[ Cities and Counties Support Long Beach Appeal ]

Cities and counties throughout the state have joined Long Beach in its
effort to overturn a lower court roling that has prevented developmen
t of a container terminal on the former Long Beach Naval Station. In a
friend of the court brief filed last week, 117 California cities, the
County of Los Angeles and the Californis State Association of Countie
s asked the Court of Appeal to overturn the unprecodented ruling which
“would cripple an already cumbersome planning and land use approval
process, if allowed to stand.”
The lower court ruled that the environmental analysis of the project w
as adequate in all respects, but that Long Beach had “pre-committed”
to the terminal project before completing the environmental review pr
ocess. The court held, for the first time, that this was a violation o
f the California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA).
The friend of the court brief points out the distinction between proje
ct support and project approval. Public agencies may support a project
before environmental review as long as they do not approve the projec
t and lose the abillity to modify or reject the project once the envir
onmental impacts are fully disclosed.
Carmen Perez, president of the Long Beach Harbor Commission, praised t
he cities and counties for their support saying, “It’s heartening to
receive support from so many other cities and counties. We appreciate
their endorsement.”
Dick Steinde, the port’s executive director said, “The brief points
out the importance of this issue for public agencies throughout the st
ate.”
The court of Appeal is expected to issue its ruling this Spring.