Ruling May Revive Port Lease Plan

A controversial plan to lease land at the former Long Beach Naval Station to a Chinese shipping line may be back on the table after an appeals court decided that the Port of Long Beach followed state law in its environmental review process.

As a result, if the Navy turns over 300 acres of the closed Navy base to the port, harbor officials can again approach China Ocean Shipping Co., or Cosco, to see if the government-owned shipping company is interested in occupying half of the proposed terminal.

Last year, the port’s plan to build a vast cargo container terminal was challenged by local preservationists and two cities north of the port over not considering other alternative uses for the base.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that the Port of Long Beach did not illegally commit itself to a shipping terminal project before starting an environmental impact report that would determine how the development would affect the surrounding areas.

The idea of leasing government land to a Chinese company caused a stir from conservative citizens and politicians who thought that the venture posed a security risk.

In the wake of the Cosco controversy last year, Congress passed legislation stipulating that a presidential waiver would be necessary if the Chinese shipping company decides to move to the closed naval base, which is next to the Port of Long Beach.

The court’s decision was welcome news for port officials who had planned to open a huge shipping terminal by this summer. The port is waiting for the Navy to recommend three options for the former base.

“We would like to develop a container terminal for containerized cargo,” said Yvonne Avila, a port spokeswoman. “Our container trade has doubled since 1990. We are now the largest seaport in North America in terms of container trade.”

The controversy over a new container terminal began in late 1996 when port officials signed a lease agreement with Cosco because the company had outgrown its 80-acre facility at the Port of Long Beach.

Shortly after the Cosco deal was signed, Long Beach Heritage, a preservation group, sued the port, alleging violations of state and federal laws that require environmental impact reports for proposed construction projects. Part of the environmental review process requires considerations of alternative uses of a site.

The preservation group filed the lawsuit because it was interested in saving a 40-acre campus at the naval station that had been the Pacific Fleet’s headquarters shortly before World War II.

In May 1997, Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien ruled in the group’s favor. He said port officials had committed themselves to developing a terminal for Cosco well before the review process was finished.