High above the Earth, the Ballona wetlands (bay' ona) sparkle like an emerald in a setting of asphalt and concrete which surrounds the Santa Monica Bay in Southern California. Cool breezes and a sense of natural abundance still permeates the tidelands, bluffs and freshwater pools. The ocean here is home to many endangered species. Whales once calved here in abundance. And indeed, genetic memory seems to be driving whales to return to Marina del Rey where two calves in the last year have returned. Hundreds of species of plants, animals and insects still live here surrounded by the choking smog and pollution.
Sting rays can be seen basking and feeding in saltwater inlets. Great blue herons tussle with one another for food. Foxes play hide and seek in upland brush. Thousands of frogs croak with one voice while least terns and savanah sparrows float effortlessly above the Ballona tidelands. Small patches of wetlands and their rich potential of life exist in the middle of Steven Spieberg's planned DreamWorks studio and the Playa Vista project. Ballona and all its life is endangered. What exists there on the 1000 acres and the contiguous open space cannot be crammed into 285 acres.
After months of delay and waiting, Federal Judge Lew, a George Bush appointee, has issued the strongest indictment to date of the proposed Playa Vista development projectïdescribed by the Wall Street Journal as "the largest project in the history of Los Angeles." Developers of the project have tried for over 20 years to position themselves as environmentally sensitive, but at the same time, they have increased the project's density and offered no feasible remedy for the massive gridlock and pollution their own consultants have determined will result. A former project manager cleverly wordsmithed, "We want to build on less of the land more intensively." What is not said is that paving 75 percent of the open space is his idea of building on less of the land.
Released June 26, Judge Lew's 53-page opinion strongly condemns the project as flawed and environmentally irrational. He insisted that 16.1 acres of wetlands must be protected that are slated for destruction by Spielberg's studio and a toxic runoff retention basin, which the developers and Army Corps of Engineers foolishly proposed to be installed in some of the rarest coastal habitat. His judgment was unequivocal; his words are even more clear. He said, "è the Corps' decision to issue the permit with only an EA [Environmental Assessment] and FONSI [Finding of No Significant Impact] and not the more detailed EIS [Environmental Impact Statement], without certain mitigation documents and success criteria worked out before issuance; given the untested nature of the retention basin; and in the midst of substantial dispute as to the project's nature and effects; was arbitrary, capricious and otherwise not in accordance with the law. The permit is therefore rescinded and all construction activities on the permitted area shall cease unless and until the Corps complies with its NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] obligations." Lew then went on vacation. The 86 coalition members of Citizens United to Save All of Ballona opposed to this brutal irrationality of this project cheered and offered prayers of thanks to the Creator. Many hoped that the future of Ballona wetlands was assured. But the universe had more lessons and more suffering to offer...
The developers seemed to comply at first, but then on July 6, Earth movers with tires as big as garages trucked in fill dirt from Malibu. Something was drastically wrong. Plaintiffs on the NEPA suit immediately requested a contempt hearing. But Judge Lew was still on vacation and could not be reached, or so his office said. A small group of neighbors calling themselves the Ballona Neighborhood Alliance acted on their observations from the soaring bluffs around and documented that illegal bulldozing was taking place. That was all the team needed to know.
Swiftly a car full of neighbors dressed as suited developers were waved through the main gate to the Playa Vista site. These non-violent neighbors sped straight to the bulldozers through another wicket of security guards who placidly took one look at the suits then returned to their morning chat. An employee meeting was wrapping up as the Angeleno citizens parked calmly next to the foreman's truck. With the federal ruling as the legal basis for their actions, they demanded that the bulldozing cease. The foreman, being a kind, human-oriented contractor, sympathized yet offered that he was not the person in charge, nor was he responsible for the destruction. He insisted he was only "following direction from the people who paid him."
Prior to their end run through security, the neighbors had called the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). They planned to engage in a citizens arrest and have someone in custody for the police when they showed their donut-smudged faces. Suddenly, suits in BMWs with cell phones, sunglasses and scowls appeared, glaring silently at the neighbors. Right on time, or rather much later than expected, the LAPD arrived. Confused and nervous, they circled the project and the bulldozed habitat looking for crimes against humans. The neighbors informed the LAPD why they had called for their servicesïto protect and to serve the natural communityïand demanded that Judge Lew's order be upheld. Immediately, the LAPD went into a huddle with the property owners who whined and complained that the ruling was being contested.
Finally, after a slick, snappy, sly, high-priced negotiator was sent to the site by LAPD headquarters, he offered the following position: the LAPD is not well versed in this area of the law, so therefore it cannot proceed with a determination that the developers are breaking the law. And, even if the LAPD could determine this, it is out of their jurisdiction since it is a federal matter. He concluded that it should be enforced by federal marshals.
If the destruction of Ballona wetlands is not illegal, it must become so. It is clearly immoral to contemplate actions which will reduce the life quality of our children and their children. Their lives are being sacrificed and quality of life is being sold for the greed of this generation. The conflict over Ballona embodies the struggle for the soul of Angelenos today. Citizens United to Save All of Ballona was formed to educate and articulate the vision of a natural world alive and viable in Los Angeles. This passion, sorely needed here in the midst of concrete and steel, is at the heart of our efforts to stop the bulldozers and to roll back the devastation to the natural beauty of the Santa Monica bay ecosystem.
We wish to create a vision not of greed and compromise but one that empowers us all and provides us with hope. There is no other life struggle as close to the core of all community organizations than the struggle against the illegal activities going on at Playa Vista. It is indeed our future and we all must become involved here and now! Come to Los Angeles. When we do it here, we can do it anywhere. For more information contact the Ballona Wetlands at 115 Vista Place, Los Angeles, CA 90291; (310) 314-9862; Ballonawetlands@usa.net