Posted: September 29th, 2008

The City Project is working with the Greater Baldwin Hills Alliance to help make the dream come true for the transition from active oil fields to the Baldwin Hills Park. The Community Standards District (CSD) regulations and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) should promote these goals.

The Baldwin Hills Park Master Plan envisions a two-square mile park that would be the nation’s largest urban park in over 100 years. Easily accessible to millions of people, with stunning views of the Los Angeles basin, the Pacific Ocean and surrounding mountains, the Baldwin Hills offer a unique opportunity within a dense and diverse urban community that is park-poor to create a world-class park for all the people of California to enjoy. The Baldwin Hills Park is the greatest public works project in the history of a community that has long suffered from environmental degradation and discrimination

The Baldwin Hills are one of the most park-poor areas in California, with barely one acre of parkland per 1,000 people. Childhood obesity rates are among the highest in the Los Angeles region. Within a five mile radius of the Baldwin Hills there is only one picnic table for every 10,000 people, one playground for 23,000 children, one soccer field for 30,000 people and one basketball court for 36,000 people. On weekends and especially on holidays, the gates to Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, the only regional park serving 2.5 million people within ten miles, are often closed before noon because the heavily-used park has simply run out of space.

Despite degradation due to urbanization, roads, and oil development dating back to the early 1900s, many native plants and wildlife remain in the Baldwin Hills. Within minutes of urban Los Angeles, the delicate balance of plants and wildlife is maintained, where a tranquil recreational experience is easily accessible, and where people can go to enjoy the natural world that is an important part of protecting the health and quality of life in urban communities.

The transition from active oil fields to One Big Park will promote the diverse values at stake. Park land provides places to have fun and promotes other values including human health; youth development and academic performance; social cohesion; conservation values of clean air, water, and land, habitat protection, and climate justice; economic vitality for all; spiritual values in protecting people and the earth; and sustainable regional planning. Green space can provide multiple environmental benefits to clean water through natural filtration and provide flood control basins for parks and playing fields. Green spaces can help reduce the urban carbon footprint and global warming.

The September 25 draft CSD does not adequately address the transition from oil fields to parkland and does not even include the Baldwin Hills Park Master Plan.

The GBHA recommends as follows:
• The CSD and EIR should cap the total number of new wells at 300 wells.
• The annual number of wells should be capped at 15 wells per year, as indicated in the mailer by PXP.
• PXP could drill these 300 wells at a rate of 15 wells per year over 20 years or 30 wells per year over 10 years.
• Any wells that would exceed the 15 wells per year cap would then need to be located within a specified consolidation area(s).
• Whatever plan PXP agrees to, a deadline and exit strategy for restoration and remediation should be established.
• Funding for the transition to parkland should be provided, for example, by charging a fee for each well; or by a grant or easement or donation of land; or by imposing an oil production tax as is levied in many other communities.
In closing, we support the transition to park land through: consolidation of active oil wells; an annual cap on new oil wells; an amortization schedule or timeline to finish oil operations; funding for the Park; and a study to evaluate the impact of wells on land that is targeted for park use.

Come to the hearing before the Regional Planning Commission October 1 and the Board of Supervisors October 21 and send a letter!

Download this sample letter and send it to County officials today!