R-27 Correspondence – Anna Christensen
From: Anna Christensen (via Google Docs) [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2022 4:04 PM
To: CityClerk <[email protected]>
Cc: City Manager <[email protected]>; Council District 1 <[email protected]>; Council District 2 <[email protected]>; Council District 3 <[email protected]>; Council District 4 <[email protected]>; Council District 5 <[email protected]>; Council District 6 <[email protected]>; Council District 7 <[email protected]>; Council District 8 <[email protected]>; Council District 9 <[email protected]>; Brent Dennis <[email protected]>; Mayor <[email protected]> Subject: Comments from the Los Cerritos Wetlands Task Force, Sierra Club regarding
-EXTERNAL-
[email protected] attached a
document
[email protected] has attached the following document:
Please read before Agenda Item comes up if possible. Thanks, Ann Cantrell and Anna Christensen Co -Chair, Los Cerritos Wetlands Task Force
Comments from the Los Cerritos Wetlands Task Force, Sierra Club regarding
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City Council Meeting 1/18/22. Agenda Item 27, 22-0067Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine Strategic Plan (October 2022 to September 2032) Comments from the Los Cerritos Wetlands Task Force, Sierra Club Re: “The need for an Indigenous planning perspective in this planning document is essential asthe original caretakers of this land.”(3-1-A) Amplify Indigenous people, cultural practices, and connections to the land through employmentopportunities, programming, and partnerships.(8-2-A) Develop avenues for community ownership and investment into local parks and open space.
1. Acknowledge the Acjachemen as indigenous to Long Beach, as they consider Long Beach to beshared territory with the Tongva, act as caretakers and defenders of these lands and waters, andregard Puvungna as a Sacred Site central to tribal origin and teachings as documented by Spanishpriests and other sources.2. Acknowledge that Long Beach is now home to indigenous peoples from multiple tribes throughoutthe US, and other countries in North, Central and South America as well as those from the PacificIslands.3. Acknowledge that the Sacred Site of Puvungna, as registered with the California Native AmericanHeritage Commission, includes the Los Cerritos Wetlands, one of Long Beach’s public parks.4. Acknowledge that “to take care of the land” means to ensure that the land continues to support lifefor generations to come, not just humans, but the web of life itself.5. Return some parklands to Tongva and Acjachemen tribes. Enter into co-management agreementswith tribal entities.6. Acquire known tribal cultural and burial sites within the City and preserve them as natural spaces.Place known sites on City property into open spaces and parklands.
Re: “Long Beach’s parks and green space are essential to our community’s climate resilience andadaptation.(3-3-C) Design existing and future parks to support the City’s ability to adapt to climate change includingbut not limited to flooding, extreme temperatures, and drought.(8-2-D) Ensure fiscally responsible spending, investing, and resourcing.
1. Preserve, restore, and expand all natural open spaces on beaches and in parks.2. Do not add or expand paved areas, buildings, artificial turf playing fields/plastic grass, seawalls, orthe Port of Long Beach onto open land and waters in the Tidelands Area or Coastal Zonecommunities subject to inundation due to sea-level rise.
3. Purchase and repurpose blighted, developed properties.4. Do not add more concession stands or event venues at the expense of open space.5. Repair the Belmont Pier and other degraded park structures6. Restore Tidelands Funding for decommissioning of oil drilling platforms and prepare for managedretreat from existing coastal parks and beaches.
Re: “Geographic disparities in “park need” exist throughout the city, reflecting racial inequities,historic disinvestment and prejudiced land-use development policies” and Racial Equity Goal 4:“Improve health and wellness in the City by eliminating social and economic disparities in thecommunities most impacted by racism.”(1-1-A) Establish park equity acquisition guidelines for securing land for developing new parks and openspaces in park-poor communities.(2-1-G) Increase programs that allow youth to access the beach, the ocean and water related activities.(2-1-I) Increase the number of youth who know how to swim through free or low-cost swim lessons.
1. Prioritize acquiring land and making park improvements in underserved communities. Delay ordeny new projects located in overserved communities until park equity goals have been met. Buildrecreational pools in underserved areas that are accessible to the community throughout the dayand evening all year round.2. Do not rely on LBUSD pools which are not designed for the general public nor available to them.Do not commit public funds and/or staff to promoting, building, and maintaining the BBAC.3. Provide free swimming lessons to residents until the community is water-safe.
Re: “The thousands of acres of park space also provide substantial urban habitat and nativelandscape supporting our furry and feathered friends, and creepy critters.”
1. Prioritize maintaining habitat for birds and wildlife in park maintenance and acquisition plans,including lands along the LA and San Gabriel Rivers, and in the Los Cerritos Wetlands.2. Focus on the entire ecosystem, not solely on “public access and recreational opportunities”(1-1-G), utilizing concessions, private rentals, and special event fees as revenue streams, (8-3-A),maintaining marina infrastructure and services that make the Long Beach marinas desirablelocations to consistently maintain boat slips and maintaining marina infrastructure (8-3-A), andservices that make the Long Beach marinas desirable locations to consistently maintain boat slips(4-2-F).3. Plant trees and ground cover that supports birds and wildlife and reestablishes native species.4. Do not trim trees in parks and marinas unless needed for public health and safety. End the MarineBureau practice of annually trimming palm trees thus eliminating them as nesting sites for coastalbirds, including Great Blue Herons.5. Do not permit fireworks shows at Alamitos Bay or in the Downtown Harbor Area as they pollute airand water, harming marine life and disrupting nesting birds causing them to abandon their young.6. Do not use herbicides to maintain parks, marinas, or greenbelts.7. Do not support restoration projects like the LCWA’s plan for the Los Cerritos Wetlands, that“erases and replaces” functioning ecosystems and tribal sacred sites.
Re: PRM Department EmployeesProvide your 450 part-time seasonal employees with health benefits, including paid maternity leave.