Posted: August 15th, 2008

In a letter dated August 11, 2008, Kenneth Kutcher of the Greater Baldwin Hills Alliance addressed several questions to Russell Fricano of Regional Planning relating to the Baldwin Hills Community Standards District. Responses to these questions are listed below.

1. So far, how many CSDs have been established in the County?

As of this date, 23 CSDs have been adopted.

2. How many of these CSDs were the result of individual applications?

The Baldwin Hills CSD was the only one filed by an applicant. Under Section 22.44.040 of County Code this is permissible.

3. With the exception of the Baldwin Hills CSD, what was the largest acreage covered by the CSD?

The Acton CSD covers 72,000 acres.

4. What date did the Department of Regional Planning originally project for the date for releasing the Draft CSD and DEIR?

At the “Meet and Greet” session staff had provided an estimated date of September of 2007. This was referred to as an estimate only.

5. What were the reasons for the delay beyond that date?

Staff was waiting on the submittal of the CSD from the applicant and completion of environmental studies.

6. How should members of the public attain a copy of the DRPs’ copy of the Draft CSD when it is available?

Copies of the CSD will be sent via e-mail to interested parties, posted on the website and hard copies are also mailed on request.

7. How should members of the public provide their comments of the DRPs’ copy of the Draft CSD when it is available?

Opportunities for comment can be provided in testimony at the August 27 public hearing and the hearing proposed for September 10. Comments can also be submitted to staff: Please refer comments to:

Russell J. Fricano, Ph.D., AICP
Section, Head, Community Studies I
Los Angeles County
Department of Regional Planning
320 W. Temple Street, Room 1340
Los Angeles, CA 90012

8. When will the final EIR be available?

The Final EIR will be available once the consultant has prepared the response to comments and any other applicable documentation. No date has been set at this time.

9. What application process did the County recommend for processing future well proposals by PXP? And Why?

In this draft CSD the County is proposing a Director’s Review of future wells which is more restrictive than what the County code currently permits. This is a discretionary form of review and would be contingent on the submittal of an annual drilling plan subject to County review and public review. The Director’s review process provides the Director with an opportunity to impose additional conditions if he/she determines it necessary to be in compliance with the provisions of the CSD.

10. What approach is the County recommending to foster eventual conversion of the oil field to parkland?

Staff is recommending a drilling plan which also shows the location of abandoned and retired wells. This plan could be used to identify areas with the potential for future remediation for proposed conversion of parkland.

11. If there were another odor emission as occurred in January 2006, what would occur under PXP’s CSD if it were adopted as written by PXP?

PXP’s CSD is proposed to include all environmental mitigation measures. This includes Mitigation Measure FP.1-2:

“The oil field operator shall implement community alert notification system for automatic notification of area residences and businesses in the event of an emergency at the oil field.”

12. Since PXP’s legal representative indicating (during April 2008 meetings with community) that PXP would be revising their Draft CSD based on the mitigation measures contained in the DEIR, has the county received any revised CSD from PXP since the release of the DEIR?

The County has not received a revised CSD from PXP, but the operator has agreed to include the mitigation measures. The County has decided to use its own version of a CSD as a base which will also incorporate all mitigation measures, selected provisions of the PXP CSD and the CSD prepared by the Greater Baldwin Hills Alliance.

For more information visit www.greaterbaldwinhillsalliance.org and www.baldwinhillsoil.org.