Years of work compiling community testimonies, gathering evidence and documenting violations at the Jefferson Drill Site led to the filing of a Nuisance Abatement Petition with the City of Los Angeles last week. This unprecedented action against an oil drilling site, seeks City enforcement of existing conditions and the imposition of new health and safety protections equal to those the Planning Department has extended to wealthier, whiter West L.A neighborhoods.
The City Planning Department has required West LA drill sites to enclose their operations to protect nearby residents. Sound proof enclosures shield residents from loud noises, light pollution, noxious fumes, and oil fluids. The Jefferson Drill Site has a history of spraying adjacent homes, streets, and nearby parked cars with oil.
The Nuisance Abatement process creates an opportunity and obligation for the City to correct a historic wrong. Our community was home to residents for decades before the City allowed Union Oil to demolish homes to build the Jefferson Drill Site. In 1999, the Planning Department allowed the oil company to sell vacant buffer properties next to the site to real estate developers. The City imposed deed restrictions surrendering new residents’ rights to complain about any nuisance from the drill site. Instead of buffer properties protecting residents, the Planning Department turned children and their families into buffers for Big Oil.
The City is reportedly reviewing the petition with city lawyers.
The LA Times wrote a great piece on the nuisance abatement filing and what it could mean for our community. Click the links below to read it.
The City Planning Department has required West LA drill sites to enclose their operations to protect nearby residents. Sound proof enclosures shield residents from loud noises, light pollution, noxious fumes, and oil fluids. The Jefferson Drill Site has a history of spraying adjacent homes, streets, and nearby parked cars with oil.
The Nuisance Abatement process creates an opportunity and obligation for the City to correct a historic wrong. Our community was home to residents for decades before the City allowed Union Oil to demolish homes to build the Jefferson Drill Site. In 1999, the Planning Department allowed the oil company to sell vacant buffer properties next to the site to real estate developers. The City imposed deed restrictions surrendering new residents’ rights to complain about any nuisance from the drill site. Instead of buffer properties protecting residents, the Planning Department turned children and their families into buffers for Big Oil.
The City is reportedly reviewing the petition with city lawyers.
The LA Times wrote a great piece on the nuisance abatement filing and what it could mean for our community. Click the links below to read it.