There’s an update on Puente Hills Landfill Park, and public comments are needed again!
Los Angeles County’s first new regional park in 30 years remains in jeopardy, in an area that needs it – this is an equity and social justice issue. Support our LA County Department of Parks and Recreation and make public comments at the next Sanitation Districts board meeting, Wednesday, March 24 at 11:30 am PT. There’s a special session on the park funding and we can make our voices heard to support the promised funding of this park.
The now-closed Puente Hills Landfill property will be a critical new large-scale regional park in a park-poor region of the East San Gabriel Valley, at the tip of the Puente-Chino Hills wildlife corridor.
The park was promised to the community for decades as mitigation for living with the nation’s largest landfill. It will serve many nearby underserved communities. More details in the County flyer attached.
Click this link to join or e-mail your comments to info@lacsd.org* before 9:30 am PT on the same day. Public comments will be first, then the Sanitation Districts Board will meet in a closed session about the park funding.
Sample Comments, feel free to edit, summarize; personalize:
FUNDING FOR THE PUENTE HILLS LANDFILL PARK
My name is ______. I am a resident of _______(city/neighborhood) in District #____**. [Share briefly your community need for parks or history with the landfill park planning process.]
Please make the Puente Hills Landfill Park a reality. The Master Plan for the park was unanimously approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2016 with broad support from many community members and organizations. But development of the park has not begun because the Sanitation Districts have refused to make good on their commitment to fund the park. This has
resulted in ongoing environmental injustice and compelled the County to bring a now-
pending lawsuit against the Sanitation Districts.
Implementation of the Master Plan will transform the former landfill into the long-awaited
park, serving those who lived next to the landfill for nearly 60 years as well as
disadvantaged communities in the region. The Puente Hills Landfill Park will be the
County’s first new regional park in over 30 years, offering diverse, healthy, passive, and
active recreational experiences and programming to help offset severe shortages of
parkland in the surrounding working-class communities.
Recently, the Sanitation Districts revealed that as much as $468 million of the $585
million for post-closure maintenance funds can be “freed up” for other purposes. Instead
of allocating this money for the park, they proposed to use it to pay for their unmet
pension obligations. This does not seem reasonable when the Sanitation Districts are over $247 million short on fulfilling their 35-year promise to surrounding communities.
To rectify this environmental injustice, I urge you to set aside a portion of the $585
million to fund the development, operation, and maintenance of the Puente Hills Landfill
Park.
Sincerely,
* To join by phone by calling (669) 900-9128 and entering the Meeting ID: 809 143 8308
** To find which District # you live in, enter your zip code here.
