Land Sale Stirs Fears of Dump

A $300-million mall development that was supposed to have been a bonanza for the city of Carson has instead become a source of increasing distress to many residents as new wrinkles in the proposed construction of the L.A. Metromall have convinced them that the troubled property is quietly being turned into a dump.

At issue is the future of a weed-strewn parcel of land near the intersection of the Harbor and San Diego freeways. For six years, the city has held out hope that the 157-acre property would be turned into the nation’s largest enclosed factory outlet mall.

But one snag has led to another, and with each new problem concern has grown. The interest, residents say, has been especially high because, in a previous incarnation, the land was a hazardous waste dump.

About 1.2 million gallons of hazardous liquids--ranging from heavy metals and solvents to oil drilling mud--were dumped at the site and still pollute the property. The mall development was supposed to clean the site up once and for all, but so far, the cleanup hasn’t started and the owners are looking to sell most of their interest in the project.

In the face of these problems, neighbors have begun to speculate that the developers might make a large profit by simply turning the land into a dump site. So this month, when city officials permitted the project’s developer to haul 480,000 cubic yards of dirt and debris onto the property, alarm bells went off in the community.

The city and the developer say the dirt is merely site preparation, intended to create a solid footing for the new building and to help start the remediation of the contaminated land.

But the neighbors worry because the pending sale is not complete and the new owners are under no obligation to build anything.

In other words, residents say--and not for the first time in the long star-crossed history of the property--something stinks.

“It looks like a dump and smells like a dump,� said longtime neighbor Marty McHale, “so it must be a dump.�

John Robertson, who runs a landfill in nearby Rolling Hills Estates, said: “The dumping is worth millions, so why build a mall?�

Proposed in 1991, the L.A. Metromall was the latest big vision for the choice piece of land. For nearly 30 years, one developer after another has taken a shot at developing the property.

One developer wanted to put in a mobile home park. Another wanted to install a car dealership. There was a proposed stadium for the former L.A. Raiders and another for the Rams. Every idea failed.

But the property’s history has been as checkered as its location has been coveted. In 1986, the push to install the mobile home park on the property ended with a nine-month prison term for a Carson councilman who demanded a cash payoff for his vote.

Then the property ended up in the hands of an office park developer who defaulted, and the Irvine bank that ended up with the property went belly-up. Federal regulators seized it, blaming the bank’s failure in part on bad loans for the office park project. There is still a $4-million lien against the property.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. eventually sold the land for $10.8 million to a union pension plan that, for a time, raised more eyebrows by hiring as its consultants the principals of the failed bank. Nonetheless, the city celebrated when the Southern California/Arizona Glaziers, Architectural Metal and Glass Workers Pension Plan announced in 1991 that it was going to turn the site into a megamall.

The mall, the new owners promised, would bring thousands of new jobs and millions in sales tax revenue to Carson. Moreover, they said, it would mean that the hazardous waste would finally be cleaned up.

Despite a groundbreaking in 1995, the project has stalled, and the pension fund has decided that it does not have enough expertise to build a mall.

When Glimcher, an Ohio-based mall developer, came on the scene, hopes were raised that the mall still might be built. The pension plan gave Glimcher Realty Trust, with whom it had done prior business, an option to buy the land for $23 million in a deal that expires today if it is not consummated.

Glimcher owns 11 shopping centers nationwide, and a Glimcher spokeswoman said the company intends to build a mall on the site. Moreover, the pension plan has said it intends to retain a small interest in the project.

When asked to comment on the project and its problems, Glimcher officials referred all questions to a spokeswoman, Marie Cartwright, who would only say: “We are trying in earnest to build a mall.�

With the pension fund’s option pending, critics have been questioning the site preparation and the city’s decisions involving it.

Critics say the city should have waited until after today to allow the owners to begin spreading dirt and debris over the property. Also, they say, the dirt and crushable material don’t seem to be suitable for grading a construction site.

City officials say they approved the dumping because nearly 2 million cubic yards of dirt are needed to cover the toxic land. Community Development Director Pat Brown said they wanted to get site preparation out of the way.

Meanwhile, a mall consultant has defended the material being dumped, saying only nonhazardous materials approved by the Department of Toxic Substance Control are being imported. The consultant, Manuel Ontal, is Mayor Pete Fajardo’s former campaign manager, and residents question how strenuously city officials would screen the site preparation with such close ties to the developer.

Overlaying these immediate concerns are other problems that critics have interpreted as indications that the site is being primed for use as a dump.

For example, when 10,000 cubic yards of material were hauled onto the site under a preliminary city permit several months ago, some of the loudest objections came from Robertson, the landfill operator in Rolling Hills Estates.

Robertson, who is also vice president of Chandler’s Sand and Gravel, filed a stop order with the city claiming that Metromall developers violated the conditions of their permit and should not be allowed to haul in any dirt and debris.

Robertson contended that developers did not obtain a grading permit during the early months of dumping. Also, he said, developers advertised the site as a dump, violated dumping guidelines and successfully sought contracts with the Department of Water and Power and other entities without the necessary permits.

The city responded by tightening the conditions of the permit that developers received this month to dump 480,000 cubic yards of material. City Manager Larry Olson noted that, although the property once was a landfill, it is not now zoned for a dump. “The city definitely doesn’t want this to become a dump site,� he said.

Olson said 54 safeguards and a bond have been set up to protect the city if the deal with Glimcher falls through.

But even if the deal is successful, critics say, there still are potential problems. As evidence, they cite another troubled project, the Elizabeth, N.J., Metromall.

That mall, to be located 20 minutes east of New York, is a Glimcher project that, like the Carson property, was to have been a megamall. It too was purchased by the glaziers’ pension fund, which in turn sold the property to Glimcher while maintaining an interest in the project.

Ground was broken on the project in 1995, but the mall has yet to be built. In a letter to the Carson City Council, Elizabeth City Councilman Robert Jaspan reported that the project has been riddled with problems. Among other things, he said, the developer has hauled contaminated silt dredged from nearby harbors onto the site to be used for grading and has attempted to cart in other hazardous materials.

“So far there has been no benefit to the people of Elizabeth,� Jaspan said in a phone interview. “I’m worried the project will never take off, that it will be too contaminated to build.�

Cartwright, the Glimcher spokesman, would not comment when questioned about the New Jersey mall, which is scheduled to open in 1999.

City officials are trying to be pro-business in an attempt to boost revenue for the tax revenue-dependent city. But where the city sees stars, residents see only red flags.

“I’m not a tree-hugger. I don’t think the lot should stay vacant,� resident Gary Colboth said. “In seven years this project has never gotten off the ground. . . . This is a high-stakes gamble for the city that may not pencil out.�