LA Council Watch

← All files

Clean Up Green Up (CUGU) / Program Expansion / Marginalized Communities / Environmental Impact

Council File 15-1026-S1

Under review — a decade-long environmental cleanup program in three neighborhoods has documented real progress removing waste and planting trees, but lost its dedicated staffing in budget cuts; three city departments now want Council to restore funding and expand the work citywide through updated community plans.

Introduced
2025-02-26
Last changed
2026-07-28
Status
open
Expires
2028-07-27
Committee
Energy and Environment Committee
Mover
YSABEL JURADO
Second
EUNISSES HERNANDEZ

Brief

Councilmembers Ysabel Jurado, Tim McOsker, and Imelda Padilla, seconded by Eunisses Hernandez, moved to expand the Clean Up Green Up (CUGU) program to focus on environmental improvements in marginalized communities. Council adopted the motion unanimously (15-0) in August 2025. The measure was then referred to the Energy and Environment Committee for follow-up implementation, with the Bureau of Sanitation, Department of Building and Safety, and Department of City Planning providing reports on program expansion in July 2026.

Full summary

The motion, introduced in February 2025 by Councilmembers Jurado, McOsker, and Padilla, directed three city departments to report back on nearly a decade of results under the 2016 Clean Up Green Up ordinance and identify what it would take to expand the program beyond its original footprint in Boyle Heights, Pacoima/Sun Valley, and Wilmington. The motion asked specifically about how each department implements CUGU, what public outreach they conduct, whether the program can reach additional communities facing disproportionate environmental burdens, and what technological upgrades are needed to improve monitoring. Council adopted it unanimously on August 27, 2025, after the Energy and Environment Committee approved an amended version and the Planning and Land Use Management Committee concurred. In July 2026, the Bureau of Sanitation (LASAN), Department of City Planning (DCP), and Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) submitted a joint report responding to those directives. The report documents that between 2016 and 2025, LADBS processed 2,538 building permit applications requiring CUGU clearance, of which 555 were approved, 454 remain pending, and only 2 were denied; 1,594 permits were ultimately issued. LASAN conducted hundreds of business canvassing inspections annually in CUGU zones, removed 17,680 tons of illegally dumped waste in 2024 alone, planted 1,239 street trees in disadvantaged communities, and has remediated three brownfields in CUGU zones since 2012. DCP has been embedding CUGU environmental justice standards directly into updated community plans rather than maintaining them as a standalone overlay: the Boyle Heights Community Plan (approved September 2024) and the Harbor Los Angeles Community Plans covering Wilmington (approved September 2025) both incorporate CUGU-derived zoning standards citywide. Plans for Pacoima/Sun Valley are not expected to begin until around 2027. A notable budget setback shapes the current situation: the City Council eliminated the dedicated CUGU Ombudsperson position in the FY 2025-26 budget, effectively halting further programmatic work at LASAN as of July 1, 2025. The departments recommend that the City revisit funding sources and reconstitute dedicated staffing to revive the program. LASAN's primary recommendations include creating an environmental justice training program for all city employees, expanding a public-facing environmental justice data dashboard, strengthening business compliance requirements, and improving community engagement. DCP recommends continued support for the community plan update process as the primary vehicle for spreading CUGU-style standards citywide. The joint report recommends the Council note and file it as an informational response, and the file is currently pending in the Energy and Environment Committee as of late July 2026.

Activity (11)

  • 2026-07-28 Bureau of Sanitation; Department of Building and Safety; Department of City Planning document(s) referred to Energy and Environment Committee.
  • 2026-07-27 Document submitted by Bureau of Sanitation; Department of Building and Safety; Department of City Planning, dated July 27, 2026.
  • 2025-08-29 Council action final.
  • 2025-08-27 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2025-08-22 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on August 27, 2025.
  • 2025-08-12 Planning and Land Use Management Committee concurred with the Energy and Environment Committee action of June 3, 2025.
  • 2025-08-08 Planning and Land Use Management Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on August 12, 2025.
  • 2025-06-03 Energy and Environment Committee approved as amended .
  • 2025-05-30 Energy and Environment Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on June 3, 2025.
  • 2025-02-28 Corrected Referral per Council President to include Energy and Environment Committee.
  • 2025-02-26 Motion referred to Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

Documents (8)

Council votes (1)

  • 2025-08-27 Vote — 15-0-0 · Regular

View on CFMS →