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Brownfields / Risks and Safety Hazards / Abandoned Properties / Proposed Land Use / Repurpose

Council File 24-1521

In progress — the city is working to overhaul how it tracks and cleans up over 3,000 contaminated brownfield sites across Los Angeles. Two key departmental reports are now with the committees for review, with a major proposal to shift oversight authority to the city itself and generate sustainable funding through cleanup certification fees.

Introduced
2024-12-03
Last changed
2026-06-16
Status
open
Expires
2028-06-16
Committee
Energy and Environment Committee
Mover
EUNISSES HERNANDEZ
Second
MARQUEECE HARRIS-DAWSON

Brief

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez introduced a motion in December 2024 directing city departments to assess and coordinate action on brownfields and abandoned properties posing public health and safety risks across Los Angeles. The motion calls for developing strategies to remediate contaminated sites and explore opportunities to repurpose them for community benefit. Council adopted the motion 14-0-1 in May 2025. Departments submitted implementation reports in March and June 2026, which are now pending review in the Energy and Environment and Planning and Land Use Management committees.

Full summary

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, seconded by Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Curren D. Price, Jr., introduced a motion in December 2024 targeting the citywide problem of brownfields and abandoned contaminated properties. With over 3,000 brownfield sites in Los Angeles — former gas stations, dry cleaners, and industrial properties where hazardous substances remain in soil or groundwater — the motion directs the city to build a more coordinated and proactive remediation and permitting system. Council adopted the motion 14-0-1 in May 2025, directing the Departments of Building and Safety and City Planning, the Bureau of Engineering, the Fire Department, the Department of Transportation, and LA Sanitation and Environment (LASAN), in consultation with the City Attorney, to recommend how to require environmental clearances for development on contaminated sites, update city databases like ZIMAS to flag brownfields, and report on the city's current remediation capacity and strategies. The Building and Safety Department and City Planning submitted a joint report in March 2026. LASAN's Brownfields Program submitted its own report in June 2026, laying out both the program's current limitations and a set of ambitious recommendations for council action. The LASAN report notes that the program is constrained by staffing cuts — two positions were eliminated in the FY 2025-26 budget — insecure funding, and a reactive rather than proactive role in city property transactions. Contractual services funding, used for emergency support at city-owned sites, has not been provided since FY 2024-25. The centerpiece of LASAN's recommendations is that the city pursue certification as a Local Oversight Agency under California Assembly Bill 304, which would allow the city — rather than the state Department of Toxic Substances Control or the Regional Water Quality Control Board — to oversee and certify cleanup of contaminated sites. LASAN estimates this would generate between roughly $966,000 and $2.7 million annually in oversight fees by fiscal year 2030-31, making the program more financially self-sustaining. Related recommendations call for integrating brownfields clearance into the existing LADBS permitting process, adding brownfield site data to ZIMAS and other city databases, developing a fee structure tied to development size and environmental impact, requiring LASAN's early involvement in all city-owned property acquisitions, and securing a stable ongoing funding source through the City Administrative Officer. Both the LASAN report and the earlier LADBS-DCP joint report have been referred to the Energy and Environment Committee and the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, where the file currently sits pending further action. Multiple neighborhood councils — including Del Rey, Palms, and Westside — submitted community impact statements during the process, reflecting broad public interest in how the city handles contaminated land.

Activity (15)

  • 2026-06-16 Bureau of Sanitation document(s) referred to Energy and Environment Committee; Planning and Land Use Management Committee.
  • 2026-06-16 Document submitted by Bureau of Sanitation, dated June 16, 2026.
  • 2026-03-26 Department of Building and Safety; Department of City Planning document(s) referred to Energy and Environment Committee; Planning and Land Use Management Committee.
  • 2026-03-25 Document submitted by Department of Building and Safety; Department of City Planning, dated March 23, 2026.
  • 2025-05-14 Council action final.
  • 2025-05-13 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2025-05-09 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on May 13, 2025.
  • 2025-05-07 Energy and Environment Committee waived consideration of item .
  • 2025-04-11 Community Impact Statement submitted by Del Rey Neighborhood Council.
  • 2025-03-25 Planning and Land Use Management Committee approved as amended .
  • 2025-03-25 Planning and Land Use Management Committee transmitted Council File to Energy and Environment Committee.
  • 2025-03-21 Planning and Land Use Management Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on March 25, 2025.
  • 2025-03-17 Community Impact Statement submitted by Palms Neighborhood Council.
  • 2025-01-10 Community Impact Statement submitted by Westside Neighborhood Council.
  • 2024-12-03 Motion referred to Energy and Environment Committee; Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

Documents (15)

Council votes (1)

  • 2025-05-13 Adopted — 14-0-1 · Regular

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