United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-163
October 1997
Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilot
San Diego, CA
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower States, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 120 National and Regional
Brownfields Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations
of brownfields solutions. The Pilots are intended to provide EPA, States, Tribes, municipalities, and communities with
useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment,
environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA Region 9 has selected the City of San Diego for
a Regional Brownfields Pilot. The Pilot efforts will
continue the City's work to revitalize the predomi-
nantly Hispanic community of Barrio Logan located
south of downtown San Diego. Barrio Logan is
designated as a Federal Enterprise Community and
also as a State Enterprise Zone. The neighborhood
has a population of 109,094, 85 percent of whom are
of Hispanic/Latino origin, and 24 percent of the
residents are linguistically isolated (i.e., primarily
Spanish speakers). It has an unemployment rate of
15.2 percent, compared to a City-wide rate of 5.3
percent. The neighborhood includes several chemi-
cal storage/manufacturing and metal plating facili-
ties. The risks posed by the presence of these facili-
ties in the Barrio are magnified by small lots and
extremely close proximity to residences.
In 1992, the City responded to continuing problems
caused by the juxtaposition of these facilities within
the neighborhood. A variety of local organizations
and individuals have been deeply involved in the
effort to address environmental justice and commu-
nity revitalization issues in the Barrio. The City has
partnered with community organizations, non-profit
groups, and local businesses to find ways to revitalize
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Award:
September 1997
Amount: $100,000
Site Profile: The Pilot
targets the Barrio Logan
community south of
downtown San Diego,
including facilities targeted
for assessment and
potential relocation.
San Diego, California
Contacts:
Sara Ruiz
City of San Diego
Redevelopment Agency
(619)236-6925
Bobbie Kahan
U.S. EPA-Region 9
(415)744-2191
kahan.bobbie®
s5r@sdcity.sannet.gov epamail.epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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the neighborhood, which has been negatively im-
pacted by poor zoning and land use planning.
OBJECTIVES
The Pilot's highest priority will be to stimulate
economic development and enhance the public health
and environmental quality of the Barrio Logan
community. The City has taken numerous strides
towards achieving this goal by initiating consultations
and workshops, developing a task force to identify
potentially contaminated sites, and making
recommendations regarding cleanup and relocation
alternatives. To achieve its objectives, the City plans
to conduct a series of workshops and discussions (in
both English and Spanish) with residents, industry
representatives, community leaders, and technical
experts. In addition to the focus on assessment and
cleanup, the City intends to make specific
recommendations to change land use designations
and zoning requirements that result in incompatible
land uses.
Work with the Perkins Elementary School and the
San Diego Unified School District to develop
presentations about the brownfields project;
Establish a Project Team that includes the City, the
Environmental Health Coalition, the MAAC Project
(a non-profit housing and social services
organization), the California Center for Land
Recycling (a State-wide non-profit organization
that provides assistance to overcome brownfields
redevelopment challenges), the San Diego County
Department of Health, and EPA to help guide the
project; and
Establish a model applicable throughout San Diego
and other urban areas for dealing with similar
brownfields issues.
AND
The Pilot will:
* Develop a computerized Geographic Information
System (GIS) listing as properties are identified;
* Conduct detailed site assessments on identified
properties;
* Prepare complete environmental assessment re-
ports and cleanup plans, including alternative cost
estimates for cleanup;
* Develop future land uses for the affected properties;
* Continue bilingual community outreach efforts,
including preparing bilingual outreach materials
that can be used by other organizations with
brownfields issues in Hispanic communities;
* Hold several stakeholder workshops to encourage
participation in the project;
Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot
October 1997
San Diego, California
EPA 500-F-97-163
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