale, according to the developer, the City's Development Services department is sponsoring their development.
I guess Development Services didn't get the City's new equity memo.
"In Long Beach, the developer and the real estate interests have always prevailed on these issues. Simply put, the major reforms urged by this report will not be implemented because currently there is no political will to do so."
- Dr. Alex Norman
Tensions are high as private developer, InSite Property Group, strolls local neighborhoods dropping door hangers and trying to lobby local support. Meanwhile, community organizers have formed the River Park Coalition to put the brakes on a proposed 3-story storage facility.
Organizers say that the demand for health and racial equity is a moral mandate that the vacant parcel be transformed into much needed park space.
Where is Long Beach's Political Will?
What looks like a squabble over park space is actually a city struggling to repair a disheartening legacy of environmental injustice because, in the words of Dr. Alex Norman, it lacks the "political will."
For decades Dr. Norman has advocated for equity and social justice through the many groups and institutions he has served in the Long Beach community.
Dr. Norman's observation begs the question. Why is there no political will in Long Beach?
Certainly there have been political and social consequences. Staggering black and brown infant mortality rates, scores of minority kids suffering from asthma and higher incidents of cancer for residents living and breathing along the 710 Freeway.
There are two answer to Dr. Norman's question. Both, however, are inconvenient truths.
A Shift in Political Winds
One reason for the lack of political will is that the political winds have shifted. 2020 racial protests, looting, boarded business and police scandals have placed Long Beach City officials under a microscope. Now even zoning laws are being examined through an "equity lens".
Before Long Beach's hotly debated Land Use Element became law in 2018, this disputed parcel could never have been home to a storage facility or business head quarters. Simply put, the Land Use Element laws decided how much or how little development could happen in every part of Long Beach. The parcel at the center of this controversy was up-zoned.
Now that the developer has won over the Planning Commission that approved the project in an overwhelming 6-1 vote, some residents have buyers remorse regarding the parcel's up-zoning.
That's because prior to 2018 the disputed property was only zoned for open space. Now that local politicians, including the Mayor, have found religion in "racial equity" there is tremendous finger pointing as to whose fault it was that the parcel once zoned for "open space" is now zoned for "light industrial".
From the developers perspective, the up-zoning raised the property value overnight by many millions. An unmistakable financial windfall. The consequence is that residents who want to see the vacant lot transformed into park space now have a multi-million dollar hurdle to cross.
Although Dr. Norman has been calling for equity in Long Beach for decades, the City's new transition to equity shines a light on recent policy decisions that, before now, weren't examined through an equity lens.
Pay-to-Play Politics
The second reason that "developer and real estate interest have always prevailed" and for the lack of political will, is the City of Long Beach's willingness toward pay-to-play politics.
While River Park Coalition organizers plant yard signs and crowd-fund legal fees on GoFundMe, the developer launched a pro-development website with a City Department as the "Sponsoring Agent."
So much for a City committed to equity.
Even if you believe that a private owner's rights should not be trampled by residents with a vision for property they don't own, we can all agree that City government should enforce the law fairly as a neutral referee.
While InSite is within their right to plead their case before the court of public opinion, they have overstepped in this regard. Their website gives the naked appearance that City Development Services favors InSite more than local residents.
City Development Services is the department in charge of things like building code enforcement.
Use of the term “Sponsoring Agency” suggest that the taxpayer funded department of City Development Services, which preside over permits and inspections, is in a joint effort with a private developer. Depicting a City department as a corporate sponsor flies in the face of fair government.
The proper role of Development Services is to assure the safety of residents by enforcing safety standards not to pick winners and losers.
What's the Big Picture?
Just two weeks ago, City Council passed a climate action plan. Mayor Garcia promised that it would serve as a "blue print to address the major impacts of climate change in Long Beach."
Pacific Place is ground zero for the impact of climate change. To resolve the parcel dispute at Pacific Place, City council must address short-sighted zoning policies and disproportionate health impacts and park space faced by residents of color.
Thus, what happens at Pacific Place is a preview to how sincerely City officials are committed to equity or whether equity is a trending fad.
For this reason, River Park Coalition's grass root effort is every resident's effort who support equity. Our shared struggle is against the role of corporate dollars on public office that usually put residents last. Our collective fight is to prevent private enterprise from assuming the role of government.
However uphill the journey, we are fueled by nothing more righteous than the right to a fresh breath of clean air. And for residents at the center of the Pacific Place controversy clean are is a luxury, not a norm.