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O, HOW HAPPY WE WILL BE!

Jennifer StockdaleWed. March 12
 

Clean beaches, surfing, a new source of energy—and an expanded port. The world according to Keith Higginbotham


PHOTO by JENNIFER STOCKDALE

The entire solution to Long Beach’s dirty, stagnant coastline fits in the blue cotton hoodie wrapped around the head of Keith Higginbotham.

He has a plan to make waves where there are none, turn muck into clean water, produce energy from trash. He’d make the Port of Long Beach pay for most of it, and he’d make the port happy to do so—or at least not terribly unhappy.

Higginbotham certainly doesn’t look like the messiah of our messed-up waterfront. Sitting in Polly’s Coffee on Second Street with a wisp of steamed milk on his lip and surrounded by several pages of chicken scratch, he mostly looks over-caffeinated. And he’s just ordered another latte. Although he chatters in the vocabulary of an engineer, Higginbotham’s not that, either.

But he is an expert: the West Coast Associate Editor of American Shipper magazine, the former de facto historian of the Port of Long Beach and the reporter who covered the port for the Press-Telegram.

And he’s kind of a visionary.

Higginbotham admits his ideas are inspired by all the other people—from Mayor Bob Foster to restaurateur John Morris and historian Ken Larkey—who’ve lately been harping about bringing down the Long Beach Breakwater or redirecting the Los Angeles River into the Port of Long Beach.  Some of those are elements of his blueprint, too.

But the key to Higginbotham’s scheme is its very practical bottom line. It’s based on a series of tradeoffs that give everybody a payoff: The people of Long Beach get clean beaches, improved real estate values and a better tourist economy. In return for paying most of the bill, the Port of Long Beach satisfies its ambition to expand.

“What I’m suggesting plays into the existing political realities,” says Higginbotham, “not taking away port land, but making the port directly responsible, which most people would agree they need to be.”

While Morris and Larkey have suggested possible river configurations diverting the flow of the river into the port (see graphic), Higginbotham says the political and financial will to make this happen does not exist. Instead, he suggests leaving the mouth of the river where it is and dealing with two related factors that he believes could be tackled– the trash coming out of the river and the water circulation problems down Long Beach’s coastline.

Where it goes from there is a little complicated, but try to follow along on the accompanying map as Higginbotham takes us through it:

• The Port of Long Beach removes the easternmost section of the Long Beach Breakwater, or at least lowers it to a depth that allows adequate water circulation to the beaches. (I know what you’re thinking: Doesn’t the federal government own that? Sure they do, but if the port’s behind it, it’ll get pushed over.) In return, the port gets to expand by filling in 95 acres of Pier J, which Higginbotham calculates is worth $3 million per acre per year—that’s $285 million annually. The port would use the big rocks it removed to connect the remaining breakwater with Pier J—moving the port entrance to the east, and essentially sealing off the port water from city’s beaches.

• The port installs a waste collection-and-removal system as well as a basic water-treatment facility at the outlet of the Los Angeles River (where it now dumps into the port). The trash is sent to the Southeast Resource Recovery Facility plant (SERRF) on Terminal Island, where it is turned into electric power to run the waste and water-treatment facility.

• The port becomes forever responsible—directly, not through contributions to the Tidelands Fund—for maintaining the city’s beaches, all the way from the downtown marina to the outlet of Alamitos Bay.

Together, this would be very expensive—upwards of $1.3 billion, according to Higginbotham’s projection.

“I’m glad it’s not my money,” he concedes.

But, only $203 million of that total would be spent on the public good—including breakwater removal, installment of the water-/waste-treatment plant and annual beach maintenance. (Of course, the public good is a bigger-than-ever part of the port’s mission nowadays, witness the new Green Port Policy and accompanying logo, as well as the $116 million allotted in the 2008 budget for environmental projects.)

“The port could easily justify the cost as a cleaning-up of one of the most serious port impacts to the local environment, a task they seem to have indicated as a priority,” says Higginbotham.

The other $900 million is money the port would spend on expanding its operations on Pier J—presumably money it would want to spend.

Then again, maybe not.

An interagency slideshow presentation shown at the Port of Long Beach’s board meeting on March 10 reiterated how the port continually opts to miss the bigger picture. Instead of addressing solutions to problems within the city it owes its business to, the Port of Long Beach’s planning team pointed out (in eight oversimplified slides) that redirecting the mouth of the LA River is a flawed idea and potentially damaging to port operations.

“The port should focus on cleaning up the things that it has jurisdiction over, what is feasible and what would offer the best return on investment—in this case, the return of Long Beach’s open-to-the-ocean beaches and the tourist and visitor dollars that would follow,” says Higginbotham. “Can you imagine the value of downtown property and the increase in city property tax if the beaches were actually nice to visit?”

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    I would love to see this happen. I'm in my 30's and I don't believe it will in my lifetime. It would take senior people at the city, at the port, and in congress to all get behind this. Maybe we have a couple councilmembers interested but not the right ones. It would require the 3rd District (currently DeLong) to back it and he won't because the Peninsula residents are terrified of losing their houses in a storm.
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    This could and will happen if everyone starts to believe in it and share in the vision...even you LB resident. Delong is a puppet. Sure his constituents have cards to play but the rest of the Long Beach have many more cards to play.

    To Keith and the district, good work and keep up the pressure. To Long Beach residents, spread the word and fight the power!!
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    Well I'm almost 50 and I have no problem believing this could happen in the next ten years. As they say, nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. It only takes a few key people to say "why not?"

    I don't think every element of this design will happen, but hopefully a lot of it can. What I like the most about this strategy is the overall pragmatism. Give the port some of what they want, and give the citizens some of what they want, and while you're at it, give the politicians some of what they want.

    About redirecting the river to the port, the port doesn't want it to happen, and the city only cares about the pollution, so I'm sure there is some way to say, okay the city takes the water, but the port helps the city clean it up.

    And for the breakwater, it sounds reasonable to say, help us take it down, and then you can have the rocks. Oh, but leave a few to shore up the oil islands, and the peninsula, and you can have the rest to fill in more of the port area.

    And while we're at it, tell Mr. Higginbotham to plan for the oil islands to become a string of city parks, connected by a water taxi funded by the port, when there is no more oil to pump out. Oh, and maybe the new filled in eastern boundary of the port can have a bike path, and a long narrow park with hills and tall trees to give people something to look at from the shore other than the cranes and shipping containers. Why not dream big?!
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    Dreaming of the way it used to be, rolling surf, clean water, yeahh. WAKE UP PEOPLE IT IS NOT A DREAM, YOUR'E HAVING A NIGHTMARE! What else is missing from those 75 year old picures of our beautiful surfy beaches ? Open land and a HALF MILLION PEOPLE. This is not 1920. Where will these beachgoers park? Where will the extra police come from? They will be needed. Check out the problems with fighting that happen in H.B. every summer, and they don't have a blue line making a straight shot from the hood to the shoreline. Look around at the gangs and gafitti at our exsisting parks. I don't know if 'Giget' or 'Moon Doggy' will use the beach but 'Lil Killer' and 'Mad Dog' will. What about lifeguards and paramedics? And traffic, guess we will have to widen Ocean Blvd. Sorry to be the spoiler but this really is one of those "be careful what you ask for' deals. Go 5 min up PCH to Seal Beach if you want to surf. Now go back to sleep.
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    I think downtown trying to be like Seal Beach isn't practical or desirable. But having an atmosphere like Santa Monica only better is. Urban with a beach would be a very good result that would set us apart.
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    Bill were you driving the "Big Yellow Taxi" Joni Mitchell sang about? (for you younger readers, "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot..." http://artists.letssingit.com/joni-mitchell-big... ) FYI your phantom gangbangers can already get here--why don't they? Because there are no waves? They surf?

    "If you can dream it you can do it." Walt Disney
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    Ahhhh Bill, you must be one of our fine east long beach residents living on land that you think might be affected by the breakwater coming down. Or perhaps you're just negative for the sake of negative and you've given up on dreaming.

    I'll take a stab at your questions.

    Parking: Oil breached $110 a barrel. The future involves alternative modes of transport, stop thinking car and start thinking train, bus, bike, skateboard, scooters and the almighty two feet you stand on. If you really want parking, there is enough room down there to fit in parking, just like they do at other beaches.

    Police: No problem. With all the extra tax money the beach drives i'm sure they can afford a few more Ponches and Johns. Same goes for lifeguards and paramedics. Just normal beach operations my friend.

    Gangbangers: That same issue exists from here all the way up and through Santa Monica. It's not slowing them down.

    The only thing keeping Long Beach the sleepy Iowa by the sea model are people that think like you and question things to death. To quote a great movie line "Get busy living, or get busy dying".
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    So let me get this straight, With no garantee of waves returning if the breakwater was removed... you want to commercialize our open beaches to the extent of being able to generate enough money to build parking lots, hire more fulltime police officers and paramedics and throw in the lifeguards, trucks, equipment and ways to deal with all the traffic. WHO are you people, developers? surfers? I think you just want to believe. Hey I have dreams too but one needs to look at all the facts to make them a reality or it's just fantasy. Sorry but I also questioned the weapons of mass destruction thing. Ask the questions even if some people call you a wet blanket.
    And no I don't live on the penninsula.
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    Fine, Fine , Fine.... lets just leave it all be. Afterall, look at all of the great progress the LB coastline has had under the previous leaders and their way of thinking. We've got the wonderful Pike, tons of empty commercial properties on Pine in the heart of downtown, unusable beaches, brand new condos that they can't give away, 6 "delayed" development projects, a train that brings people from the hoods inland who can't afford a cocktail or a decent meal... but they can afford a $2 bus fare. The tax paying, working, good people of LB won't even go downtown because they're afraid of being shot, Heck, we've pissed away our greatest asset for the last 70 years, no reason to start changing things at this point! LB, just stay the course... damned these innovative positive thinkers!
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    This is off topic a bit. Don't care. I live in East LB (one of the waterfront areas a lot of you hate so much.) I pretty much never go downtown. You know what would get me downtown, spending money, etc. A Nordstroms. Why this hasn't happened I don't know. I realize the area has a lot of low income residents. But I would prefer to go downtown than drive to South Coast. I just have no reason to. Just had to rant for a second...
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    Sorry, I know I shouldn't take the bait, but I really have to question some of the "logic" going on here. If the waves don't come back when the breakwater comes down, then there is no issue with the "commercialization" of our beaches. Worst case is that the water stays the same way it is now, best case is that water quality goes up and some of the waves come back. If that leads to a need to put in more shuttle buses and hire more security, well then, let's hope Long Beach gets such problems!

    Oh, and I hate to have to break it to people but the gangbangers are already here. If we don't fix up the beaches, we still have the gangbangers. If we do fix up the beaches, we MAY have some tourists and more beachgoing Long Beachers. I think it's a risk worth taking.

    Oh, and why don't we have a Nordstrom's? I'm not sure if that's a joke, but we don't have a Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Macys, Bloomingdale's, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. downtown. The stores don't go in until the money/income is there, and that isn't there until people want to live there, and that doesn't happen until the people want to live there for a reason, i.e. better water and beaches. Come on people!
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    Not a joke. I think it's also a bit of chicken and egg. If there was a Nordstrom, people would shop there. That would lead to other shops. That would make it more desirable to live there. We have the high end condos. We need the retail.
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    RKJ, you are 100% right! This 'bring back the waves' is another 'if we build it they will come' LB pipe dream just like the other failures you mention, but this time it's not city's idea but the 'innovative positive thinkers' and dreamers that paint this fantasy. Once again I ask that you look at this logically before we get too excited. Hey I'm a LB native and I love the outdoors and nice beaches (been to many all over the world).I also believe we need alot of other changes in this city before we spend millions creating a beach just so you can show it off to your visiting relatives cause thats really what this is all about. Honestly how many of you dreamers and positive thinkers would really swim and surf even if you could. All warm and fuzzy talk.
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    Show me 1 (just 1!) REAL beach community on the west coast that looks/feels like LB's. Most don't even have the advantage of having urbania butting up against the water. We could have the greatest place on the west coast. ANY and ALL surfable, beachable lifestyle/communities that have the beach as it's core asset have "contibutors to society" visiting and living in them. The thugs are never around because they can't afford to even step in. Vibrant beach communities are always the most desireable & expensive areas of their cities. LB has a few worry-worts that ignorantly protect their little domains, while the rest of the entire city suffers tremendously. To date, we have ruined and abused our greatest asset to the point where it has become our greatest liability. A castostrophe beyond comparison. We should fess-up and get it fixed NOW !
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    Geez people, no one is expecting Waikiki or even Huntington Beach. We're only asking for better water and a more vibrant beach scene. Don't get mad at the people who want to make things better.

    And as for it costing millions? Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean it comes out of the city's coffers. Why doesn't the Natural Resources Defense Council sue the Army Corps of Engineers for giving us 50 years of lousy water due to the breakwater. I think dismantling the breakwater would be cheaper than class action level punitive damages...
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    Dear Bill,
    You're absolutely right, we should keep the water as toxic as possible and change nothing, because nothing can be done here better than it currently is. Let our children swim in Mercury and DDT for the next 50 years! Let the river mouth deluge us with trash! For nothing is wrong with Long Beach. The WalMart that is the lone commercial business downtown needs no competitors and the empty condos will save electricity! That makes undeniable sense. Maybe I should chronicle your astute, visionary notions?
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    Man you guys just reply with more pie in the sky. RKj once again you are right. This is a matter of people (you) that care about their little domains ( the beachfront, the Shore, Naples etc.) while the rest of the entire city( westside, northtown, etc) suffers tremendously.
    And if you think the 'less desirable' citizens from the inner cities won't populate the beach look who use our parks and beaches now. Oh and vibrant beach communities are always very very expensive to live in, but I'm guessing the majority of these replys are from snobs who see a future Long Beach where they don't have homeless, illegals and poor people because it will be too expensive for them to live here. Once again pull your heads out of that pristine sand. Do you guys ever go out of the 'Good' parts of LB.
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    Bill, for the record i grew up in Orange County, lived in HB, NB, etc. I have fond memories of surfing, swimming, beach parties, bonfires, moonlit makeout sessions, etc, etc. It's an amazing experience for a young kid. I feel bad for any family that lives near our "beach" that can't experience the same thing without packing up the car and having to drive to another city to get their fill of beach living.

    Even though it's somewhat of a separate subject, in regards to retail in the DT we used to have good stores here, along the lines of what was mentioned above. They were incentivized, gave it a shot, then moved out because the area wasn't sustainable for them.

    The solution won't come from just bringing in more people with more money. that's just a depressing waiting game. Great areas pop up around the world not because they sit around and wait for that one big fish so all the other fish can follow. Broadway and 4th street aren't getting better because people are waiting for a nordstroms to spring up. Sure, it's a different scale but you have to start somewhere to create momentum. there are no shortcuts to creating an authentic community vibe.
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    Bill you snuck that last comment in before i was done with mine, you sneaky bastard.

    At first glance after reading your last reply i wanted to say "bill, you're a fuckin' moron!!" But i won't bill, i won't stoop to that level....yet.

    Instead i will offer another perspective for you to consider.

    The reason people complain about less desirables is because there is nothing else around to mask it out. Take DT, we have homeless people walking around, but the reason it's a big deal is because there isn't enough going on to mask it out. Same thing with the beach. Ever been to HB on a crowded weekend? Trust me there are less desirables that come from the lower socio/economic areas of the OC but they are masked by everyone else. that is diversity and diversity is good. For long beach to be one of the most diverse cities in the country, isn't it weird that it's not represented on the beach for example.

    If you want to hide the white elephant in the room, activate the room with other shit that makes people forget about the big elephant, or look past it because they're having a great time.