South Central Los Angeles, CA - July, 24 2008 - Although, in a highly
unusual move, the Los Angeles City Planning Dept. waived an
Environmental Impact report on Ralph Horowitz' behalf, the Farmers were
able to force the Deputy Advisory Board of the City Planning Dept. to
back away from rubber-stamping the waiver. The Board announced on July
2nd, at the opening of the sole public hearing on the matter, that it
had received so many letters that it planned to review and reconsider
the matter, and to extend the time-line for public comments by 21 days,
till July 23rd, 2008.
Within a few short weeks the South Central Farmers have been able to
generate stiff and significant opposition to the plan by developer Ralph
Horowitz and his City Council sponsor, Councilwoman Jan Perry, to
replace the Farm with a major, highly polluting, warehouse distribution
center on the Farm land. On July 2, 2008, the South Coast Air Quality
Management District, where Jan Perry is also a board member, weighed in
with City Planning, strongly recommending that the City "specifically
prohibit" land uses at the site that would, in an area already full of
warehouses, "further expose" nearby schools, health facilities, the aged
and the ill to "additional cancer risks from diesel particulate matter"
emitted by large trucks or other vehicles In other words, the District
is telling the City "Shut this project down." "Prohibit its construction
and operation." The struggle for environmental justice is full of
situations like this one, and lawsuits are a constant and predictable
part of the terrain. The air quality regulators cannot be unaware that
any effort on the part of the City to ignore or bypass these
recommendations opens the door to a strongly based lawsuit to force the
City to comply.
While Ralph Horowitz, Jan Perry, and the Los Angeles City Planning
department were planning an end-run on the CEQA process, the community,
the South Central Farmers, and supporters; a grassroots movement,
delivered and submitted by the July 23rd deadline over 1700 signatures
demanding an Environmental Impact Report be required from the Developer
and be submitted to the City Planning Department, including: 130 letters
opposing the warehouse from families within the 500 ft radius of the
site. 1,100 signatures on our petition opposing the warehouse And over
500 letters from the general public demanding an Environmental Impact
Report, including letters from all 50 states of the US, Canada, and
Australia.
Tezozomoc, one of the organizers for the South Central Farmers stated,
"As we have unraveled the Trojan Horse of 'jobs' it has become clear
that we must be demanding more than just the EIR. We need to demand that
the warehouse be Shutdown! Under no certain terms will the community
accept 2700 trucks daily spewing diesel particulate matter that can kill
us! Under no certain terms will we accept our children, our schools;
Nevin, Carver, Jefferson, our parks; Ross Snyder Recreation, our
pedestrian areas; Vernon Metro Station, Alameda Swap meet to be
'exhausted by diesel' particulate matter."
The Farmers have also rallied support from the Center for Biological
Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, The Green Party, USA ,
the Bus Riders Union, The Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles,
Communities for a Better Environment, and other local and national
organizations.
The South Central Farmers is a grassroots community organization
dedicated to urban farming, health, education, and policy.
South Central Farmers
310-869-6397
302-370-0612
tezo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:tezo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
http://www.southcentralfarmers.com