Article sourced from The Daily Breeze
Wilmington Given “Green Zone” Designation
Auto repair and tire store on Fries Avenue in Wilmington.
(Brad Graverson / Staff Photographer)
Wilmington residents could soon receive a respite from the area’s long history of pollution.
Under a motion backed Friday by five members of the Los Angeles City Council, Wilmington is one of three city neighborhoods recognized as “toxic hot spots” that could be redesignated as “green zones.”
The “Clean-Up, Green-Up” plan aims to attract green businesses and use environmental innovation and planning in the port town, as well as in Pacoima and Boyle Heights.
The proposal will allocate funding and offer tax incentives for green businesses, provide strategies for cleaning up polluted areas and create job opportunities.
The plan is gaining early support from local residents and concerned environmentalists.
About 100 people gathered at Breed Street Elementary School in Boyle Heights on Friday to voice support for the “green zones.”
“The people of Boyle Heights, Pacoima and Wilmington deserve healthy and livable communities, especially for those who are most vulnerable to the high levels of pollution in toxic hot spot neighborhoods,” said Leonardo Vilchis, co-director for Union de Vecinos, a collection of local activists.
The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce is cautiously optimistic about the campaign.
“It’s most likely to create more business opportunities and jobs for people out here,” said Executive Director Dan Hoffman. “But we have to look before we leap.”
The plan will also mean tighter controls and enforced regulations for heavy polluters, including the numerous metal recyclers, auto body shops and chrome-platers that abound in Wilmington, often within blocks of residential areas.
(Brad Graverson / Staff Photographer)
“This is what we need to clean up our neighborhoods and create good-paying green jobs where they are desperately needed,” said Councilwoman Janice Hahn, one of the motion’s presenters. Wilmington is in the heart of Hahn’s 15th Council District.
Despite the initial positive response from environmental groups, some local business owners are worried that the proposal will overlook the most deserving areas.
“It needs to go here, for downtown, not out there in the industrial areas,” said 28-year-old business owner Donald Rebek. “This is the heart of the city.”
City analysts have 90 days to report to two committees – the Jobs and Business Development Committee and the Planning and Land Use Management Committee – which will then submit recommendations to the council for approval.
Voting on the “Clean-Up, Green-Up” recommendations is expected to happen within three to four months.
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