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PLUM denies CREED LA appeal; sustains KPAC cold‑storage expansion approval for Wilmington site
Summary
The PLUM Committee voted 5‑0 to deny an administrative appeal by CREED LA and sustain the Planning Commission’s approvals for KPAC’s cold storage expansion in Wilmington, rejecting calls for an Environmental Impact Report while drawing sharp environmental and labor‑market debate.
The Planning and Land Use Management Committee on Feb. 4 denied an administrative appeal by CREED LA and sustained the City Planning Commission’s approvals for a proposed expansion of a KPAC cold storage facility in Wilmington (Council District 15). The committee voted 5‑0 after extended public testimony from neighborhood residents, union representatives and the applicant.
CREED LA’s attorney, Andrew Graff, asked the committee to vacate prior approvals and require an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), contending that the negative declaration failed to disclose and mitigate significant air‑quality, carcinogenic particulate and cumulative public‑health impacts in a disadvantaged community. Graff argued the administrative‑appeal and CEQA procedures were not followed because the negative declaration and entitlements were adopted before the appeal process concluded.
The applicant’s representative, Chris Parker (CEO, Pacific Crest Consultants, for KPAC), urged denial of the appeal, saying Teamsters Local 986 has supported the site for decades and that KPAC had signed a four‑year extension with the union. Parker said KPAC had offered voluntary mitigation measures, met with the local neighborhood council multiple times, and that faster unloading at a local cold‑storage facility would reduce port‑area ship emissions.
Speakers were deeply split. CREED LA representatives and some trade unions called for further environmental review; neighborhood and labor leaders, KPAC management and many long‑tenured KPAC employees urged denial of the appeal to preserve and expand union jobs. Wilmington Neighborhood Council representative Alicia Baltazar and Pamela Thornton (planning director for Councilmember McOsker) both expressed support for moving the project forward, noting outreach and a project labor agreement (Teamsters) and asking the committee to sustain the prior approvals.
Planning staff recommended denial of the appeal, noting that supplemental technical analyses responding to air‑quality and noise questions were submitted before the Planning Commission acted and that the project was previously assessed in Negative Declaration environmental case number 2022‑6860‑ND. The City Attorney advised that CEQA questions are limited to whether substantial evidence requires an EIR and that project labor agreements are a socio‑economic matter outside CEQA’s scope.
The Chair’s motion to deny the appeal sustained the Zoning Administrator’s determination to allow a transitional height of 65 feet within 100–199 feet of an R‑1 zone at properties including 1420 Cole Avenue and multiple Alameda Street addresses; the committee adopted the project findings and conditions and recorded a 5‑0 vote denying the appeal.
Next steps: staff will implement the project approvals and conditions as adopted; CREED LA’s legal arguments and any judicial remedies, if pursued, would be separate from the committee’s action.
