Erin Stone
covers climate and environmental issues in Southern California.
Published March 11, 2024 5:00 AM
A conceptual rendering of what the complete Rory M. Shaw Wetlands Park Project in Sun Valley will look like. The space is currently a former landfill and large open dirt pit.
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Courtesy of L.A. County Department of Public Works
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LAist
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Topline:
The Rory M. Shaw Wetlands Park Project in Sun Valley will turn a former landfill into a brand new park with a lake that can capture stormwater as well as lessen flooding. But technical issues and funding challenges jeopardize the project.
Why it matters: Sun Valley has long been one of the most flood-prone parts of the city. It’s also a pollution hotspot, with landfills and heavy industry amid homes. The largely working class, Latino community also has some of the least green space, so a new park would go far in improving quality of life and cooling the community amid rising heat.
Why now: Longtime members of the community, who suffered the most from the landfill and other industry pollution, worry they’ll never benefit from the project. Plus, as delays have continued, the site is becoming a worsening source of trash, illicit activity and dust.
The backstory: The Rory Shaw project has been in development since the early 2000s. The first major delay came in 2014, when food waste and other organic material producing methane was discovered. The whole thing had to be redesigned. Now, a lack of funding is the biggest delay — a $180 million funding gap due to skyrocketing materials and labor costs.
What's next: The project is now expected to be completed by 2028 or 2029. The county has promised it will double down on maintenance and community engagement in the meantime.
Sun Valley has long been one of the most flood-prone parts of the city. In the ‘80s and '90s when it rained, news crews would head there for the most dramatic shots. The largely working-class, Latino neighborhood in the northeast San Fernando Valley is also a pollution hotspot, with landfills, auto shops and heavy industry nestled amid homes.
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LA Has Big Plans To Turn A Landfill Into A Wetland, But Delays Are Jeopardizing The Project
At the same time, as the climate crisis leads to hotter droughts, more intense rainstorms and less reliable snow — traditionally our largest source of drinking water — L.A. desperately needs to become more like a sponge.
That will help to capture more stormwater locally when rain does come and lessen devastating flooding, said Edith de Guzman, a UCLA water equity and climate adaptation researcher.
“We’ve created a problem because we have paved a large majority of the area,” de Guzman said. “What used to be porous is not porous.”
Flooding on Tujunga Avenue in Sun Valley during rain storms in winter 2024.
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Courtesy of Mariam Moore
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LAist
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Turning a landfill into a park
In Sun Valley, an effort to address flooding, the need to capture more stormwater and add much-needed green space is decades in the making.
Behind the name
Rory Shaw was a civil engineer for the city of Los Angeles who was killed after floodwaters swept him into a giant sinkhole that opened up on Tujunga Avenue during a 2005 storm. At that time, Sun Valley had no flood control or storm drains.
The Rory M. Shaw Wetlands Park Project will turn a 46-acre landfill formerly used for materials such as concrete and gravel into an engineered wetland that can boost local water supply and alleviate local flooding. It’ll also become a 15-acre park with a lake and walking paths. It's one of several projects (including one we profiled last year) in the area that aims to address flooding. But it's the only one that will add such a large new green space.
The project will capture stormwater in the lake, then allow that water to seep into a 10-acre “wetland” that will filter pollutants. That stormwater can then be pumped underground into the neighboring Sun Valley Park, which was retrofitted in 2006 with huge underground chambers that filter water into the groundwater basins to be treated and used for drinking water later. That project has helped significantly to reduce flooding in the area, according to community members and the county.
A conceptual rendering of a walking path along the engineered wetland at the future Rory M. Shaw Park in Sun Valley.
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Courtesy of L.A. County Department of Public Works
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LAist
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But the largest benefit of the Rory Shaw project is adding significant green space in a neighborhood that sorely lacks it.
“This is not a luxury project for us. This is a must,” said Mariam Moore, who lives next to the former landfill and serves on the Sun Valley Neighborhood Council Board.
This is not a luxury project for us. This is a must.
— Mariam Moore, Sun Valley resident
Sun Valley has some of the least green space in the entire county, so outside of its ability to capture stormwater and help with flooding, the new park would go far in improving quality of life and helping to cool the community amid rising heat.
A conceptual rendering of new basketball courts and other recreational areas at the future Rory M. Shaw Park in Sun Valley.
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Courtesy of L.A. County Department of Public Works
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LAist
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Long timeline and delays
Planning for the project first began in earnest in the early 2000s. The timeline was always long — if all had gone according to plan, it could have been done by 2019 or 2020, according to L.A.'s 2015 Stormwater Capture Master plan. The project’s potential to rectify environmental injustice and disinvestment of the past has led to a long list of supporters throughout the years, from former County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky to former City Councilmember Nury Martinez to current U.S. congressman Tony Cárdenas and current County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.
In response to a request for comment from LAist, Current District 6 council member Imelda Padilla stated, "This project is something that my neighbors in Sun Valley have anticipated and deserved for a very long time. As Councilmember, I am committed to looking at any and all strategies to accelerate this long overdue project."
The current landfill site beside a sketch of the future Rory Shaw park.
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Courtesy of Andy Lipkis
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But for now, the site of the future park remains a massive open dirt pit, right next to a neighborhood.
The first major delay came in 2014, when the project broke ground and food waste and other organic materials producing methane were discovered in the landfill, which was supposed to only have materials such as concrete and gravel. The county covered and sealed the methane leak, then had to entirely redesign the project to include a methane capture system. Construction had to be pushed, with a new completion date of around 2025.
The current entrance to the site. Trash, damage to the fencing and graffiti are common.
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Erin Stone
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But now, the biggest barrier to completing the project is funding, said Mark Pestrella, the director of L.A. County Department of Public Works, which is spearheading the project (after it’s constructed, the city of L.A. will take over maintenance). The new goal is to complete it by 2028 or 2029.
“Our timelines have been getting pushed out because we do not currently have the funding to complete the project,” Pestrella said.
The pandemic drove up material and labor costs, which is why roughly $180 million dollars is still needed, Pestrella said. So far, L.A. County has already invested more than $86 million in the project (a chunk of that was purchasing the former landfill for $28 million). Proposition O and Measure W are providing $27,800,000. In total, the project is expected to add up to around $240 million.
Frustrations in the community
The ongoing funding challenge is why many longtime members of the community — who have suffered the most from the landfill and other nearby industries’ pollution — worry they’ll never benefit from the project.
Maria Luisa Lopez Jacquez, 73, has lived next to the former landfill for more than 40 years. Here she stands in front of her house with the project site in the background. She worries she won't live to see the park project completed.
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Erin Stone
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73-year-old Maria Luisa Lopez Jacquez has lived in a corner house right across from the former landfill for more than 40 years. She made her living selling tamales and burritos in Sun Valley Park across from her home. She said her house is always dusty and she has to put up plastic on her windows to block the dust from the former landfill at times.
“And that doesn't matter, all the dirt goes in my guest house, in my house, everywhere,” she said.
Trash along the perimeter of the site is common and a major frustration for nearby residents.
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Erin Stone
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For years, she knocked on doors and reached out to local city and county leaders to get something done about the dust, the many trucks driving in the area and other pollution from the landfill and its neighboring recycling facility. She watched as her grandsons and other local kids suffered from nosebleeds, headaches and breathing issues after playing in the park. She herself has asthma and other health issues she attributes to living near the landfill and recycling plant for so long.
“This problem is for a long, long, long time,” Lopez Jacquez said, shaking her head.
When she first heard about the Rory Shaw project in 2008, she was excited things might finally change. But now, she’s lost hope it’ll be done within her lifetime.
They just promise and they don't do nothing ... We worked so hard for this. I’m tired.
— Maria Luisa Lopez Jacquez, Sun Valley resident
“They just promise and they don't do nothing,” Lopez Jacquez said, tears coming to her eyes. “After that, they don't want to talk to us. We worked so hard for this. I’m tired.”
It’s an emotional topic for many people in the community.
Site needs attention now
Moore lives on the other side of the park from Lopez Jacquez in a house also right across from the former landfill. She has worked with Lopez Jacquez to engage the community with the project, and having only moved in a few years ago, has brought a new energy to fighting for it to get done, especially in her role on the Sun Valley Neighborhood Council Board.
Sun Valley residents Norma Chavez, left, and Mariam Moore, who lives right next to the former landfill, look at a printout of a 2021 presentation from the county about the project. It was the most recent time there was serious community engagement about the project, which has frustrated Moore and other residents.
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“We pay taxes for these funds to be available for projects like this,” Moore said.
Furthermore, Moore said mitigation measures are needed now, such as more security at the site, cleaning up trash along the perimeter, addressing ongoing dust issues, better maintaining fencing, and adding sidewalks and improved drainage to surrounding streets, which quickly turn into lakes even in mild rain. She, Lopez Jacquez and others in the community see the lack of investment as a form of environmental racism.
We feel like we're third-class citizens and we don't matter.
— Mariam Moore, Sun Valley resident
“Because Rory Shaw has been taking so long for this community, it impacts us severely,” Moore said. “We feel like we're third-class citizens and we don't matter. If this project was somewhere else in the city, it would have been completed 10 years ago.”
Dumping is common along the perimeter and within the site, especially along Tujunga Avenue, which is pictured here. The project site is in the background.
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Erin Stone
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Promises from the county
In an interview with LAist, Pestrella acknowledged he’s not satisfied with his department’s engagement with community members in recent years, and promised to regain their trust through more public meetings this year. He also said the county will double down on maintaining the site now, mitigating dust and cleaning trash and graffiti at the perimeter, and potentially adding lighting and security patrol.
Trash and damaged fencing along the perimeter of the future Rory Shaw park site.
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Erin Stone
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LAist
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“I agree that the site is becoming somewhat of a nuisance,” Pestrella said. “More needs to be done to get the site into a condition so that it doesn't become a blight on community, that we make sure that there's no trash on site, we control the dust on the site. We’re gonna treat it with a lot more attention. They’re gonna see a big investment in an interim solution.”
“We pretty much just need to secure the site as if it's going to sit in this condition for some time until we can secure the funding,” Pestrella added.
As for shortening the timeline to actually getting the project done, Pestrella said it’s unlikely, but that he’s prioritizing getting the needed funding. He said the department has applied for grants for the project from the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and is pushing for funding from the state.
It is a priority. My biggest regret is we can’t get it going faster.
— Mark Pestrella, director of L.A. County Department of Public Works
“It is a priority,” Pestrella said. “My biggest regret is we can’t get it going faster.”
“We’d like to make this our shining star for the Olympics, frankly,” he added. “It's an example of what can be done anywhere in an urbanized area.”
A view of the site as it is today.
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Erin Stone
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LAist
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Meanwhile, he urged community members to report any issues at the site to the county.
At this point, the project is proof that even with the support of the community and local, state and even federal leaders, it can be really difficult to get these kinds of long-term projects done.
“It takes a long time to undo what we did in the past,” said de Guzman, the UCLA researcher.
For now, all residents such as Lopez Jacquez and Moore can do is continue to wait and push for the promises to be fulfilled.
Resources and how to submit concerns
To L.A. County Department of Public Works:
Call 1-800-675-HELP (4357)
Download the county’s reporting app, called The Works on the app store. It allows you to easily provide video and photos of issues.
Flooding in your neighborhood? Here’s how to advocate for Measure W funding
First, what watershed do you live in? Check out this map to find out. You can also see a map of all projects being funded through Measure W, or the Safe Clean Water Program here.
Reach out to your local watershed council coordinator. You can find a list of the Safe Clean Water Program’s coordinators here.
Reach out to your local city council member or neighborhood council representative.
If you’re in the city of L.A., call 311 to alert LA Sanitation of flooding and potholes in your area or email publicworks.publicaffairs@lacity.org.
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, where a massive post-fire rebuilding effort is underway.
Published April 1, 2026 4:44 PM
Fencing lines a sidewalk next to a home under construction.
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Erin Stone
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LAist
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Topline:
As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Council member is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.
Who’s behind it: Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.
The details: The plan calls for returning the 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.
Read on … to learn whether economists think the proposed tax relief could make a difference.
As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Councilmember is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.
The 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund would be given back to consumers under the proposal. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.
The motion, introduced Friday by Park and seconded by Councilmember John Lee, says: “The City should do everything within its power to alleviate the financial burden for these residents and businesses in order to facilitate their return and stabilize the Pacific Palisades community.”
Would it make much of a difference?
Economists told LAist the proposal could help many homeowners mitigate the high cost of rebuilding, but likely wouldn’t tip the scales for under-insured, under-resourced property owners.
“It wouldn't hurt if it's very well designed and easy to use,” said Alexander Meeks, a director at the Santa Monica-based Milken Institute. “But I'm not sure if it's really going to tackle the scale of the financial challenge that survivors are facing.”
Meeks noted that the tax waiver wouldn’t lower up-front costs such as environmental testing, architectural design and permitting. And it may not help homeowners sourcing raw materials from outside the city.
Zhiyun Li, a UCLA Anderson School of Management economist, said the waiver could help some homeowners justify the additional cost of rebuilding more fire-safe structures.
“Homeowners must typically pay out of pocket to upgrade to IBHS+ standards, which are more stringent,” Li said. “The tax waiver could encourage upgrading to IBHS+ standards or investing more in mitigation, thereby reducing future risk and improving the likelihood of maintaining insurance coverage.”
What’s next for the proposal?
The proposed tax relief would not be available to properties that have been sold since the fires started in January 2025.
The motion has been sent to the City Council’s budget and fire recovery committees. If approved by the full council, it would require the city administrative officer, the Office of Finance and the city attorney to report back to the council within 60 days on options for crafting a tax relief plan.
The motion calls for the report to consider factors such as how to minimize the burden of administering the tax relief, what documentation homeowners would have to submit and what it would cost the city to oversee the program.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September. Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.
About the deal: The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate. Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.
What's next: Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects. Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS. If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.
Senate and House Republican leadership have resurrected a stalled plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security after a record 47-day funding lapse.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September.
Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.
"In following this two-track approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited," Thune and Johnson wrote.
The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate.
Johnson called the agreement a "joke" and President Donald Trump declined to publicly endorse the deal. Trump had previously resisted any package that did not include his push to overhaul federal elections known as the Save America Act.
"I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it," Trump told reporters last week.
Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.
"For days, Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in a statement Wednesday. "Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered."
Trump seemed to bless the revived plan earlier Wednesday, writing on social media that he wants a party-line bill to fund immigration enforcement on his desk by June 1.
"We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won't be able to stop us," Trump wrote.
Despite the shutdown, ICE has been minimally impacted because Republican lawmakers approved $75 billion for ICE through another party-line budget reconciliation bill last year.
Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects.
Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS.
"Let's make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote on X. "If that's the vote, I'm a NO."
If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.
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Logan Cattaneo, 6, poses for a photo with the Dodgers mascot during Dodgers Dreamteam PlayerFest at Dodgers Stadium in 2024.
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Michael Blackshire
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Getty Images
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Topline:
The Dodgers Foundation says it's expanding Dodgers Dreamteam, its program for underserved youth. The foundation says the program will be able to serve 17,000 kids this year, 2,000 more than last year.
Why it matters: Now in its 13th season, the program connects underserved youth with opportunities to play baseball and softball and provides participants with free uniforms and access to baseball equipment. It also offers training for coaches in positive youth development practices, as well as wraparound services for participant families like college workshops, career panels, literacy resources and scholarship opportunities.
How to sign up: For more information and to sign up, click here.
An aerial view of snow-capped trees after a winter snowstorm near Soda Springs on Feb. 20, 2026.
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Stephen Lam, San Francisco Chronicle
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via Getty Images
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Topline:
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season. It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
What happened? Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
Why it matters: Experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains. State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs. “I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season.
It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
But experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains.
On Wednesday, state engineers conducting the symbolic April 1 snowpack measurement at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe found no measurable snow in patches of white dotting the grassy field.
“I want to welcome you call to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had — maybe one where people could actually use an umbrella,” joked Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “We’re getting a lot of questions about are we heading into a hydrologic drought? The answer is, I don’t know.”
Only the extreme drought year of 2015 beat this year’s snowpack for the worst on record, measuring in at just 5% of average on April 1st, when the snow historically is at its deepest.
“I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
“Without a snowpack, and with an early spring, it just means that there’s much more time for something like that to happen.”
‘It’s pretty bizarre up here’
In the city of South Lake Tahoe, which survived the massive Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021 without losing any structures, fire chief Jim Drennan said his department is already ramping up prevention efforts.
“It's pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March,” Drennan said. “People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”
Without more precipitation, an early spring may complicate prescribed burning efforts. But Drennan said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can start mechanically clearing fuels from forest areas earlier than usual.
“That means we can get more work done,” he said.
It also means homeowners need to start hardening their homes now, said Martin Goldberg, battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, which protects unincorporated communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore.
Goldberg urges residents to scour their yards for burnable materials, create defensible space and reach out to local fire departments with questions. The risks are widespread — from firewood, wooden fences, gas cans, plants, pine needles — even lawn furniture stacked against a house.
“In years past, I wouldn't even think of raking and clearing until May,” Goldberg said. “But my yard's completely cleared of snowpack, and it has been for a couple weeks now.”
‘A haystack fire’
Battalion chief David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said fire season is shaped by more than just one year’s snowpack.
Climate change has been remaking California’s fire seasons into fire years. And California’s recent average to abundant water years have fueled what Acuña called “bumper crops of vegetation and brush.”
“Most of California is like a haystack. And if you’ve ever seen a haystack fire, they burn very intensely because there's layers of fuel,” Acuña said.
Like Quinn-Davidson, Acuña wasn’t ready to make specific predictions about fires to come.
But John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced, said the temperatures and snowpack conditions this year offer a glimpse of California in the latter decades of this century, as fossil fuel use continues to drive global temperatures higher.
How this year’s fires will play out will depend on when, where and how wind, heat, fuel and ignitions combine. But it foreshadows the consequences of a warmer California for water and fire under climate change.
“This,” Abatzoglou said, “is yet another stress test for the future in the state.”
