By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
March 7 is the date District 15 voters will grade Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino. Although there are many in the district who believe he should be graded on a pass-fail basis, he won’t be.
Three challengers, two of whom have columns in this edition of Random Lengths News, are critical of Buscaino’s handling of the San Pedro waterfront development, the homeless crisis, the Harbor Division jail and the environment — issues on which he is vulnerable. But the depth of their campaign resources, coupled with their lack of name recognition throughout the council district means their quest to unseat an incumbent will be a tough one.
The Los Angeles Times editorial board endorsed the councilman, but described his “performance,” thus far, as only “adequate.”
The Times editorial board also laid out the historic and geographic realities that constrain the aspirations of communities such as Harbor Gateway, Harbor City and Wilmington, noting that each of these areas needs its own representatives.
“But they will never get one,” the Times board wrote. “Not as long as the city herds all of those areas into a single, mammoth city council district.”
Buscaino has repeatedly said that his success as councilman would be determined by how much communities that are historically underserved by the city, like Watts, Harbor Gateway and Wilmington, are improved.
At his state of the district luncheon on Feb. 16, the councilman discussed some of the success he has overseen, if not in some way abetted. Buscaino typically highlights the work of residents, community advocates and nonprofits as a way to highlight how the resources and the political weight of his office assist them.
“The most important function a city can serve is to keep it safe and clean,” the councilman said.
The councilman called the district’s residents efforts to improve their community inspiring, citing groups like Clean San Pedro, Clean Wilmington and Clean Watts.
An example of the councilman’s involvement was the Recreation and Parks Department’s $4 million renovation of the 109th Street Pool. The pool was closed following a 2008 melee that saw 30 men overrun two armed guards and six pool workers. Buscaino provided funding for increased security services.
The councilman recounted the activism of Watts’s resident and founder of Clean Watts Ronald “Kartoon” Antwine that brought Watts Serenity Park; and the work of John Jones III, founder of East Side Riders Bicycle club, that brought Ciclavia to Watts and said it was set for it to come Wilmington in 2018.
The councilman highlighted work of entrepreneurs like chefs Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson who opened LocoL, the conscientious health-oriented fast-food restaurant and the Ortiz family’s Hojas Tea House of Wilmington, which has opened up locations in San Pedro and Long Beach within the past few years.
He applauded Harbor Gateway North Neighborhood Council chairwoman Pamela Thornton and her council’s advocacy for a pocket park with the aim of pushing out sex offenders from the community.
The councilman announced the near completion of Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park following the yeoman’s work of local educators Martin Byhower and Joanne Valle. What he neglected to mention was the park’s redevelopment had pushed some 167 homeless people out into the open in the Los Angeles Harbor Area and has become something that has stained his image.
The councilman highlighted the funds pouring through Wilmington to upgrade the Avalon corridor and the work in particular of Santa Luna restaurateur Antonio Castaneda, who has renovated several Avalon Boulevard façades.
Random Lengths evaluated the motions the councilman authored and seconded in his first, full term in office. Buscaino’s performance cannot be fully measured by the motions he filed given that the power of his position relies on influencing actors beyond the council chambers. But it does paint a picture of his priorities and the depth of his commitment to them.
Homelessness, Affordable Housing, New Development Projects
In 2015, the councilman was busy in the kitchen when it came to development. He cooked up several motions from Watts to San Pedro. Whether anyone will like, let alone be satisfied with what he’s cooking remains to be seen.
In May 2015, Buscaino along with Councilman Mike Bonin authored and seconded a motion to negotiate and execute an amendment to City Contract C-120911, a block grant contract extension between the city and Boys and Girls Club.
In June of 2015, Buscaino with Councilman Bernard Parks, authored and seconded a motion to direct the Port of Los Angeles and the Department of Recreation and Parks to submit a report to the Arts, Parks, Health, Aging and River Committee report about the feasibility to establish a dog park in the inner Cabrillo Beach area.
In September 2015, Buscaino and the Los Angeles City Council allocated $200,000 for the purchase of real estate related to Watts Civic Center redevelopment. The councilman filed a motion to relocate a council office and the substations of the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department when the Watts Civic Center gets renovated.
In October 2015, Buscaino and the Trade, Commerce and Technology Committee over which he presides as chairman, commissioned a feasibility study on San Pedro’s Waterfront redevelopment efforts. The result of that study was released two weeks before the primary election on Feb. 21.
In December 2015, the councilman’s committee commissioned a report on the marketing strategy to promote tourism at the LA Waterfront due out by the end of 2017. This study was commissioned around the same time as the committee’s feasibility study on San Pedro’s Waterfront redevelopment efforts.
The study sought to answer the following question:
For 16 publicly-owned sites in the LA Waterfront area, what are the best near- and longer-term development options given market conditions, zoning codes, regulatory constraints, physical site characteristics, and ongoing public and private investment in the LA waterfront?
Of the 16 publicly-owned sites, the report identifies the Outer Harbor and the historic Warehouse #1 as likely to elicit the most excitement from developers, with Daily Breeze reporting that some would like to convert it into a hotel. However, a closer look at the report identifies the historic property only as potential “office/flex” space, which has no interest.
The report noted that 804 market-rate units are slated to be built in downtown San Pedro. Yet, none have broken ground. The report explained that San Pedro rents are too low ($2.02 versus $2.65 per square foot) to support higher-density development like recent Long Beach projects. But the report’s authors believe rental rates will rise in the future. There is no mention of the comparable public investments in infrastructure made in Long Beach as compared to San Pedro.
Between Holland Partners 312 mixed-use development on the courthouse property, Omninet’s 400-unit development on the former C-worthy Paint store on Palos Verdes Street between 5th and 6th streets; LaTerra’s 24 single-family residences, which are planned to have direct access garages and rooftop decks; and the councilman’s much maligned Nelson One project, there hasn’t been one project to actually get started.
The reasons for the criticism of the councilman’s Nelson One project have as much to do about style as about substance. The councilman is looking to place a 47-unit luxury apartment building with ground floor commercial space on the ground floor, adjacent to the Mesa and 6th streets parking lot.
On this concept alone, the project has been panned as out of character with the neighboring architecture and the narrow one-way street upon which it would be built. The other issue is that the councilman’s lack of vetting of developer Richard D. Lamphere. Lamphere was connected to a failed land deal that cost two private investors hundreds of thousands of dollars. That ultimately led to his conviction of fraud and resulted in a prison stint in September 2016.
The councilman talks a good game about building affordable housing, just as long as it is not in San Pedro. None of the projects listed above have any affordable housing component. When he does address low-income housing, he’s talking about getting rid of or significantly altering the public housing at Rancho San Pedro.
During his state of the district speech, Buscaino proclaimed that the ground has been broken on 300 new units of low-income housing on his watch. That included Blue Butterfly project for homeless vets along Western Avenue (which was started long before he came into office) and two low-income housing developments in the community of Willowbrook, just south of Watts.
During his forum on homelessness in September 2015, the councilman said that there were several affordable housing developments on the way. He was correct. For a councilman that is on the record favoring a housing-first model approach to addressing homelessness, it’s conspicuous that he didn’t mention that it would be several years before any of those affordable housing units would be available. And of the ones that would be built, none would be in San Pedro.
The Environmental and Port-Related Issues
On port-related issues, Buscaino is a reliable vote, especially given that he’s chairman of the Innovation, Grants, Technology, Commerce and Trade Committee, as well as the Public Works and Gang Reduction Committee — committees that tend to see a lot of Harbor Department requests.
For example, in May of 2016, the Innovation, Grants, Technology, Commerce and Trade Committee submitted a report that supported the continuance of a contract with law firm Brown and Winters. It was to recover fees from environmental investigation and cleanup expenses from historic or past tenant insurance policies with the Port of Los Angeles.
And, his Public Works and Gang Reduction Committee has submitted a number of reports supportive of the Harbor Department’s request to transfer responsibility of certain streets in the industrial areas of Wilmington into private control.
Decisions made by his committee that support the port’s efforts occasionally benefit residents closest to port operations directly.
One example is when Buscaino authored a motion in 2012 that supported the appeal of environmental justice activist Jesse Marquez on denying an application to operate a truck and container storage facility in an area zoned as a residential area.
He also authored motions streamlining permit approval process for maritime-related construction.
Another such example is when the councilman authored a motion to authorize staff to re-enter negotiations with Union Pacific Railroad to acquire property to complete the East Wilmington Greenbelt Community Center expansion. The railroad initially tried to sell the land to the city for $1.2 million until it was discovered that the property had significant soil and groundwater contamination requiring remediation. Union Pacific agreed to sell the land for $100 if the city would indemnify it against any future lawsuits regarding environmental degradation. Negotiations between the city and Union Pacific devolved into a three-year impasse.
On simple, no-brainer issues, Buscaino does OK. It’s the bigger stuff that lends credence to the idea that he is over his head and is an unreliable ally for his constituency.
In March 2016, Random Lengths reported that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency informed the South Coast Air Quality Management District that its 2012 pollution reduction plan for meeting Clean Air Act standards did not pass muster.
RLn had reported at the time that AQMD’s NOx cap-and-trade program, NOx RECLAIM, repeatedly failed to perform as well as direct regulation of refineries and other facilities. This is required by state and federal law, dating back to its inception in 1994. But oversight has been lax and slow moving. The story in Random Lengths continued:
… the EPA’s action was attention-grabbing, especially in light of recent AQMD actions weakening its regulatory commitment — most notably by ignoring its own staff and adopting an oil industry plan for amending the same NOx RECLAIM program. The AQMD raised eyebrows when it fired its long-time executive officer Barry Wallerstein, who openly criticized the decision to ignore staff and adopt the oil industry plan. Buscaino is a member of the AQMD board.
“[T]he amendments do not appear to meet the minimum emissions control requirements in California law,” California’s Air Resources Board already warned.
… President pro tempore Sen. Kevin de León also announced plans to add three more members to the AQMD board representing public health and environmental justice points of view.
De León noted that the AQMD board “further weakened” NOx RECLAIM in December.
“SCAQMD board members should rethink their votes to weaken the region’s clean air standards and take the necessary steps to comply with state and federal law,” De Leon said. “Their actions are not only irresponsible, but illegal.” San Pedro’s City Council member Joe Buscaino [Mayor Garcetti’s appointee] joined with Republican board members to approve the weakened plan. This goes a long way in backing up the claim that he is a Democrat in name only.
The Councilman’s Final Grade
The councilman is pretty good at jumping on bandwagons while maintaining his megawatt smile at the photo-ops, whether it’s at the dedication of the Misty Copeland Square in front of the uninspiring mural of San Pedro’s famous ballerina; the renaming of Center Street between Viewland Place and Knoll Drive to Eastview Little League Drive; the naming of the intersection of Sixth and Centre streets, “Papadakis Square,” or the renaming of Cabrillo Avenue between 12th and 13th streets, to the honorary title of “Boys and Girls Club Way.” If he was graded on just these appearances, Buscaino would earn a B. (He lost points for the execution of the Misty Copeland mural.)
But on the issues that matter to district residents and that impact their daily lives, the incumbent has not been a consistent ally of residents.
Think about:
- His inability to get Rancho LPG to release copies of its liability insurance documents and a specific seismic figure that the plant could survive;
- His support of BNSF’s Southern California International Gateway;
- His role as the mayor’s appointee to the board of the South Coast AQMD;
- His failure to offer a fix that adequately addresses the homeless crisis;
- His failure to get the San Pedro jail open to improve patrol times;
- His office’s lack of transparency in choosing developers as exemplified by his choice for Nelson One.