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Special Projects

Baldwin Hills Community Standards District and Environmental Impact Report

Welcome to the Baldwin Hills Community Standards District project website. Here you will find information and documents relating to the County’s recent efforts to update oil drilling and production regulations for the Baldwin Hills Zoned District. Following is information on the interim urgency ordinance currently regulating oil drilling activity in the Baldwin Hills Zoned District, the latest information on the Baldwin Hills Community Standards District and Baldwin Hills Environmental Impact Report, along with information as to how you may participate in the process. Please check back periodically; we will be adding new material as it becomes available.

Program Information

Overview

Interim Urgency Ordinance

The Baldwin Hills area has included oil and gas production operations dating back to the 1920s, when the area was largely undeveloped. Today these activities operate in the midst of a densely populated urban area (see Existing Land Uses Map (PDF) ) and concerns have been raised regarding the potential conflicts between oil and gas operations and the surrounding residential communities. In response to these concerns, the Board of Supervisors adopted Interim Ordinance No. 2006-0050U (PDF), which temporarily placed additional development standards and restrictions on the drilling of new oil wells or deepening of existing oil wells on property zoned A-2 (Heavy Agricultural) or M-11/2 (Limited Heavy Manufacturing) in the Baldwin Hills Zoned District.

The original interim urgency ordinance was adopted on June 27, 2006 for an initial period of 45 days and was subsequently extended on August 8, 2006 by Interim Ordinance No. 2006-0064U (PDF) for another 10 months and 15 days until June 26, 2007. The urgency ordinance was extended a second time by Interim Ordinance No. 2007-0064U (PDF) on May 29, 2007. The second extension ordinance not only extended but also modified the initial interim urgency ordinance by temporarily placing a moratorium on the drilling of new wells or deepening of existing wells for a period of one year. The moratorium will be in effect until June 26, 2008, which will allow the County sufficient time to complete a thorough environmental analysis of the oil field activities in the Baldwin Hills and to develop permanent oil field regulations.

Baldwin Hills Community Standards District

The Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning is currently working to establish a Community Standards District (CSD) (PDF) for the Baldwin Hills oil field area. A CSD is a supplemental district used to address special problems that are unique to certain geographic areas within the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The CSD will define the boundary of the oil field and establish permanent development standards, operating requirements and procedures for the defined oil field (see proposed CSD boundary (PDF) and CSD outline (PDF) ). This approach will provide a means for implementing enhanced regulations to address the unique compatibility concerns associated with operating an oil field in the midst of urban development.

Environmental Review – Baldwin Hills CSD Environmental Impact Report

The establishment of a CSD is also subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (PDF), enabling the County to thoroughly evaluate the environmental impacts of the oil field activities on the surrounding communities. The County has entered into a Three Party Agreement to contract with Marine Research Specialists, the EIR consultant, to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (PDF) for the CSD. The EIR will evaluate existing and future oil operations in the Baldwin Hills and will help determine what additional development standards and regulations should be included in the CSD to mitigate the impacts of drilling on the surrounding communities.

Community Participation

The process to prepare the EIR and adopt the CSD will provide many opportunities for public input and participation. Community members are invited to participate in a series of meetings and hearings throughout the course of this year to ensure that your issues and concerns are thoroughly addressed. See the Schedule for upcoming meeting information.

On April 4, 2007 the Department of Regional Planning and the EIR consultant held a community meeting at the Kenneth Hahn Community Center to introduce the CSD and EIR process and obtain input from the community regarding any impacts associated with the oil field activity. See the Meet & Greet Presentation (PDF) for a copy of the presentation given at the community meeting.

Interview Sessions

Three community interview sessions were held in early May. Each session was hosted by a resident volunteer. The resident volunteers, who represented the communities of Culver City, Ladera Heights, and Baldwin Hills, invited interested members of their respective communities to participate in an informal interview session with DRP staff and the EIR consultant. The community interviews focused on concerns/issues associated with the oil field operations and the areas that should be addressed in the EIR. See Interview Sessions Summary (PDF) for a summary of the primary issues discussed. A scoping survey was also distributed to the three resident volunteers for distribution to community members.

Contact Information

For more information please email DRP staff at commplan@planning.lacounty.govor call us at 213-974-4885.

Milestones

Updated on 05/2008)

Completed
EIR consultant conducted baseline studies
Issued EIR Notice of Preparation (PDF)
Held 1st EIR Scoping Meeting (PDF)
Held 2nd EIR Scoping Meeting (PDF)
Applicant submitted Proposed CSD
Upcoming
Release of Public Draft EIR
60 day public comment period
Community Workshops
Regional Planning Commission Public Hearings
Board of Supervisors Public Hearings

Documents

Resources and Contacts

Organization
Contact Information
LA County Dept. of Regional Planning
Community Studies I Section
For information on the Community Standards District and Environmental Impact Report		 Website
Email
Phone: 213-974-4885
Fax: 213-626-0434
Los Angeles County Fire Department
Petroleum Chemical Unit
For general information		 Website
Phone: 323-890-4132
South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)
To report a complaint related to smoke, dust and odors		 Website
Phone: 800-288-7664
Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR)
For general information		 Website
Phone: 714-816-6847
Plains Exploration and Production (PXP)
For general information or to report a complaint		 Website
Phone: 323-298-2200
Emergency phone number: 800-259-5196
24-hour EH&S on-call phone number: 800-766-4108

To submit comments, click here (PDF).