Brief

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez moved to establish staffing for the Bureau of Sanitation's Citywide Brownfield Program, which addresses contaminated land remediation across Los Angeles. Council approved the motion 12-0-3 in April 2026. The file returned to Budget and Finance Committee in July after LASAN submitted additional documentation, where it currently awaits further committee action.

Full summary

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez introduced this motion in response to budget cuts that eliminated two positions from the Bureau of Sanitation's Citywide Brownfield Program in the FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget: one Management Assistant and one Environmental Specialist II. The program provides technical assistance and funding for the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties across the city, with responsibilities that include maintaining a site inventory, conducting environmental assessments, financing cleanups, and ensuring alignment with the city's environmental justice and climate resiliency goals. The program is funded through a mix of city dollars and federal and state grants. The loss of the two positions has strained the city's capacity to manage a growing and complex portfolio of remediation projects, including those tied to grant funding with external accountability requirements. The motion directed LASAN to report back within 30 days on what staffing and resources would be needed to restore effective program operations. The motion was referred initially to both the Budget and Finance Committee and the Energy and Environment Committee, then corrected to Budget and Finance alone. The committee approved the item in mid-April 2026, and the full Council adopted it on April 22, 2026, by a vote of 12-0-3. The adoption directed LASAN to produce the requested staffing analysis. In response to that directive, LASAN submitted a report dated July 7, 2026, which was referred to the Budget and Finance Committee on July 10. That report likely details the staffing and resource needs the motion called for, and the committee must now review it before any formal action on restoring or creating positions can proceed. The file remains open and pending in Budget and Finance Committee, with expiration set for July 2028.

Activity (9)

• 2026-07-10 Bureau of Sanitation document(s) referred to Budget and Finance Committee.
• 2026-07-09 Document submitted by Bureau of Sanitation, dated July 7, 2026.
• 2026-05-05 Council action final.
• 2026-04-22 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
• 2026-04-17 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on April 22, 2026.
• 2026-04-13 Budget and Finance Committee approved item(s) .
• 2026-04-10 Budget and Finance Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on April 13, 2026.
• 2026-03-25 Corrected Referral per Council President to change referral to Budget and Finance Committee.
• 2026-03-13 Motion referred to Budget and Finance Committee; Energy and Environment Committee.

Documents (4)

• 2026-07-07 Report from Bureau of Sanitation · report
• 2026-05-05 Council Action · council_action
• 2026-04-13 Report from Budget and Finance Committee · report
• 2026-03-13 Motion · motion

Council votes (1)

• 2026-04-22 Vote — 12-0-3 · Regular