Port of Los Angeles commissioners unanimously agreed Thursday, April 13, to extend and update a popular provision that requires the port to invest a minimum of 10% of its annual operating income to fund public waterfront access projects.
The Public Access Investment Plan (PAIP) was originally adopted in 2015 and has provided $262 million toward projects now completed or still in the works. They include the realignment of Harbor Boulevard at Seventh Street in San Pedro, the San Pedro Town Square, the West Harbor waterfront promenade, and the waterfront connectivity plan. In Wilmington, projects are the waterfront promenade, a youth sailing center, and a waterfront gateway and pedestrian bridge project.
Increased cargo volume hs boosted the investments in the past.
The item returned Thursday for a vote after newly-elected Los Angeles City Councilman Tim McOsker had earlier requested a delay to refine the process. That now will include the council office coordinating with the port to engage a broad public input process that will include all of the neighborhood councils and chambers of commerce offices.
The updated measure continues funding the port’s commitment to waterfront operations, maintenance and programming and will be included under the port’s five-year capital improvement program.
The measure was to end in 2025. But with a new mayor in place, the commission makeup was in line to change, prompting the urgency in making sure the investment in the community would continue.
“With this updated plan,” McOsker said, “we will now have a community-driven process and steady allocation of funding for projects to increase opportunity and access to the water for everyone in the One-Five (15th Council District), the region and the city.”
Outgoing Commissioner Anthony Pirozzi made the motion to pass the item, saying taking a step back earlier had produced a better result.
“We always talk about lessons learned and it’s not a lesson learned until…
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