LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles City Council agreed Wednesday to withhold reconstruction permits for Lineage Logistics' burned-out cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, and advanced measures to assist residents impacted by the June fire and subsequent cleanup of millions of pounds of rotting food.
In a unanimous vote, the council approved two related but separate measures to bar the company from rebuilding its damaged property at 1400 S. Los Palos St., and to increase fines ranging from $25,000 to $1 million for notice of violations or noncompliance for businesses that cause environmental harm to neighborhoods to a similar degree as the Lineage Logistics emergency.
The proposals were previously approved by the Planning and Land Use Management Committee in August.
Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who represents the 14th Council District where the cold-storage warehouse is located, has said she did not want any permits issued to the company until a full investigation into the cause of the fire was complete and other requirements are met.
"While providing direct, meaningful support to our communities is essential to the recovery, our responsibility is also to demand accountability and strengthen protection, so residents do no experience a disaster like this again," Jurado said.
"This Lineage fire exposed the cost of systems that have concentrated industrial risk in working-class communities of color for generations. A facility should not be able to seek a like-for-like rebuild while the fire investigation remains active and the surrounding community is still living with the consequences," she added.
The council additionally instructed the Department of City Planning and city attorneys to prepare an interim control ordinance — or temporary law - - prohibiting demolition, building, land use, grading and other applicable permits or certificates of occupancy for large cold-storage warehousing and distribution uses in close proximity to residential neighborhoods and sensitive sites, such as parks, schools, day care centers and libraries in Boyle Heights.
Once finalized and approved, it would be in effect for 45 days with an option to extend it by 10 months and 15 days by council resolution, and could be further extended by an additional one year or until the appropriate land use regulatory controls have been prepared.
Council members also unanimously approved two other measures that called on city staff to report on the feasibility of establishing a $10 million Mitigation Response Fund, and for the reallocation of up to $940,000 in Los Angeles County grant funds to the Boyle Heights WorkSource Center for Lineage fire recovery.
The proposed Mitigation Response Fund would be used for odor, vermin and pest mitigation, as well as to manage disaster impacts not being addressed by current response efforts. Funds for the Boyle Heights WorkSource Center would be used to support up to 100 workers and 50 businesses impacted by the emergency.
Jurado also introduced a motion Wednesday for review of the oversight of solar panel safety systems, including rapid shutoff and de-energizing protocols.
"While an investigation into the cause of the fire is already underway, this motion asks whether our current standards adequately protect workers, first responders and surrounding communities — and what must change if they do not," Jurado said.
Lineage completed the removal and cleanup of more than 89 million pounds of food waste at its warehouse earlier this summer, which officials estimated cost roughly $100 million. Last week, Lineage sued the owner of the solar array on the building roof, alleging one of its contractors sparked the conflagration.
Lineage contends in its Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that Altus Power Inc. and its contractor Pearce Services were responsible for starting the June 17 fire, which led to a more than two-month cleanup operation during which noxious odors, rodents and insects plagued nearby communities, prompting multiple fines assessed against Lineage.
A representative of Los Palos Street Operating, a subsidiary of Altus, issued a statement saying Lineage was simply trying to deflect attention from its own culpability in the fire.
Lineage officials contended soon after the fire erupted that it was sparked on the roof of the building by a contractor working on the solar panels owned by Altus. An official cause of the fire remains under investigation.
By Jose Herrera, City News Service
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