A Creek Flows in Compton

Unlike so many Gallerias and plazas and towne centers that enjoy a few years of boom before the inevitable bust, a mall like Market Creek, says Kenefick, might endure. “Malls are almost never developed in a sustainable manner,” he says. “Investors and developers leapfrog from the next new thing to the next — they slightly change the configuration of the mall from indoor to slightly outdoor, from lifestyle centers to mega-malls.” The only good news is that the next new thing rarely hangs around for long. If Gateway Towne Center goes up as planned, it’s only a temporary setback for the creek’s advocates, who already have alternate plans. Currently, the city of Compton has committed to paper an organization called “Friends of Compton Creek,” which Kenefick’s organization and Heal the Bay would like to run, securing money from the Coastal Conservancy and other sources. “We want them to give it to us,” he told me. “But they’re worried the money won’t go into Compton, that other cities along the creek will get it instead.” Kenefick has so far agreed to promise that 50 percent of the funds will go into Compton-based projects, “but only if they promise in return to keep us fully involved — like letting us know when there’s an environmental-impact report on the table that might affect what we’re doing.”

And even if that negotiation fails, Kenefick is far from the point where he’d give up hope. “Right now in L.A., they’re building bike overpasses all along the Los Angeles River, but 10 or 15 years ago, they were at the stage we’re at now. I’m hopeful we can keep hammering away, and try to find ways to relate these things that are good for the environment to things the community really wants. I can wait 10 years.”