More Funds to Transform the Puente Hills Landfill into a Regional Park

Recently, there have been much discussion at both the federal and state levels of government about achieving “30x30,” the goal of conserving 30 percent of lands and coastal waters by the year 2030 to fight climate change and advance biodiversity and conservation. For example, the California Natural Resources Agency has developed the Pathways to 30x30 Strategy to accelerate conservation of the state’s lands and coastal waters. While there is an urgency to conserve additional natural lands, the restoration of degraded lands is also of great importance and a matter of environmental justice in Los Angeles County where numerous urban communities face environmental burdens.

Lands occupied by abandoned, redundant, or unwanted infrastructure may be transformed into facilities that meet the diverse and growing park and recreation needs of residents, especially in the most underserved areas of Los Angeles County. Examples of such infrastructure include landfills, utility corridors, airports, oil wells, and power plants. 

The Puente Hills Landfill closed in 2013 after 56 years of receiving trash from homes and businesses in over 60 cities and unincorporated areas across the county. After the closure of the landfill, the County worked with the Sanitation Districts and many stakeholders to develop the Puente Hills Landfill Park Master Plan which proposes to transform 142 acres of the 1,365-acre landfill into parkland, creating the first new regional park in the county in over 35 years. This Master Plan, which was approved by the County Board of Supervisors in 2016, offers a phased approach to implementation.

To help make the park a reality, the Board of Supervisors has just approved the allocation of an additional  $28 million to the project, with total funding for the park now at almost $110 million.