When a Los Angeles City Council committee asked for draft regulations that would require auto dismantlers and other gritty businesses in three industrial areas to clean up operations when they move or expand, some businesses thought it was a great idea. After all, there would be money attached to help them clean up.
Others, though, are deeply skeptical. They ask: How can a city that runs a chronic budget deficit be counted on to come through with financial help?
The Clean Up, Green Up proposal would place limits on pollution, noise, deliveries and other business activities that affect nearby residents in the three areas – Boyle Heights, Pacoima and Wilmington.
The limits would kick in when a business moves or expands. In exchange, the city promises to make it easier for targeted businesses to get loans to help pay for new and cleaner equipment.
Some businesses particularly welcome any improvement to the appearance and cleanliness of these industrial neighborhoods.
“Clean Up, Green Up would be better for our employees, better for our business, better for the community and better for the environment,” said Bruce Falk, president of Action Sales & Metals Co. Inc., a Wilmington metal recycling facility. “A plan like this is long overdue.”
But some other business owners and groups are skeptical that assistance will materialize; they fear they will be stuck with the entire tab of cleaning up their operations. They are also concerned about the scope of forthcoming city regulations.
“This has a feel-good component to it,” said Pat Wilson, president of Fast Lane Transportation, a Wilmington trucking and container company. “But I have grave concerns about how the city is going to fund all the assistance programs they are promising and about the unintended consequences that could arise from these regulations.”
The aim of the program is to reduce pollution from the numerous auto repair and dismantling shops, recycling facilities and other industrial businesses in these communities, thereby improving the health of local residents and making the areas more attractive for future business investment.
The proposal, which initially targets new or expanding businesses in these communities, received conceptual approval last month from a City Council committee. City administrators will now spend up to a year crafting specific regulations. Clean Up is seen as a pilot program that could be expanded to cover other areas of the city or existing businesses.
Business opponents
Wilson, who also is president of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, was the only business owner willing to go on record with his concerns about the program. He said that he believes his business would be directly impacted, since he’s likely to be forced to move his facility to make way for a massive new rail yard for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. The move would mean his company would be considered a new business entering the community and thus subject to the stricter standards.
He fears he might have to invest in equipment that lowers the amount of pollution and noise his business creates if the regulations are adopted. Also, he might have to limit the hours he receives deliveries in order to cut down on noise, pollution and traffic.
Other business owners have expressed concerns privately but have been reluctant to go public for fear of being tagged as anti-environment.
But several business groups have come forward with their concerns, including the Los Angeles County Business Federation, or BizFed; the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce; the Wilmington chamber; and FuturePorts, a coalition of port-related businesses.
The chief concern is the lack of a reliable source of funding. They worry that the regulations will remain in full force, but any financial help will dwindle.
“With the city’s current fiscal crisis, it’s unclear where funding for implementation of this program will come from,” BizFed leaders said in a letter last month to the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee. “A quality business incentive zone requires a strong funding source – one not dependent on fees, fines or penalties collected from businesses.”
The business groups are also concerned about adding another layer of regulation for businesses in these industrial zones.
“There are already several agencies in place to provide oversight, such as the South Coast Air Quality Management District,” said Elizabeth Warren, executive director of FuturePorts, which represents BNSF Railway, Valero Energy Corp., APM Terminals Pacific, Ability TriModal Transportation and scores of other port-related businesses.
“We feel this initiative adds another level of bureaucracy and unnecessary regulation,” Warren said in a letter to the City Council.
Business supporters
But several business groups have come out in favor of the Clean Up proposal, including the Boyle Heights and Pacoima chambers of commerce and the Los Angeles Business Council, an organization that advocates for sustainable housing, education and business development.
“Taking this sensible approach by providing various incentives will reduce existing levels of pollution while encouraging local businesses to clean up and attracting new green businesses to our community,” said Mary Leslie, Los Angeles Business Council president, in a letter to the City Council.
One supporter said she believes the proposal will allow her business to apply for money under programs at other agencies, such as the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
A consultant to proponents of the plan believes that the city could reach agreements with other districts and agencies to make money available for businesses that need to comply with the program.
“This is a huge opportunity for businesses like ours that are looking to expand,” said Dina Cervantes, the daughter of one of the owners of Triumph Precision Parts, a metal manufacturer in Pacoima. “We are looking forward to the assistance programs from the city to allow us to access all these loan programs.”
The proposal for the Clean Up program originated with a collaborative of four community groups: Pacoima Beautiful, Communities for a Better Environment, Coalition for a Safe Environment and Union De Vecinos. These groups have long sought to address the problem of so-called toxic hot spots in heavily industrial communities such as Boyle Heights, Pacoima and Wilmington. Toxic hot spots are industrial facilities – from metal recycling plants to refineries to auto dismantlers – that emit pollutants. Environmental, health and community groups have long claimed that pollutants from these facilities cause elevated levels of asthma, cancer and other chronic diseases among nearby residents.
The Clean Up program would add regulations, including odor and emission monitoring, noise buffering, emission standards and limits on deliveries. The actual standards would be set by city planners.
The incentives could include business assistance loans and grants, more favorable business tax treatment, payments for public improvements the businesses make to their properties, and outreach efforts to inform businesses of the various loan and grant programs available through other agencies.
“The key point of this program is to pair these standards with economic incentives,” said Donald Spivack, a consultant for the Clean Up, Green Up collaborative.
But Spivack acknowledged that the funding and other assistance from the city for the targeted businesses has yet to be worked out.
“It’s an open question whether the city will be able to follow through with this,” he said – echoing the very reason why many business owners are concerned.
“I would like nothing better than to see improvements in our community,” said trucking company owner Wilson. “But we don’t need a whole new layer of regulation, with promises of funding assistance that may never materialize.”
