| (May 22, 2021, 9:10 a.m.) -- .In a May 19 Zoomed meeting, the leadership of LB's grassroots Riverpark Coalition, which in April blasted CD 8 Councilman Al Austin and City Hall management for supporting a commercial development instead of parkland at 3701 Pacific Place, announced it will work alongside Austin to produce Dominguez Gap parkland on County property and a butterfly preserve nearby north of the Pacific Place parcel.
Long Beach city management and Councilman Austin both support the Dominguez Gap parkland and L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn has voiced her support. The group's leadership said its volunteer members deserve credit for the now-envisioned Dominguez Gap open space which they said wouldn't have happened without its pressure for greenspace at Pacific Place. At the same time, the Riverpark Coalition, alongside with LA Waterkeeper, is suing the City seeking a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Pacific Place development alleging the "mitigated negative declaration" (certified by the City Council with only dissent by Councilman Uranga) is insufficient. The Riverpark Coalition's leadership also announced it's seeking non-profit status that will enable long-term sustainable advocacy for greenspace from the Dominguez Gap to Wardlow Rd. The river-adjacent area south of the 405 freeway is currently the subject of an in-preparaion EIR for a housing development on land the Riverpark Coalition says should be open-space/greenspace. The group indicated it's also monitoring other nearby properties it said are in escrow with buyers and their development plans currently unclear. [Scroll down for further.] |
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