AB-2597 Dwelling unit standards: safe indoor air temperatures.
Whats the cost to cool Los Angeles? City explores a cooling mandate for all rental units.
Jurupa Hills High School: Warehouses
Background: Southern California’s Inland Empire contains more than 4,000 warehouses that take up more than a billion square feet of land. These warehouses bring in large quantities of trucks, which create some of the worst air pollution in the country. Many of these warehouses are located directly adjacent to homes and schools. A new warehouse has been proposed for a lot next to Jurupa Hills High School, which is located less than a mile from a busy freeway and already has many warehouses nearby.
Question 1: Identify at least three factors that you think may have contributed to the proliferation of warehouses in the Inland Empire.
Question 2: Should the city allow the warehouse to be built next to the school? If not, what would you do to prevent its construction?
Outcome: Jurupa Hills HS community members circulated a petition opposing the city council’s decision to allow the warehouse to be built. The state attorney general also filed a suit against the city to challenge the warehouse’s construction. The city and the attorney general reached a settlement that allows the warehouse to be built but requires the company to take steps to make it more environmentally friendly and provide funding to the school and local residents.
LA Schools: Oil Drilling
Background: There are more than 21,000 oil and gas wells in Los Angeles County, more than 1,600 of which are located within 1,000 feet of a school. People who live or attend school near an oil or gas well are disproportionately Black and Latino and experience a number of negative health impacts, including respiratory illnesses like asthma, increased cancer risks, and increased risk of birth defects and other pregnancy complications. Oil wells also contribute to air pollution by emitting volatile organic compounds (which create smog) and to climate change (because oil is a fossil fuel).
Question: What do you think should be done about oil wells in urban areas like Los Angeles, if anything?
Outcome: In August 2022, California passed a law preventing the construction of new wells within 3,200 feet of “sensitive receptors,” which include homes, schools, and healthcare facilities. The law does not prohibit continued operation of existing wells, but does prevent major changes to those wells.
Extra-Local Action: Critical Cases