Sierra Club Questionaire
LIST OF QUESTIONS:
- What do you anticipate will be the three most important environmental issues that you will face if elected and what actions do you propose to take to resolve them?
The Second Supervisorial District encompasses one of the more environmentally challenged regions in the County, with the inter-related issues of air quality impacts of the ports and LAX, transportation and smart and sustainable growth policies perhaps three of the most important issues among many.
Air Quality
Air quality is especially complex, given the origin and mix of sources that contribute to it and the fact that it knows no jurisdictional boundaries. The location of many communities in the Second District relative to prevailing wind and flight patterns makes them vulnerable to emissions from the two most toxic hot spots in the country --- the ports and LAX.
As a candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, I advocated the cold ironing of ships calling at the Port of Los Angeles, an initiative now embraced by both ports. The ports have also done a good job developing the Clean Air Action Plan with special emphasis on dramatically reducing emissions from diesel trucks. And they are introducing environmental requirements to their tenant leases and lease renewals and taking measures to become more green with respect to their own operations. In a few short years, the ports have moved from air quality renegades to models of air quality advocacy and practice. While there is a long way to go before full implementation, including defending against likely litigation, these measures demonstrate what is possible with proper leadership and commitment.
LAX is an even more difficult challenge than the ports by virtue of Federal preemption of most airline activities, including the emissions loads of commercial aircraft. As a member of the Los Angeles City Council, I supported the recent upgrade and expansion of Ontario airport and I
continue to have hopes for Palmdale notwithstanding chronically poor ridership on flights to and from that location. And as a member of SCAG, I have worked with officials from throughout the region on regional approaches to taking some of the air traffic burden off LAX. Ultimately, significant mitigation of air quality impacts from airport operations will
come with more efficient aircraft and aircraft engine design, and great advances are being made with respect to both. Once the technology for cleaner engines is developed, it is more plausible to work to federally mandate its use, which as Supervisor I will certainly do.
Transportation
Air quality in the Second District is also adversely impacted by the region’s reliance on the automobile with extraordinary traffic volumes and suffocating levels of congestion. As noted elsewhere, transportation is indeed the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in California and the Second District likely has the most concentrated carbon footprint of any District as a result. The District is traversed by eight freeways and the busiest surface street corridors in the region. It is also the most transit-dependent District, with the highest ridership MTA bus routes as well as the Blue Line, Green Line, Red Line and the Exposition Line under construction. As a Los Angeles City member of the MTA Board as well as a member of the City Council’s Transportation Committee, I have steadfastly advanced measures to make public transit more accessible to more people and to incentivize commercial and residential development at MTA subway and light rail stations. I have supported the expansion of the City’s highly successful DASH program as well as the traffic calming, “smart streets” program for the coordinated timing of traffic lights to adjust for flow of traffic and the Mayor’s initiatives on everything from accelerated pothole repair to installation of more left-turn lanes.
As Supervisor, I will retain a seat on the MTA Board and continue my transit advocacy in that venue. A county transportation-related function also comes with being a Supervisor, with discretion over expenditure of gas tax receipts and county programs relating to such things as “smart streets.” There is a “doughnut hole” of transportation planning south of the Santa Monica Freeway and I would work to fill it. I would expect to bring the same vision to that role as I have brought to my service on the City Council and the MTA Board.
Smart and Sustainable Growth & Development
The Second District includes nine cities and very large swaths of
unincorporated area. Each of the cities has its own planning ordinance to guide growth and development and the Regional Planning Commission, consisting of appointees of each Supervisor, has jurisdiction over the unincorporated areas.
I am an outspoken advocate of economic development, housing and jobs creation in areas of need. The Second Supervisorial District has the most poverty-impacted census tracts in the country with the highest unemployment rates in the state. As I have demonstrated on the City Council and MTA Board, I believe that economic development need not come at the expense of smart planning and sustainable principles. Joint use developments around subway stations, commercial and residential developments along light rail routes should be incentivized and housing should be a significant component of mixed-use developments to promote a jobs-housing balance.
A major impairment to smart and sustainable growth in the Second District (as well as other areas of the county) is the fact that most community plans are woefully out-of-date and need to be brought current. It is difficult for a commercial or residential developer to make an investment without knowing its “by-right” options and one cannot know what those are without a current community plan with thoughtful and intelligent land uses specified. As a condition for such development, I would support the incorporation of sustainability principles relating to energy efficiency, native landscaping, and the capture and beneficial use of urban runoff.
Beyond these inter-related issues, as Supervisor I would support county compliance with TMDL requirements adopted by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, support the expansion of municipal and County water recycling programs, and support the Integrated Regional Water Management Planning process for the allocation of funding under Proposition 84. I would also seek to have the County lead the effort to quantify the carbon footprint of all sources of greenhouse gases in the County, including those that result from its own activities.
- As Supervisor, you would have a seat on the MTA. What are your transportation
priorities? What changes to the agency, to its funding and fare structure, and/or to regional transportation planning would you pursue?
On the MTA Board, I have supported the extension of the Green Line to the airport and the recently-adopted Crenshaw Corridor alternatives analysis. I am also exploring MTA funding for an alternatives analysis of the Slauson railroad right-of-way which connects the airport area to the harbor. As noted, I have been active in encouraging joint development projects at MTA stations and along transit corridors. I support planning efforts for the “Subway to the Sea,” but would not support its leapfrogging completion of “Expo to the Sea.” Ultimately, of course, we need to connect Exposition to the Wilshire subway as well as Expo to the Green Line along whatever transit alternative is selected for Crenshaw. I would also support voter approval of a measure to eliminate the prohibition against subway funding from county transportation sales tax receipts.
Public transit does not make a profit and is not designed to obtain full cost recovery from fare box receipts. Fares must periodically be raised to accommodate increases in the cost of labor, fuel, equipment and supplies. While I did not support the one fare increase that has occurred during my tenure on the MTA Board, I realize that in the future, absent additional operating subsidies from the state or federal governments, additional increases in relatively small increments may be unavoidable. The MTA remains one of the best transit bargains in the country and I want to work to keep it that way..
From where I sit, the transportation planning process works fairly well, although major alignment and transit technology options have always and unavoidably been political decisions. What is missing from the planning process, with the positive exception of the municipal bus systems, is the integration of municipal and county transportation planning with MTA regional planning. There is also a disconnect between regional transportation planning and transportation planning among the municipalities and the County. Among other things, the disconnections have resulted in the planning “doughnut hole” referred to earlier. Clearly, MTA must take the initiative to integrate the different jurisdictional planning processes so that the MTA, municipalities in its service area and the county do not work at cross-purposes. I also think the bus routing system needs periodic restructuring to become more destination-oriented and less reliant on a grid system that is rendered inefficient by new developments and destination centers.
- The County is now developing standards for "green building " and "low impact development." What elements would you want the County to prioritize in setting these standards? How would you apply standards to development in the County, including private construction?
In many respects, the County green building effort mirrors that underway in the City. The energy-saving and water conservation elements promise more bang for the buck and the County, like the City, should be the first to incorporate all of the elements in its own projects. As I understand it, the objective is to apply the standards to all development projects in the unincorporated areas of the County. The advantage to developers in exceeding the minimum standards, with Platinum LEEDS-type projects, for example, should be accelerated permitting, much as is the case in the City. What I would like to see emerge from the County and City efforts and taking advantage of standards already adopted in cities like Santa Monica and Calabasas, for example, is a model ordinance that can be considered for adoption by all 83 cities in the County.
- Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in California. The state has taken steps to require cleaner fuels and vehicles, but land use patterns that lead to urban sprawl, high vehicle miles traveled and traffic congestion also have been cited as contributing to global warming. Meanwhile, development continues to pave and fragment wildlands and open space, especially in the northern parts of the County. Do you believe the County should encourage different land use practices to promote more compact development and reduce vehicle miles traveled? What kind of land use policies and or developments in your district would you promote, which could help to counter sprawl?
Smart and sustainable land use with development along transit corridors is the most effective way to promote a jobs-housing balance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from protracted and usually single-occupant vehicle commutes. I would not support the fragmenting of wild lands much as I oppose the dumping of affordable housing islands in discreet areas of a city or the County. Generally speaking, we must build up rather than out and the County as a planning matter should encourage that.
Sprawl in my district can be addressed through an updated community plan process. That would be my first planning priority as Supervisor. The Second District has sprawl, to be sure, but it is the densest of any supervisorial district and has far less open space and parks per capita than any other part of the County.
- The County has considerable authority over the Los Angeles River and has not yet adopted its own Los Angeles River Master Plan. Would you push for the County to endorse the Master Plan? What else, specifically, would you do to support the revitalization of Compton Creek and the Los Angeles River?
If I’m not mistaken, the County does have a modest Master Plan for the Los Angeles River but it is far more limited in scope than the one prepared by the City. The City’s Master Plan is the foremost and most visionary planning document I have voted for as a member of the City Council. The reality is that the Los Angeles River traverses or abuts thirteen cities and a portion of unincorporated territory. It should be viewed as a singular resource for the region with multiple opportunities for recreation, compatible development, the creation of constructed wetlands, the restoration of natural recharge areas and the protection of habitat. For entirely too long it has been viewed as a single-purpose flood control channel and a dumping ground for urban waste and dry and wet weather runoff.
The County should embrace the guiding principles of the City’s Los Angeles River Master Plan and, together with the other relevant jurisdictions, extend its vision all the way to Long Beach.
Many cities along the River, including Los Angeles, Lynwood and Compton in the Second District lost natural recharge from the River when it was channelized with concrete. These cities rely to a greater or lesser extent on groundwater to meet their needs. A priority for me would be to remove the concrete where it can be done without compromising flood control to restore natural groundwater recharge. I am also interested in making beneficial use of the dry weather runoff that occurs in the River, including beneficial reuse of the 100,000 acre-feet of treated effluent from Los Angeles wastewater treatment plants that is lost annually to the ocean.
I was disappointed that the Compton Creek project did not receive Proposition 50 funding and will strongly support funding under Proposition 84.
- Would you support the Master Plan's call for a Los Angeles River Joint Powers Authority - city, county, State and Federal - to administer and upgrade the River?
Yes.
- Progress on the light rail line along Exposition Blvd continues to face funding and community uncertainties. What action could you take to support an expeditious completion of the line? What other transit projects would you prioritize in your district?
As a member of the Exposition Line Construction Authority, I am well aware of the funding and community challenges. The fact is that the original $640 million estimate for construction from Downtown to Culver City was five years old when published. The actual cost, based on current engineering, is $800 million. I am confident the line will be fully funded when the state releases transportation bond funds approved by the voters last year.
The community challenges apply mainly to at-grade alignments near Foshay and Dorsey High School, with most attention generated at Dorsey. The concern has to do with student pedestrian patterns and the need to get from one side of the tracks to the other at least twice a day. Going underground or above ground are options that carry prohibitive price tags. Engineers are looking at reopening, with supervision for longer periods, an existing tunnel for pedestrian use near Foshay and a pedestrian bridge near Dorsey. In addressing the challenge, the Expo Line has the advantage of all of the advances in grade crossing technology developed in connection with the Blue, Green, Red and Gold lines. There are many ways to mitigate the pedestrian/light rail conflict. The one chosen will be based on an overriding consideration for safety. The Public Utilities Commission has approved all grade crossings except these two and we anticipate a ruling from the Commission on them shortly.
- What plans would you put forward to option and/or purchase the parkland adjacent to Ken Hahn Recreation Area so that the eventual Baldwin Hills Park will be a significant urban park in Los Angeles?
An objective of the Baldwin Hills Conservancy is to buy land as it becomes available and as revenues permit and I support that objective. All of the adjacent land comes with a large price tag, however, and it will take a long time and funding from several sources to expand the Baldwin Hills Park into the kind of urban open space and recreational resource we would all like to see.
- Many residents in the Baldwin Hills and surrounding areas are concerned about the negative health effects of the current oil drilling. What would you do to stop or curtail oil drilling and/or monitor the health hazards of oil drilling?
Advances in drilling technology and oil extraction, along with legally-protected extraction rights, have trumped any objective to simply close down production at the fields. Routine monitoring for air emissions by the Air Quality Management District, the migration of soil contamination by the State Department of Toxic Substances Control and runoff by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, especially where it tends to pool near Stocker, should be vigilantly maintained.
Not to minimize the issue, but many of us mistakenly attribute some of the odors that periodically arise in the area near La Cienega and Rodeo, for example, to the oil fields, when in fact they originate from a Los Angeles City sewer trunk line that was built many decades ago and occasionally cannot handle contemporary sewerage volumes. I have worked with the Bureau of Sanitation to install one odor scrubber so far and two more are scheduled for installation in the next several months. Ultimately, that line must be replaced.
- What are the environmental issues in your District that you feel have not yet been addressed to the satisfaction of the constituents? How will you address these issues?
The Second District is a laboratory of environmental challenges. With the exception of water quality, which is generally quite good throughout the District, you name it, we have it. As a philosophical matter, I embrace principles of environmental stewardship and environmental justice and equity. I believe that natural resources are properly public resources to be preserved and protected rather than privatized and exploited. I think you have seen that philosophy demonstrated by my actions on the City Council and you can expect that philosophy to continue to be demonstrated on the Board of Supervisors.
- Where does your financial support come from for this campaign?
As you will see from my December 31 campaign finance filing, I rely on multiple donors from within the District who contribute in small amounts.
- Why do you want the Sierra Club endorsement? How will you use it in your campaign?
The Sierra Club has done more than any other organization to make a concern for the protection and preservation of natural resources part of the public’s consciousness. Its many initiatives over the years have resulted in federal, state and local laws to improve air and water quality and to permanently protect mountain, desert and coastal resources. The Club has also made the environmental movement a public participation and community action movement, which in itself is a major contribution to civic engagement.
I would be honored to have your endorsement and will feature it proudly in my campaign materials and public presentations.
