Local News in Brief : Firm to Expand to Port

The Hiuka America Corp. of San Pedro, whose Gaffey Street scrap yard has angered neighbors who say it brings in too many trucks and makes too much noise, is moving part of its operation to the Port of Los Angeles.

In December, a federal bankruptcy court approved plans for the company to take over a 5 1/2-acre parcel on Terminal Island, formerly leased by Orange County Steel Salvage Inc. Port officials said Hiuka paid the port $125,000 in back rent owed by the salvage company and has assumed that salvage company’s permit, which lasts 26 more months.

Hiuka America President David Creigh said the company will use the new land to expand its operations and to reduce its current load at Gaffey Street by 50,000 to 100,000 tons a year. However, Creigh did not rule out the possibility that the Gaffey Street operation, which now handles between 420,000 and 480,000 tons a year, could grow in the future. Creigh said he hopes the new site will reduce traffic in San Pedro, and “allow us to get a handle on the noise problem, too.”

Ann D’Amato, a spokeswoman for Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, said the new site was “a step in the right direction.” However, she said there will be no change in efforts by Flores to persuade the City Council to amend the zoning of the Gaffey Street site, which could force Hiuka America out in as little as two years. “The councilwoman has always felt that this type of business is port-related and should be on port property,” D’Amato said.