GELFAND’S WORLD-A few weeks ago, San Pedro residents were up in arms over the fact that the Port of Los Angeles was planning to put the Cabrillo Beach Youth Center (aka the Boy Scout Camp) up for bid. After all, we've been holding onto our own little dream for the past 11 years, namely that this ter rific piece of beach-front property would finally come into public usage and accessibility. There's a fifty-yard pool, a meeting facility, shops, and a nicely equipped kitchen. All the amenities that public access would glorify.
Unfortunately, the property has been controlled by the Boy Scouts organization for 31 years, even though it is public land controlled under the Tidelands Act. Due to its location, it's under the rule of the Port of LA. The neighborhood councils have asked the Port to rescind its Request for Proposals (RFP) so that locals and lots of others with a stake in this property could have their proper say. The Port responded by announcing in its own quiet way that the bidding process will continue. Apparently the 1999 Charter Amendment that created neighborhood councils doesn't mean all that much to the Port.
The response from potential bidders is as yet unknown, but there are rumors aplenty. Some people think that the Boy Scouts have the inside track in a bidding contest, in spite of their history of various kinds of discrimination, both sexual and religious. Others point to the popular local group, the Cabrillo Beach Boosters. For all we know, the YMCA and the Girl Scouts may have their own plans. There are currently no rumors that the ACLU would like to place its own bid (he said a little tongue in cheek).
So your old friend and mine, Doug Epperhart, had a chat with me the other day and raised this point: Everyone is getting obsessed over who will rule the place, and we're not actually talking about how it could best be used. This is a seriously good point, and it got us both to thinking.
For example, the facilities that are already in place (and for which the Boy Scouts could be adequately reimbursed) could serve the public good in a lot of different ways. There is room for historical society meetings, scientific get-togethers, surfer conventions, and so many other possibilities. There could be a small buildout to create dorm facilities for visiting speakers and researchers. Likewise, the space could be used for educational activities put on by some of the local naturalist organizations and groups. And of course there is a lot of room for fun and games. Sailing clubs and kayakers and the Dragon Boat people could all have their turn (we're seriously supportive of the Dragon Boat people).
And what this conversation came down to was this simple, slightly out of the box idea: Let's think about how the current Cabrillo Youth Facility could be used by Alta Sea, by the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, by the LAUSD Marine Magnet High School, and by all sorts of other fraternal and scholastic organizations. Instead of letting the Port select one bid from one organization, which will necessarily limit the scope of activities and limit who will gain the pleasure of participating, let's move the conversation off in a different direction.
Let's first ask what we think this property could be used for, and let's have this conversation without a lot of preconceptions about how usage has to be limited, or even the argument that somebody has to be in charge. The choice of the ruling agency and its procedures must necessarily depend on the broader goals.
Doug and I think that there can be lots of goals, and a broad spectrum of uses for this property. I personally would like to see if Alta Sea could come up with a proposal for a week or two of summer science workshops, and yes, it would be possible to do this without making the place unavailable to everyone else. Let's extend the proposal one little bit more -- when the world's leaders in oceanography and marine biology come to San Pedro, let's allocate a certain number of the available seats to interested members of the public.
Our San Pedro Film Society in collaboration with the San Pedro International
Film Festival would love to do movie nights and home movie nights open to the public, and we'd like to be able to do them without charge.When the neighborhood councils asked that the facility allow for public access, the Port dutifully wrote that term into the RFP as one item to be scored by the Port's real estate judging committee. That's really not enough. There has to be not only public access, but a certain amount of public input into the scope of subject matter that goes into the decision making process. I'd like to see the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium be able to bring a proposal for a weekend symposium on the condition of the world's whales, and not have to be told, "Sorry, but the calendar is full until 2019."
Camping, and which organization oversees it, has been something of a bone of contention, since allowing children to sleep on public grounds offers inevitable security concerns. But this is also an issue that is susceptible of resolution without going right to the most limited, authoritarian solutions.
So to borrow a little of Doug's thoughts and perhaps one or two of my own, let's approach this question as a wide open opportunity. We should approach all these possibilities with optimism and happiness that the public has such a terrific place to make use of.
It makes sense for the city to rescind the Port's RFP for the moment, in order that we may have a legitimate conversation about wide open ideas rather than limitations via authority.
One more thing. This is public property, and belongs to all of the people of California. It certainly should be appealing to people from all over Los Angeles, from the coast up to the northern edge of the valley. It's yours too, and you have a right to be told about it and to have a say in how this property is ultimately going to be used. Of course that's why you all read City Watch.
(Bob Gelfand writes on culture and politics for CityWatch. He can be reached at [email protected] Doug Epperhart contributed to this column.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 100
Pub: Dec 12, 2014
