Bass Urges Newsom To Sign Bills Prompted By Boyle Heights Fire

LOS ANGELES, CA — Mayor Karen Bass Tuesday urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign two bills aimed at holding cold storage companies accountable and protecting communities following industrial disasters, measures prompted by the Lineage Logistics warehouse fire in Boyle Heights.

Bass sponsored AB 817, introduced by Assemblyman Mark González, D-Los Angeles, which would require cold storage facilities to maintain a contingency fund before receiving a new building permit, among other provisions intended to ensure companies can respond when problems occur.

The mayor also supported SB 716, introduced by Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, which would strengthen penalties for violations at large commercial buildings when serious incidents occur.

Both measures have passed the state Legislature and are awaiting action by Newsom, according to the mayor's office.

"We cannot change what happened in Boyle Heights, but we can change what happens next," Bass said.

Bass said the measures are intended to hold cold storage companies accountable when problems occur and protect surrounding communities.

"... I urge Governor Newsom to sign them once they arrive on his desk," Bass said. "I will continue doing everything in my authority to demand the answers and accountability this community deserves."

The mayor's office provided testimony last week before the state Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee and Senate Local Government Committee in support of AB 817.

Bass has also called on city attorneys to pursue litigation, a lien and other legal options to recover costs and seek penalties stemming from the Lineage fire. She has said Lineage and Chill Build, the warehouse's owner, should not be permitted to rebuild at the site.

The fire erupted June 17 on the roof of the cold storage facility at 1400 S. Los Palos St. and burned for days. More than 85 million pounds of food were stored inside, and food that began rotting following the blaze caused persistent foul odors in surrounding neighborhoods and attracted rats.

Lineage completed removal of the bulk food waste by Aug. 29, nearly two and a half months after the fire. The company had missed previous deadlines for removing the waste.

The Los Angeles City Council last week unanimously approved five motions aimed at helping the Bureau of Sanitation and Housing Department respond to the disaster. A council committee also recommended that permits to rebuild or reconstruct the warehouse not be issued and that fines for notices of violations or noncompliance be increased to as much as $1 million.

The company said the massive removal process was "the result of hundreds of workers on site every day, first removing boxes and pallets and then, in the final stretch, removing loose food debris by hand. We are now fully focused on power washing, cleaning, and disinfecting the site.

"No cleanup of this scale and speed has been executed before, and we have dedicated every available resource to this effort, expecting to spend more than 100,000 hours and over $100M on the total cleanup. We will not stop until the job is done."

City News Service