10-01-2012, 11:06 AM
http://westsidepac.com/news/newsletter.pdf
On September 17, the Harbor Commission voted to
“set-aside” the October 16
eviction of Berth 55 Restaurant and Seafood Market,
Queen’s Warf Restaurant,
and Long Beach Sport Fishing while they launch an
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the proposed
fire station/security center
the Port plans to build at the
site. Though this is a tremendous victory for Berth
55, it does not mean they’re
in the clear. But it does
mean that they have the
length of the EIR to remain
open, business-as-usual.
The EIR will take at least a
year to conclude. During
that year, the Port is required to follow a set pattern of public hearings and
examinations of options for
the site, one being a “no
build” option. And that’s
what Berth 55 and the community that has so heartily
supported their efforts to
remain in business are hoping for.
So we eagerly await the EIR
process. This is when you
get up, get to the meetings,
and get your voice heard.
Get your questions answered: why can’t the Port
reposition the fire station
150 feet over from where it
is now while they reconstruct the Gerald Desmond
Bridge, why is the lease
more expensive here than
other comparable sites,
why relocate a fire station
wherein the response time
would be longer, why
would the Coastal Commission approve of closing
another public access point
to the Port when there is
only one other remaining;
questions like that. We
would like to be told again,
slowly, what other options
have been explored and
why they are less attractive
for the Port’s endeavors.
And if this is the best possible location, why can’t the
businesses coexist?
(continued on page 2)
Port Rescinds Eviction Of Berth 55—For Now
It’s Official: WPAC Is Granted Incorporation Status
At long last, the Westside
Project Area Council has
been granted 501c3 status
as an unincorporated nonprofit. A tax ID has been
issued, and the WPAC is
in business, once again.
All concerns and projects
the WPAC was working on
prior to the RDA dissolution can now be pursued
freshly, albeit with different funding.
Information as to how you
can get involved in the
WPACs interests is forthcoming. In the meantime,
the community’s attendance at the monthly meeting is encouraged (second
Wednesday of each
month, 5 PM @ West Division substation, 1835 Santa
Fe Ave.), and updates will
always be posted on the
website at
www.westsidepac.com.
Westside PACNews
Volume 12, Issue 10
OCTOBER, 2012
WPAC OFFICERS
Tony Rivera
Chair
432-6211
tony@
easyrolloffservices.net
Jane Kelleher
Vice-Chair
961-3414
jane@savonsigns.com
Mike McFadden
Sec/Treasurer
435-5611
mike@cmac.us
WPAC Office
westpac@westsidepac.com
www.westsidepac.com
What Is The WPAC?
The Westside Project Area
Council provides private
citizens the means to give
advice to City Hall on matters
pertaining to infrastructure
concerns as well as general
living conditions within the
area. We gather information,
mediate issues, and assist the
City in carrying out projects.
WPAC Meetings are held the
2nd Wednesday of each
month at 5 P.M., at the West
Division Police Substation
located at 1835 Santa Fe Ave.
All are encouraged to attend. There’s room for both enterprises.
Larry Maehara, owner of Berth 55, has
offered alternatives that would allow
for the businesses to remain even if
the fire station is to be relocated
there, but those alternatives have
been dismissed, and without clear
reason. Those of you reading this
newsletter will receive notices as to
the dates and times of the public hearings, and be informed as to how you
can write the Harbor Commission.
As WPAC Chairman Tony Rivera has
said many times, the Port of Long
Beach is a giant when it comes to international relations and commerce,
but has in the past turned its back on
the needs of the community surrounding it. Here is an opportunity for the
Port to take care of their own. Port
Executive Director Chris Lytle and the
Harbor Commission have been gracious in continuing a dialogue with
the businesses at Berth 55, which
might not have been the case in daysgone-by. They are listening. And
hopefully they are rethinking this
plan, a plan that was in place before
most of them were in a position to
direct things differently.
Over 5,000 people have signed a petition to save Berth 55 – over 5,000. The
majority of the people on that petition
are not community activists or organizations. The majority of those names
represent the clientele that consider
this site one of the last remaining Long
Beach treasures, and the Port has the
power to change course and not tear
down what cannot be rebuilt or relocated. That which the city refers to as
“The Pike” is not the Pike, not in any
respect. Pier Point Landing, Rainbow
Harbor, the list goes on of those glorious, historically relevant jewels that
are now only friendly ghosts in a city
haunted by its short-sighted instincts,
tripping over dimes to pick up nickels
over and over again.
Berth 55 (continued)
In The November Issue
we’ll look at the real
impact of Project Labor
Agreements, and how
your business can still bid
on and win those
big-ticket jobs.
Page 2 Westside PACNews
Office of the Mayor, Bob Foster
570-6801
Pat West, City Manager
570-6916
Amy Bodek,
Dir. Development Services
570-6428
Robert Garcia,1st District Council
570-6919
James Johnson, 7th District Council
570-6139
Planning Department
570-6607
Port Graffiti Hotline
590-4121 570-2773
Police Illegal Dumping
570-3462 570-2881
Parking Code Enforcement
570-2866 570-2633
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
Anaheim Project Moving Forward
Two community meetings have been
set for presentations and public input
on the Anaheim Repaving Project, slated to break ground mid-2013. The
meetings will be held at Tepechi Mexican Restaurant on Wednesday, October 3; one at 8 AM, the other at 3 PM,
to afford more neighbors the opportunity to attend. Tepechi is located at
1440 Santa Fe Ave. Each meeting will
offer a brief presentation on the project and the Port's plans for minimizing
the impact to businesses, and you’ll
have the opportunity to ask questions
and voice your concerns. The WPAC
-supported suggestion that the project be manned by two crews working day and night to move it along
more quickly is being considered
and will be discussed at these meetings. If you would like to be added
to the Port's e-notification list for this
project, e-mail them at anaheimstreet@polb.com or call Julia
Wu at (562) 283-7882. Letters should
be addressed to Julia Wu, Port of
Long Beach, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long
Beach, CA 90802.
On September 17, the Harbor Commission voted to
“set-aside” the October 16
eviction of Berth 55 Restaurant and Seafood Market,
Queen’s Warf Restaurant,
and Long Beach Sport Fishing while they launch an
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the proposed
fire station/security center
the Port plans to build at the
site. Though this is a tremendous victory for Berth
55, it does not mean they’re
in the clear. But it does
mean that they have the
length of the EIR to remain
open, business-as-usual.
The EIR will take at least a
year to conclude. During
that year, the Port is required to follow a set pattern of public hearings and
examinations of options for
the site, one being a “no
build” option. And that’s
what Berth 55 and the community that has so heartily
supported their efforts to
remain in business are hoping for.
So we eagerly await the EIR
process. This is when you
get up, get to the meetings,
and get your voice heard.
Get your questions answered: why can’t the Port
reposition the fire station
150 feet over from where it
is now while they reconstruct the Gerald Desmond
Bridge, why is the lease
more expensive here than
other comparable sites,
why relocate a fire station
wherein the response time
would be longer, why
would the Coastal Commission approve of closing
another public access point
to the Port when there is
only one other remaining;
questions like that. We
would like to be told again,
slowly, what other options
have been explored and
why they are less attractive
for the Port’s endeavors.
And if this is the best possible location, why can’t the
businesses coexist?
(continued on page 2)
Port Rescinds Eviction Of Berth 55—For Now
It’s Official: WPAC Is Granted Incorporation Status
At long last, the Westside
Project Area Council has
been granted 501c3 status
as an unincorporated nonprofit. A tax ID has been
issued, and the WPAC is
in business, once again.
All concerns and projects
the WPAC was working on
prior to the RDA dissolution can now be pursued
freshly, albeit with different funding.
Information as to how you
can get involved in the
WPACs interests is forthcoming. In the meantime,
the community’s attendance at the monthly meeting is encouraged (second
Wednesday of each
month, 5 PM @ West Division substation, 1835 Santa
Fe Ave.), and updates will
always be posted on the
website at
www.westsidepac.com.
Westside PACNews
Volume 12, Issue 10
OCTOBER, 2012
WPAC OFFICERS
Tony Rivera
Chair
432-6211
tony@
easyrolloffservices.net
Jane Kelleher
Vice-Chair
961-3414
jane@savonsigns.com
Mike McFadden
Sec/Treasurer
435-5611
mike@cmac.us
WPAC Office
westpac@westsidepac.com
www.westsidepac.com
What Is The WPAC?
The Westside Project Area
Council provides private
citizens the means to give
advice to City Hall on matters
pertaining to infrastructure
concerns as well as general
living conditions within the
area. We gather information,
mediate issues, and assist the
City in carrying out projects.
WPAC Meetings are held the
2nd Wednesday of each
month at 5 P.M., at the West
Division Police Substation
located at 1835 Santa Fe Ave.
All are encouraged to attend. There’s room for both enterprises.
Larry Maehara, owner of Berth 55, has
offered alternatives that would allow
for the businesses to remain even if
the fire station is to be relocated
there, but those alternatives have
been dismissed, and without clear
reason. Those of you reading this
newsletter will receive notices as to
the dates and times of the public hearings, and be informed as to how you
can write the Harbor Commission.
As WPAC Chairman Tony Rivera has
said many times, the Port of Long
Beach is a giant when it comes to international relations and commerce,
but has in the past turned its back on
the needs of the community surrounding it. Here is an opportunity for the
Port to take care of their own. Port
Executive Director Chris Lytle and the
Harbor Commission have been gracious in continuing a dialogue with
the businesses at Berth 55, which
might not have been the case in daysgone-by. They are listening. And
hopefully they are rethinking this
plan, a plan that was in place before
most of them were in a position to
direct things differently.
Over 5,000 people have signed a petition to save Berth 55 – over 5,000. The
majority of the people on that petition
are not community activists or organizations. The majority of those names
represent the clientele that consider
this site one of the last remaining Long
Beach treasures, and the Port has the
power to change course and not tear
down what cannot be rebuilt or relocated. That which the city refers to as
“The Pike” is not the Pike, not in any
respect. Pier Point Landing, Rainbow
Harbor, the list goes on of those glorious, historically relevant jewels that
are now only friendly ghosts in a city
haunted by its short-sighted instincts,
tripping over dimes to pick up nickels
over and over again.
Berth 55 (continued)
In The November Issue
we’ll look at the real
impact of Project Labor
Agreements, and how
your business can still bid
on and win those
big-ticket jobs.
Page 2 Westside PACNews
Office of the Mayor, Bob Foster
570-6801
Pat West, City Manager
570-6916
Amy Bodek,
Dir. Development Services
570-6428
Robert Garcia,1st District Council
570-6919
James Johnson, 7th District Council
570-6139
Planning Department
570-6607
Port Graffiti Hotline
590-4121 570-2773
Police Illegal Dumping
570-3462 570-2881
Parking Code Enforcement
570-2866 570-2633
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
Anaheim Project Moving Forward
Two community meetings have been
set for presentations and public input
on the Anaheim Repaving Project, slated to break ground mid-2013. The
meetings will be held at Tepechi Mexican Restaurant on Wednesday, October 3; one at 8 AM, the other at 3 PM,
to afford more neighbors the opportunity to attend. Tepechi is located at
1440 Santa Fe Ave. Each meeting will
offer a brief presentation on the project and the Port's plans for minimizing
the impact to businesses, and you’ll
have the opportunity to ask questions
and voice your concerns. The WPAC
-supported suggestion that the project be manned by two crews working day and night to move it along
more quickly is being considered
and will be discussed at these meetings. If you would like to be added
to the Port's e-notification list for this
project, e-mail them at anaheimstreet@polb.com or call Julia
Wu at (562) 283-7882. Letters should
be addressed to Julia Wu, Port of
Long Beach, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long
Beach, CA 90802.
