Judge Halts Terminal Project in Long Beach

In a major legal victory for Long Beach preservationists, a judge ruled late Thursday that the Port of Long Beach must reevaluate its plans to raze a historic naval base and erect a cargo terminal on the site.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien ruled that port officials had run afoul of environmental law by agreeing to lease the property to China Ocean Shipping Co., one of the port’s fastest-growing tenants, before it studied the environmental impact of the terminal project.

The ruling will require the port to conduct a new public hearing on its plans to bulldoze the shuttered Long Beach Naval Station and build a 145-acre terminal, and could mean that it has to cancel--at least temporarily--its lease with the Chinese shipping giant, said Jan Chatten-Brown, an attorney for the preservationist group Long Beach Heritage.

“I don’t know that we’ve won the war,” said Nancy Latimer, who heads the organization. “We’ve had a great deal of trouble trying to get [people] to listen to us. No one’s given us the time of day. The judge listened. And he’s made a ruling.”

Port officials could not be reached for comment.