Los Angeles : Toxic Waste Facilities Plan
A City Council committee voted Tuesday to move forward with plans to establish an ordinance that would give the city greater control over the construction of hazardous waste treatment and storage facilities.
By unanimous vote, the Planning and Environment Committee instructed the city attorney’s office to draft the proposed ordinance, which could take effect before the end of the year if it is approved by the Planning Commission, the City Council and Mayor Tom Bradley.
The Planning Commission is expected to hold a public hearing on the proposal next month.
The proposed ordinance, requested last spring by Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, would require builders of hazardous waste treatment and storage plants, landfills and transfer stations to receive a special permit from the city even if the site is zoned to allow such facilities.
Currently, no special city review is required if the facilities are built in areas zoned for heavy manufacturing. Flores proposed the ordinance after she was unable to block city approval of a treatment plant that the BKK Corp. wants to build in Wilmington. City officials said the BKK facility would not be affected by the new ordinance.
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