You can tell an issue in Long Beach must be important when the Los Angeles Times manages to cover it, and last week’s controversial wetlands-area grading gets the treatment today in a piece by the Times’ Louis Sahagan. The article doesn’t uncover much new information besides some interesting quotes from Councilmember Gary DeLong and others:
“What was green with trees and nesting birds is now muck devoid of vegetation,” said Elizabeth Lambe, executive director of the nonprofit Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust. “We’re angry that our laws could be violated like this with impunity.”
But it is noteworthy that Sahagan was unable to reach Sean Hitchcock, owner of the construction company (2H Construction) in question. According to both Hitchcock and City Manager Pat West, the two sides had set up a meeting to occur early this week to discuss the matter. However, the article notes that Hitchcock is out of town on vacation. Voicemails placed by the lbpost.com at Hitchcock’s office dating back to last Friday remain unreturned.
Since the story erupted on Friday, much has been made about the actual classification of the land. This site (as well as the LCWLT) referred to the land as “wetlands” while Hitchcock and others have maintained that the space is a landfill. Whatever the classification, the land does enjoy certain environmental protections that 2H Construction (which has been in operation since 1997) did not address with the proper permits.
“Obviously, you can’t undertake development in the coastal zone without a permit, but wetlands enjoy certain particular protections under The Coastal Act,” Sarah Christie, spokesperson for the California Coastal Commission, told us on Friday.
“The problem is that, A) They didn’t have a permit and that B) They were doing something that is very difficult to get a permit for. It’ll be up to the city to determine where they want to take it from here.”
Click here for the full LA Times article.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor