33-Acre Trucking Terminal Plan Puts Los Al, Cypress at Odds

By John Crandall 

Tension between Los Alamitos and Cypress boiled over recently when Cypress city leaders sent letters to Los Alamitos, accusing its mayor of illegally recording a meeting with a Cypress Councilman over a controversial truck terminal proposed for the city border.

The Cypress City Council warned of deteriorating relations between the two communities, and a criminal complaint against Los Alamitos Mayor Warren Kusumoto was filed with the Orange County District Attorney, alleging he secretly recorded the meeting.

The complaint comes on the heels of Los Alamitos’ reception of four letters from the Cypress City Council criticizing the alleged incident.

Cypress Mayor Prakash Marain wrote, “This breach of trust results in no confidence in our communications with Mayor Kusumoto and has a chilling effect on the relationship between our two cities.”

In contrast, Kusumoto denies any wrongdoing, and supporters say the criticisms are attempts to dissuade him from his opposition to the planned the 33-acre trucking development on the Cypress side of the  border.

The tension isn’t one-sided, either. Los Alamitos residents are criticizing Cypress’s leadership, accusing the city of pushing the project forward with little regard for its impact on the Los Alamitos quality of life.

Cypress City Manager John Bahorski failed to return several calls for comment this week.

The issue spurred a documentary by local producer John Underwood, which can be seen by clicking here.

Councilman Troy Edgar, who along with the rest of the Los Alamitos Council voted to oppose the project in March, compared situation between the two cities to a deteriorating relationship with “someone you really care about.”  

“It’s very strained on the business site of our relationship,” said Edgar, adding that he hopes for an end to tension between the two cities. “This kind of tension just starts building, and the best thing that we’ve all tried to do is just sit back and sort of let the time go by.”

The Prologis project has been the point of controversy between residents in Seal Beach, Rossmoor, Cypress and Los Alamitos for months. Supporters say the development would promote business and increase local tax revenue in Cypress. Opponents, including a number of Los Alamitos Council members, say it would significantly increase truck traffic on local streets and generate pollution.

Kusumoto said Los Alamitos opposes the Cypress project, but no lawsuit has been filed or is currently in the works.

The Orange County District Attorney’s office confirmed that it is investigating the allegation that Los Alamitos Mayor Warren Kusumoto secretly recorded a May 10 meeting between him, Cypress Councilman Doug Bailey and State Assemblyman Travis Allen on the Prologis project.

“We have received a complaint and we’re reviewing it to determine if any further action is needed,” said Farrah Emami, D.A. spokeswoman. Emami said she didn’t know when the complaint was received and said “there’s no way to know” how long the investigation will take.

She also wouldn’t identify the person who filed the complaint saying, “We only discuss filed criminal cases.”

Kusumoto said he did meet with the two men and recorded the conversation but without subterfuge, announcing that he was recording and placing the recorder on the table.

“I’ll stand by what I said because it’s the truth,” Kusumoto said “There was nothing hidden. There was nothing devious.”

Kusumoto added that he is fully cooperating with the D.A. investigator.

Kusumoto said he hopes for a return to the “friendly and cordial” relationship the two cities had just before industrial developer Prologis sought to build the truck terminal in Cypress.

Click here for today’s top stories from Los Alamitos-Seal Beach-Rossmoor Patch. Stay Patched in! Like Los Alamitos Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter and Sign up for the daily email with links to the latest local news.