United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-260
November 1998
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA
Brownfields Showcase
Community
Los Angeles, CA
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is
complicated by real or perceived contamination. In May 1997, Vice President Gore announced a Brownfields National Partnership
to bring together the resources of more than 15 federal agencies to address local cleanup and reuse issues in a more
coordinated manner. This multi-agency partnership has pledged support to 16 "Brownfields Showcase Communities"models
demonstrating the benefits of collaborative activity on brownfields. The designated Brownfields Showcase Communities are
distributed across the country and vary by size, resources, and community type. A wide range of support will be leveraged,
depending on the particular needs of each Showcase Community.
Community Profile
BACKGROUND
The Brownfields National Partnership has selected
the City of Los Angeles as a Brownfields Showcase
Community. Los Angeles has thousands of vacant
parcels and underused facilities along commercial
and industrial corridors with suspected contamina-
tion. A study con-
ducted by the city's
Community Redevel-
opment Agency
(CRA) found 344 po-
tentially contaminated
sites within a three-
mile radius. Because
these sites are located
on industrially zoned
property near major
transportation routes,
their economic potential is exceptional.
The city evaluated a list of candidate sites based on
criteria such as anticipated public benefit, suspected
contamination, likelihood of adequate resources for
cleanup, and economic viability for development. Two
initial properties were chosen, minority population
suffers a poverty rate of 40%, and an unemploy-
ment rate of 18.4%. One site, located in East Los
Angeles, is 20 acres of vacant, contaminated prop-
erty owned by the state, which has already spent $8
million to remove 40,000 tons of contaminated soil.
Additional contamination of heavy metals, pesticides,
and other chemicals are preventing redevelopment.
The 208-acre SCRIP site is composed of small in-
dustrial properties and surrounded by residential de-
velopments. Though occupied by 325 small busi-
nesses, the site is still
blighted and underused.
Several parcels are
known to be contami-
nated, which is pre-
venting business own-
ers from securing
Los Angeles, California
The Los Angeles Brownfields
Programcreatedan
interdepartmental team of city staff
with federal support from EPA to
identify sites and coordinate
resources. Two case study sites
have been identified, and $8 million
in state funding has been leveraged
forcleanup.
financing for expansion
and remodeling, and
which is repelling new
business from the area.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
These two sites are included as part of a large-scale
effort by the Los Angeles Brownfields Program to
revitalize the inner city. Productive reuses for the
city's brownfields include open space, new housing,
and educational facilities, all with an emphasis on so-
cial and environmental equality. Highlights of Los
Angeles' brownfields redevelopment efforts to date
include:
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Commissioning a study to determine and compare
the financial feasibility of multiple cleanup and
redevelopment scenarios, for three "typical"
brownfields sites. Among the study's findings
were indications that industrial development, while
requiring the greatest public subsidy, would likely
produce the most jobs and largest economic output;
Receiving approval of a $ 1 million U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to
establish a brownfields revitalization fund;
Receiving a grant from the Southern California
Association of Governments (SCAG) to support
environmental justice efforts and brownfields
redevelopment;
Being selected as a General Services Administration
(GSA) brownfields project city, where federally
owned properties and local programs are being
layered in a geographic information system (GIS)
to identify future brownfields opportunities;
Recruiting several community groups in brownfields
efforts, including the Mothers of East Los Angeles
Santa Isabel (MELASI). Founded to oppose one
site's use as a prison, MELASI will now be
involved in planning efforts for the site to ensure its
use meets the community's goals and needs; and
Partnering with the Los Angeles Conservation
Corps to facilitate a brownfields training program
for at-risk youth.
SHOWCASE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
Los Angeles plans to use the Showcase Communi-
ties project to more effectively coordinate funding
and other assistance from federal and state sources,
which are already being leveraged to address
brownfields. At the Prison site, the city is in the final
stages of negotiating a two-year agreement with the
state to assess the property and recruit a developer.
The city is also partnering with the Alameda Corri-
dor Transportation Authority to conduct site assess-
ments and cleanup activities at the Prison site. At
the SCRIP site, the city is working with a community
group, Concerned Citizens of South Central Los
Angeles, to develop a shopping center on a portion
of the property.
Several other federal programs are also being lever-
aged to support brownfields redevelopment. Fed-
eral Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
(ISTEA) funds have been used to support the city's
environmental justice program. Other federal part-
nerships include the Department of Energy's "Re-
build America" and "Clean Cities" programs, which
support economic development through resource ef-
ficiency and sustainable development. The lessons
learned by Los Angeles' brownfields program will
be developed into recommendations to support the
broader goals of fostering local economic develop-
ment, creating local jobs, and improving the health
and quality of life in inner city neighborhoods.
Contacts
Environmental Affairs
Department
City of Los Angeles
(213)580-1045
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA- Region 9
(415)744-2237
For more information on the Brownfields Showcase Communities,
visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/showcase.htm
Brownfields Showcase Community
November 1998
Los Angeles, California
EPA 500-F-98-260
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