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City Planning previews Health and Environmental Justice element and open-space update; staff warn program funding will end after September
Summary
City Planning outlined preliminary goals and policies that merge the health and air quality elements into a Health and Environmental Justice element and previewed a state-mandated open space update. Staff said the Health and EJ program will pause after September due to its removal from the FY25‑26 budget.
City Planning staff presented a preliminary draft that would merge the city’s health and air quality elements into a single Health and Environmental Justice element and previewed a targeted update to the open space element required by state law.
Staff said the preliminary Health and Environmental Justice draft centers meaningful community involvement, pollution prevention and remediation, reductions in petroleum industry impacts, and climate adaptation. "The preliminary draft seeks to advance and prioritize environmental justice solutions for communities in Los Angeles with a strong emphasis on cultivating leadership, collaboration, and innovation," said Fabiola, City Planning. The draft groups policy content across multiple goals and objectives, including objectives that address inclusive outreach, redressing past discriminatory land‑use practices, pollution remediation and restoration, air-quality measures for mobile and stationary sources, and climate action commitments.
Open space update and state requirement: staff noted Senate Bill 1425 requires a targeted update to the open space element to address environmental justice, climate resilience and rewilding opportunities. The open space draft will emphasize equitable and connected distribution of open space, coordinate department roles for preservation and acquisition, enhance access for underserved groups, incorporate CBA recommendations for open-space co‑benefits, and include state rewilding requirements.
Outreach and advisory process: staff described an outreach program that ran from 2023–2024 (24 outreach types and more than 2,000 comments) and a current second phase of engagement. City Planning convened an environmental justice working group and an environmental justice technical advisory committee that includes roughly 20 city departments and monthly meetings with over 40 representatives, staff said. The open space draft is expected in the coming weeks; staff said the deadline for feedback on the Health and Environmental Justice draft is Sept. 30 and the feedback deadline for the open space draft will be Nov. 14.
Budget and implementation risk: presenters told commissioners the Health and Environmental Justice work program was launched in August 2023 but is not budgeted to continue in fiscal year 2025–26. Staff described preserving the record of outreach and packaging feedback so the work can be picked up later if resources are restored. Commissioners and staff discussed accountability, with planners saying implementation will depend on department lead assignments, council actions, and funding decisions; staff suggested a climate dashboard and the forthcoming climate adaptation and action plan as potential tools to track progress.
Next steps: staff said the Health and Environmental Justice draft is posted for public comment and the open space preliminary draft will be released soon. They encouraged commissioners to continue to hold departments accountable for recommendations and to consider opportunities to link the drafts with grants and implementation programs.
