LA Port's Master Plan Being Revisited

LOS ANGELES-County officials here have decided to review their 21-year-old master plan for the sprawling harbor area, a move that could eventually lead to major changes in commercial development patterns around what is now America’s busiest seaport.

The current plan was last certified by the California Coastal Commission in 1980, though harbor commissioners have amended it several times since. Critics say the plan should be completely overhauled and re-submitted for certification, in part to reflect changes in the area that no one could have foreseen decades ago—including the sharp rise in sea traffic created by the long boom in the import-export business, as well as the hundreds of large commercial real estate projects that have sprouted up in the area over the past several years.

An even more pressing concern is the presence of several giant, highly explosive chemical tanks and terminals that dot the port area. Many local residents, as well as some harbor commissioners and military officials, say they want to move those terminals to more secure or remote areas.