GATEWAY

FINAL MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

Report to the Local Agency Formation Commission for Los Angeles County

Prepared by Burr Consulting

November 30, 2005

GATEWAY

FINAL MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

Report to the Local Agency Formation Commission for Los Angeles County

Submitted to: LAFCO for Los Angeles County Larry J. Calemine, Executive Officer 700 North Central Blvd, Suite 350 Glendale, CA 91203 (818) 254-2454

Submitted by: Burr Consulting Beverly Burr, Project Coordinator 612 N. Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 8 Los Angeles, CA 90049 (310) 889-0077

November 30, 2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 1 MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW FINDINGS...... 2 SPHERE OF INFLUENCE FINDINGS ...... 5 INTRODUCTION ...... 6 LAFCO OVERVIEW...... 6 MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW ORIGINS ...... 7 SPHERE OF INFLUENCE UPDATES...... 10 MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW PROCESS...... 11 CAVEATS ...... 12 CHAPTER 1: MSR AREA ...... 13 AREA OVERVIEW...... 13 MUNICIPAL SERVICES...... 16 GROWTH AND POPULATION PROJECTIONS...... 23 CHAPTER 2: PUBLIC SAFETY...... 30 POLICE SERVICE ...... 30 FIRE AND PARAMEDIC SERVICE...... 49 CHAPTER 3: UTILITIES...... 69 WATER ...... 69 WASTEWATER ...... 71 SOLID WASTE ...... 81 CHAPTER 4: PUBLIC WORKS ...... 88 STORMWATER...... 88 STREET MAINTENANCE ...... 94 CHAPTER 5: COMMUNITY SERVICES ...... 100 PARKS...... 100 LIBRARIES ...... 105 TRANSPORTATION ...... 106 HOUSING ...... 109 CHAPTER 6: MSR CONCLUSIONS ...... 112 INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS OR DEFICIENCIES...... 112 GROWTH AND POPULATION PROJECTIONS...... 114 FINANCING CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES...... 116 COST AVOIDANCE OPPORTUNITIES ...... 118 OPPORTUNITIES FOR RATE RESTRUCTURING ...... 118 OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHARED FACILITIES ...... 119 GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE OPTIONS...... 119 EVALUATION OF MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCIES...... 120 LOCAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOVERNANCE...... 120 CHAPTER 7: SOI UPDATES...... 122 CITY OF ARTESIA ...... 122 CITY OF BELL...... 123

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CITY OF BELL GARDENS ...... 124 CITY OF BELLFLOWER...... 125 CITY OF CARSON...... 126 CITY OF CERRITOS ...... 129 CITY OF COMMERCE ...... 130 CITY OF COMPTON ...... 131 CITY OF CUDAHY ...... 134 CITY OF DOWNEY ...... 135 CITY OF HAWAIIAN GARDENS...... 136 CITY OF HUNTINGTON PARK...... 138 CITY OF LA HABRA HEIGHTS ...... 139 CITY OF LA MIRADA ...... 140 CITY OF LAKEWOOD ...... 142 CITY OF LONG BEACH...... 143 CITY OF LYNWOOD ...... 146 CITY OF MAYWOOD ...... 147 CITY OF NORWALK ...... 148 CITY OF PARAMOUNT ...... 149 CITY OF PICO RIVERA ...... 150 CITY OF SANTA FE SPRINGS...... 151 CITY OF SIGNAL HILL ...... 153 CITY OF SOUTH GATE ...... 154 CITY OF VERNON ...... 155 CITY OF WHITTIER ...... 156 CREDITS ...... 159

REFERENCES ...... 160

APPENDIX A: AGENCY PROFILES

APPENDIX B: MAPS

COVER PHOTO CREDITS

TOP LEFT: PORT OF LONG BEACH, WES WANG © 2005 TOP RIGHT: CERRITOS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, COURTESY OF THE CITY OF CERRITOS AND THE CERRITOS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS BOTTOM LEFT: GATEWAY RESIDENCES, COURTESY OF GATEWAY CITIES COG BOTTOM RIGHT: ALAMEDA CORRIDOR, COURTESY OF GATEWAY CITIES COG

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

TABLE I-1: COMMISSION MEMBERS, 2005...... 7 FIGURE 1-1: GATEWAY AREA MAP ...... 15 TABLE 1-2: GATEWAY SERVICE PROVIDERS ...... 18 TABLE 1-3: RESIDENTIAL POPULATION BY PLACE, 2000...... 23 FIGURE 1-4: ANNUAL POPULATION GROWTH RATES, 2005-25 ...... 24 FIGURE 1-5: JOB GROWTH 2005-2025...... 25 TABLE 1-6: POPULATION MEASURES, 2005...... 26 TABLE 1-7: GROWTH AREAS AND GROWTH CONSTRAINTS...... 28 FIGURE 2-1: PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES MAP...... 31 TABLE 2-2: POLICE SERVICE CONFIGURATION...... 32 FIGURE 2-3: POLICE SERVICE CALLS PER CAPITA, 2003 ...... 33 TABLE 2-4: CITATIONS, ARRESTS, AND CRIMES PER CAPITA ...... 34

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FIGURE 2-5: FBI CRIME INDEX OFFENSES, 1994-2003...... 35 FIGURE 2-6: FBI CRIME INDEX RATE, 2003 ...... 36 TABLE 2-7: POLICE FACILITY CONDITIONS, NEEDS AND DEFICIENCIES ...... 37 FIGURE 2-8: FBI INDEX CRIME CLEARANCE RATES, 2001-2003 AVERAGE ...... 40 TABLE 2-9: RESPONSE TIMES, 2004 ...... 41 TABLE 2-10: SWORN STAFFING PER 1,000 POPULATION, FY 04-05 ...... 42 TABLE 2-11: ANNUAL POLICE-RELATED COMPLAINTS...... 43 TABLE 2-12: POLICE REGIONAL COLLABORATION ACTIVITIES...... 46 TABLE 2-13: FIRE SERVICE PROVIDERS ...... 49 TABLE 2-14: COUNTY MUTUAL AID AREAS ...... 51 FIGURE 2-15: INCIDENTS PER CAPITA (1,000), 2004...... 53 TABLE 2-16: FIRE STATIONS ...... 55 TABLE 2-17: FIRE AND MEDICAL RESPONSE TIME STANDARDS (MINUTES) ...... 63 FIGURE 2-18: AVERAGE RESPONSE TIMES ...... 64 FIGURE 3-1: WASTEWATER AND SOLID WASTE FACILITIES MAP...... 70 TABLE 3-2: WASTEWATER SERVICE PROVIDERS...... 71 TABLE 3-3: WASTEWATER SERVICE AREA...... 72 TABLE 3-4: WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES ...... 74 FIGURE 3-5: MILES OF SEWER PER CITY SQUARE MILE ...... 76 TABLE 3-6: WASTEWATER COLLECTION DEFICIENCIES AND NEEDS...... 77 TABLE 3-7: OES-REPORTED SEWAGE SPILLS (GALLONS) ...... 78 FIGURE 3-8: OES-REPORTED SEWAGE SPILLS PER 100 SEWER MILES ...... 79 FIGURE 3-9: TRASH DISPOSED (TONS), 1995-2003 ...... 81 FIGURE 3-10: TRASH (TONS) DISPOSED PER CAPITA, 2002 ...... 82 TABLE 3-11: LANDFILL DIVERSION RATES BY AGENCY, 2002 ...... 83 TABLE 3-12: TOP 10 DISPOSAL SITES USED ...... 83 TABLE 3-13: LANDFILL REGULATORY COMPLIANCE HISTORY ...... 85 FIGURE 3-14: MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE RATES (PER TON), 2004...... 86 TABLE 4-1: TMDLS IN MSR AREA...... 89 TABLE 4-2: STORMWATER MAINTENANCE PROVIDER...... 90 TABLE 4-3: ACTIVE STORMWATER DISCHARGE PERMITS ...... 91 TABLE 4-4: DRAINAGE SYSTEM INFRASTRUCTURE AND CONDITION ...... 92 TABLE 4-5: STREET MAINTENANCE SERVICE CONFIGURATION ...... 94 TABLE 4-6: STREET MILES AND STREET LIGHTS...... 95 TABLE 5-1: MUNICIPAL PARK ACRES PER 1,000 PEOPLE, 2004 ...... 101 TABLE 5-2: PARK FACILITY NEEDS AND DEFICIENCIES...... 102 TABLE 5-3: LIBRARY RESOURCES ...... 105 TABLE 5-4: LIBRARY SERVICE CIRCULATION, FY 02-03 ...... 106 TABLE 5-5: GATEWAY PUBLIC TRANSIT SERVICES ...... 107 TABLE 5-6: MEDIAN HOME VALUES ...... 109 TABLE 5-7: RHNA HOUSING NEEDS, 1998-2005...... 110

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive review of municipal services delivered in the Gateway area.

The municipal service review (MSR) area is a built-up urban environment encompassing the southeast portion of the County of Los Angeles. The area has a resident population of 2,227,664 and a job base of 870,410 in 2005. Visitor attractions include the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach Marina, Rancho Los Alamitos, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, Downey Museum of Art, and Downey Civic Theater.

There are 52 local agencies under LAFCO’s jurisdiction—26 cities and 26 special districts— providing municipal services in the area.

Cities Independent Special Districts Dependent Special Districts City of Artesia Artesia Cemetery District Consolidated Fire Protection City of Bell Belvedere Garbage Disposal District of Los Angeles City of Bell Gardens District County City of Bellflower Central Basin Municipal Water County Sanitation District 1 City of Carson District County Sanitation District 2 City of Cerritos Compton Creek Mosquito County Sanitation District 3 City of Commerce Abatement District County Sanitation District 8 City of Compton Downey Cemetery District County Sanitation District 18 City of Cudahy Firestone Garbage Disposal County Sanitation District 19 City of Downey District County Sanitation District 21 City of Hawaiian Gardens Greater Los Angeles County County Sanitation District 23 City of Huntington Park Vector Control District County Sanitation District 29 City of La Habra Heights La Habra Heights County Water City of Lakewood District City of La Mirada Little Lake Cemetery District City of Long Beach Orchard Dale County Water City of Lynwood District City of Maywood Pico County Water District City of Norwalk Sativa County Water District City of Paramount Upper San Gabriel Valley City of Pico Rivera Municipal Water District City of Santa Fe Springs Walnut Park Garbage Disposal City of Signal Hill District City of South Gate Water Replenishment District of City of Vernon Southern California City of Whittier West Basin Municipal Water District

1 BURR CONSULTING EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

M UNICIPAL S ERVICE R EVIEW F INDINGS

The following MSR findings apply to one or more of the local agencies listed above.

Infrastructure needs or deficiencies Four police stations—Huntington Park, South Gate, Signal Hill, and the Sheriff’s Lakewood police stations—need replacement. Police station expansion is needed in Bell, Maywood and Whittier, and at the Sheriff’s Industry, Carson, East Los Angeles, and Norwalk stations. Bell Gardens and Bell need upgrades in dispatch technology.

Fourteen of the existing 82 fire stations in the MSR area were described as in poor condition (see Table 2-16). The deficient stations include 10 facilities in Long Beach and one station each in Hawaiian Gardens, La Habra Heights, Vernon, and Downey. Major improvements are also needed at a station in Compton and the Santa Fe Springs headquarters (see related discussion in Chapter 2). Other stations requiring miscellaneous repairs include the City of Downey’s headquarters and the City of Santa Fe Springs’ fire stations.

The cities of Artesia, La Mirada and Whittier have experienced sewer overflows during rain events in recent years as a result of inflow into the wastewater system (see Tables 3-6 to 3-8). Most of La Habra Heights and portions of other communities are on septic systems, which are subject to failure and potential groundwater contamination, if not properly maintained (see Table 3-2). There are no wastewater collection facilities in certain parts of the MSR area—most of La Habra Heights and in portions of Compton, Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, and South Gate and the Walnut Park and East Rancho Dominguez unincorporated areas—where septic systems are used.

Two cities—Compton and Lynwood—are under compliance orders by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) to enhance recycling programs and increase the portion of solid waste diverted from landfills. Another sixteen of the MSR area’s cities need to increase solid waste diversion rates to meet landfill diversion goals (see Table 3-11). The primary landfill where solid waste is disposed will be closing in 2013 (see Table 3-12). Beginning in 2010, remote landfills will be phased in as replacement disposal sites.

The local agencies face significant challenges in financing adequate infrastructure capacity and staffing levels to meet new regulatory stormwater requirements in the face of financing constraints. Under new laws, cities must prevent trash from flowing through the storm drains, monitor discharges, and identify illicit wastewater connections into the stormwater system (see Chapter 4, Stormwater section).

All of the cities face ongoing needs for resurfacing, slurry-sealing, traffic signals, and street widening in high-traffic areas (see Chapter 4, Street Maintenance section). Plans to improve the capacity of Interstate 710 and Interstate 5 may alleviate some of the congestion occurring on arterial streets. The concentration of heavy truck traffic along major freeways and arterial streets throughout the MSR area heightens congestion and street damage and the need for street maintenance.

Park availability in six cities is less than one acre of park space per 1,000 residents (see Table 5- 1). Although park acreage is low in many cities in the MSR area, there are a number of regional parks in the area offering nearby park space and recreational facilities. Cities with sparse park acreage that are located along the Los Angeles River may benefit from expanded open space due to current

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watershed habitat restoration efforts.

Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and Pico Rivera need new or expanded library facilities, which are budgeted in their capital improvement plans (see Chapter 5, Library section).

Growth and population projections Over the next 20 years, the MSR area population is projected to grow at about 0.5 percent annually, slower than the County’s predicted annual growth rate of 0.9 percent. The MSR area population is currently 2,228,000, and is expected to reach 2,505,000 by the year 2025.

The most rapid growth in the residential population is anticipated in Santa Fe Springs, Signal Hill, and South Gate (see Figure 1-4). The pace of growth in South Gate is expected to slow in the long-term.

The daytime population (job base) is projected to grow most quickly in Bell, Signal Hill, Maywood, Cudahy, and Vernon over the next 20 years.

Most of the jurisdictions cited a shortage of vacant, developable land as a significant growth constraint. Proliferation of industrial traffic and other activities limits residential development in thirteen of the cities. Contaminated soils in Bell Gardens, Carson and Signal Hill limit development opportunities in these cities. Infrastructure deficiencies were cited as barriers to further development in the cities of Bell Gardens, Compton, Maywood, and Signal Hill. In La Habra Heights, Whittier and Signal Hill, topography and related concerns about fire, flood hazard, and natural resource conservation in hillside areas were also cited as growth constraints (see Table 1-7).

Financing constraints and opportunities Financing constraints will affect the ability to finance not only service costs but also infrastructure needs like fire station construction, parks, street improvements, and libraries. Municipal service providers are constrained in their capacity to finance services by the inability to increase property taxes, requirements for voter approval for new or increased taxes, and requirements of voter approval for parcel taxes and assessments used to finance services.

The median city in the MSR area generates $418 in general fund revenue per capita. The cities of Cudahy and Maywood generate the least general fund revenues with less than $250 per capita. In nine cities—Bell, Bellflower, Compton, Huntington Park, Lynwood, Norwalk, Paramount, Pico Rivera, and South Gate—general fund revenues are relatively modest with $300-400 per capita. General fund revenues are most ample in Signal Hill, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, and Vernon, where per capita revenues exceed $650.

Contingency reserves in the median city in the MSR area would cover 41 percent of annual general fund expenditures. Vernon had no contingency reserves, indeed a negative general fund balance; the City plans to eliminate its deficit through a parcel tax designated for street improvements. Pico Rivera and the City of Commerce maintained contingency reserves covering only three percent of annual general fund expenditures. Reserve ratios in the remainder of the cities meet Government Finance Officers Association recommendations. Reserves were most abundant in the cities of Cerritos, La Mirada and Lakewood.

The median city in the Gateway area had long-term debt of $871 per capita. Debt loads are highest in Signal Hill, Hawaiian Gardens, Cerritos, Commerce, Huntington Park, and Santa Fe

3 BURR CONSULTING EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Springs with more than $2,000 per capita. Redevelopment bond constituted most of the debt in these cities.

Stormwater infrastructure financing opportunities include bonded indebtedness. Voters in the City of Los Angeles passed a ballot measure to use this approach to finance stormwater system improvements in November 2004.

Cost avoidance opportunities Law enforcement agencies indicated that regional collaboration efforts through shared communications facilities have reduced costs and provided the agencies access to service they could not otherwise afford.

Fire service providers indicated that regional sharing of dispatch facilities and expansion of regional mutual aid agreements could reduce costs.

Opportunities for rate restructuring Wastewater and solid waste disposal rates charged by the County Sanitation Districts are likely to increase in the long-term.

The City of Long Beach is engaged in a citywide fee study to insure full cost recovery of the services it provides.

Opportunities for shared facilities Future opportunities include regionalized dispatch, SWAT, and holding facilities. Specific opportunities involve sharing of fire facilities with Arson Investigation units and Sheriff staff.

Government structure options Special district formation for stormwater financing purposes is one of many options currently being studied by the County Department of Public Works in collaboration with local agencies throughout the County. The stakeholders are expected to recommend the most viable option within the next several years.

Evaluation of management efficiencies Fourteen of the 26 cities conduct workload monitoring and performance evaluation, and were able to provide recent examples of these efforts. Five of the cities—Carson, Commerce, Compton, Lynwood, and Maywood—indicated that they neither conduct performance evaluations nor workload monitoring.

Local accountability and governance For the most part, the local agencies are accountable to their citizens, publicize governing body meetings and actively solicit community input in decision-making.

The cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Cudahy, Lynwood, and Whittier were not in compliance with the requirement to update the housing element of their general plans every five years (see Chapter 5, Housing section).

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S PHERE OF I NFLUENCE F INDINGS

Based on this municipal service review, this report recommends that the spheres of influence (SOIs) of five agencies be amended at this time:

Carson: The report recommends that the Carson SOI be expanded to include areas currently within the City of Compton and City of Los Angeles SOIs. The affected areas are primarily industrial, but also include single family homes, a mobile home park and a museum. These areas are contiguous to the City of Carson’s current SOI and share the industrial community of interest along the western side of the Alameda Corridor. The neighboring cities have not succeeded in annexing the areas within their SOIs. Residents of the mobile home park recommended that area be assigned to Carson’s SOI for future annexation. The City of Compton is experiencing facility capacity and service adequacy issues while the City of Carson generally provides adequate services with minimal facility capacity issues.

Compton: The report recommends that LAFCO remove the southwestern portion of the joint SOI area shared with the City of Los Angeles from the City of Compton’s SOI. Residents of this area requested that the area be reassigned to the City of Carson’s SOI. Most of this affected area (west of Avalon Blvd.) is outside the City’s planning area. The report also recommended that LAFCO remove the SOI area located south of the City’s boundary and east of Edison Way, and place it within the SOIs of the cities of Carson and Long Beach. The portion west of the Alameda Corridor is recommended to be added to the City of Carson’s SOI, whereas the portion east of the Alameda Corridor is recommended to be added to the City of Long Beach’s SOI. This southern SOI area is occupied by industrial uses, a mobile home park and a museum, and is not included in the City’s planning area.

Since the SOI was adopted in 1973, the City has not succeeded in annexing the territory, and Compton’s financial condition and current infrastructure needs pose challenges to its ability to serve additional territory. The City currently faces financial constraints including relatively low general fund revenues and a relatively high debt load. The City has unmet public safety infrastructure needs and faces relatively high demand for police and emergency medical services.

Long Beach: The report recommends that the Long Beach SOI be expanded to include the developed, industrial SOI area located west of Susana Road and north of Victoria Street. Other territory west of Long Beach along the east side of the Alameda Corridor is within the City of Long Beach SOI. Long Beach has greater service capacity and adequacy than the City of Compton in whose SOI the area is currently assigned. Placing the affected area within the City of Long Beach SOI would promote logical boundaries and enhance service levels.

La Habra Heights: The report recommends that the La Habra Heights SOI be expanded to include an unincorporated area between the City and the Los Angeles-Orange County line. La Habra Heights is the only city in Los Angeles County contiguous to the SOI area. Although the street network is more integrated with neighboring La Habra in Orange County, the area is accessible from La Habra Heights along Hacienda Boulevard. The City is the most affluent within the MSR area and faces few financing and service challenges.

5 BURR CONSULTING INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

This report is prepared pursuant to a new legislative requirement that LAFCO conduct a comprehensive review of municipal service delivery and update, as necessary, the spheres of influence of agencies under LAFCO’s jurisdiction not less than every five years. This chapter provides an overview of LAFCO’s history, powers and responsibilities. It explains spheres of influence and the legal and procedural requirements for updating the spheres of influence. It discusses the origins and legal requirements for preparation of the municipal service review (MSR). The chapter explains spheres of influence and the legal and procedural requirements for updating the spheres of influence. Finally, the chapter reviews the process for MSR review, MSR approval and sphere of influence updates.

LAFCO O VERVIEW

After World War II, California experienced dramatic growth in population and economic development. With this boom came a demand for housing, jobs, and public services. To accommodate this demand, the state approved the formation of many new local government agencies, often with little forethought as to the ultimate governance structures in a given region. The lack of coordination and adequate planning led to a multitude of overlapping, inefficient jurisdictional and service boundaries, and the premature conversion of California’s agricultural and open-space lands. Recognizing this problem, in 1959, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Sr. appointed the Commission on Metropolitan Area Problems. The Commission's charge was to study and make recommendations on the "misuse of land resources" and the growing complexity of local governmental jurisdictions. The Commission's recommendations on local governmental reorganization were introduced in the Legislature in 1963, resulting in the creation of Local Agency Formation Commissions operating in each county.

In 1964, the Legislature formed a Local Agency Formation Commission in each county, including Los Angeles, as a regulatory agency with countywide jurisdiction to discourage urban sprawl and encourage the orderly formation and development of local government agencies. Each LAFCO is responsible for coordinating logical and timely changes in local governmental boundaries, including annexations and detachments of territory, incorporations of cities, formations of special districts, and consolidations, mergers, and dissolutions of districts, as well as reviewing ways to reorganize, simplify, and streamline governmental structure. Each LAFCO's efforts are directed toward seeing that services are provided efficiently and economically while agricultural and open- space lands are protected. To better inform itself and the community as it seeks to exercise its charge, LAFCO conducts service reviews to evaluate the provision of municipal services within the county.

Each LAFCO regulates the boundary changes proposed by other public agencies or individuals by approving or disapproving such changes, with or without amendment, wholly, partially or conditionally. Each LAFCO is empowered to initiate updates to the spheres of influence as well as proposals involving the dissolution or consolidation of special districts and the merging of subsidiary districts. Otherwise, LAFCO actions must originate as applications from affected homeowners, developers, cities or districts.

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Los Angeles County LAFCO (hereafter, “LAFCO”) consists of nine regular members: two members from the Board of Supervisors, two city representatives, one City of Los Angeles representative, two special district representatives and two public members (one of which represents the San Fernando Valley Statistical Area). There are six alternates to the regular members. Commissioners are appointed to four-year terms.

Table i-1: Commission Members, 2005 Appointment Source Members Alternative Members Two members from the Board of Supervisor Yvonne Burke Supervisor Don Knabe Supervisors appointed by the Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky Board of Supervisors. Two members representing the 88 Mayor Carol Herrera Judith Mitchell cities in the county. Must be a city City of Diamond Bar City of Rolling Hills Estates officer and appointed by the City Mayor Margaret Finlay Selection Committee. City of Duarte One member from a city Vacant Councilman Grieg Smith representing 30 percent of the City of Los Angeles City of Los Angeles total population of the county who is a member of the legislative body from that city. Two members appointed by the Jerry Gladbach Norm Ryan Independent Special District Castaic Lake Water Agency Water Replenishment District of Selection Committee. Donald Dear Southern California West Basin Municipal Water District One public member from the San James DiGiuseppe Richard Close Fernando Valley statistical area, not a member of the Board of Supervisors, appointed by the Board of Supervisors. One member from the general public Henri F. Pellissier Kenneth Chappell appointed by the other eight Commissioners

M UNICIPAL S ERVICE R EVIEW O RIGINS

The municipal service review requirement was adopted after the Legislature’s consideration of two studies recommending that each LAFCO throughout the State conduct reviews of local agencies. The Little Hoover Commission study focused on the need for oversight and consolidation of special districts, whereas the Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century study focused on the need for regional planning to ensure efficient service delivery as the California population continues to grow.

7 BURR CONSULTING INTRODUCTION

L ITTLE H OOVER C OMMISSION

In May 2000, the Little Hoover Commission1 released a report entitled Special Districts: Relics of the Past or Resources for the Future? This report focused on governance and financial problems among independent special districts, and the barriers to LAFCO’s pursuit of district consolidation and dissolution. The report raised the concern that “the underlying patchwork of special district governments has become unnecessarily redundant, inefficient and unaccountable.”2

The report raised concerns about independent districts with the following problems: • a lack of visibility; • a lack of accountability as evidenced by relatively low voter turnout rates, infrequency of contested elections, and inadequate notice of public meetings; • excessive reserve funds; • questionable receipt of property tax revenue by utility districts; • inadequate financial reporting; • outdated boundaries; and • outdated missions. The report questioned the public benefit provided by health care districts that have sold, leased or closed their hospitals, and asserted that LAFCOs consistently fail to examine whether they should be eliminated. The report pointed to service improvements and cost reductions associated with special district consolidations, but asserted that LAFCOs have generally failed to pursue special district reorganizations.

The report called on the Legislature to increase the oversight of special districts by mandating that LAFCOs identify service duplications and that LAFCOs study reorganization alternatives when service duplications are identified, when a district appears insolvent, when district reserves are excessive, when rate inequities surface, when a district’s mission changes, when a new city incorporates and when service levels are unsatisfactory. To accomplish this, the report recommended that the state strengthen the independence and funding of LAFCOs, require districts to report to their respective LAFCO, and require LAFCOs to study service duplications.

C OMMISSION ON L OCAL G OVERNANCE FOR THE 21ST C ENTURY

The Legislature formed the Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century (“21st Century Commission”) in 1997 to review current statutes on the policies, criteria, procedures and precedents for city, county and special district boundary changes. The 21st Century Commission released its final report Growth Within Bounds: Planning California Governance for the 21st Century in January 2000.3 The report examines the way that government is organized and operates, and establishes a

1 The Little Hoover Commission, formally known as the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy, is an independent state oversight agency that was created in 1962. The Commission's mission is to investigate state government operations and—through reports, recommendations and legislative proposals—promote efficiency, economy and improved service. By statute, the Commission is a balanced bipartisan board composed of five citizen members appointed by the Governor, four citizen members appointed by the Legislature, two Senators and two Assembly members.

2 Little Hoover Commission, 2000, page 12.

3 The Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century ceased to exist on July 1, 2000, pursuant to a statutory sunset provision.

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vision of how the state will grow by “making better use of the often invisible LAFCOs in each county”.

The report points to the projected doubling of California’s population over the first four decades of the 21st Century, and raises concerns that, without a strategy, open spaces will be swallowed up, expensive freeway extensions will be needed, job centers will become farther removed from housing, and this will lead to longer commutes, increased pollution and stressful lifestyles.

The 21st Century Commission recommended that effective, efficient and easily understandable government be encouraged through consolidation of small, inefficient or overlapping providers, transparency of municipal service delivery to the people, and accountability of service providers. The sheer number of special districts, the report asserts, “has provoked controversy, including several legislative attempts to initiate district consolidations”4 but cautions LAFCOs that decisions to consolidate districts should focus on service adequacy, not simply on the number of districts.

Growth Within Bounds cautions that for LAFCOs to achieve their fundamental purposes, they must have a comprehensive knowledge of the services available, service efficiency within various areas of the county, future service needs, and expansion capacity of each service provider. Comprehensive knowledge of water and sanitary providers, the report argued, would promote consolidations of water and sanitary districts, reduce water costs and promote a more comprehensive approach to the use of water resources. Further, the report asserted that many LAFCOs lack such knowledge, and should be required to conduct such a review to ensure that municipal services are logically extended to accommodate growth and development.

The state-mandated municipal service review would require LAFCO to look broadly at all agencies within a geographic region that provide a particular municipal service and to examine consolidation or reorganization of service providers. The 21st Century Commission recommended that the review should include water, wastewater, garbage, and other municipal services that LAFCO judges to be important to future growth. The Commission recommended that the service review be followed by consolidation studies and be performed in conjunction with updates of spheres of influence. The recommendation indicated that service reviews be designed to make nine determinations, each of which was incorporated verbatim in the subsequently adopted legislation.

M UNICIPAL S ERVICE R EVIEW L EGISLATION

The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 requires LAFCO to review municipal services before updating the spheres of influence.5 The requirement for service reviews arises from the identified need for a more coordinated and efficient public service structure, which will support California’s anticipated growth. The service review provides LAFCO with a tool to comprehensively study existing and future public service conditions and to evaluate organizational options for accommodating growth, preventing urban sprawl, and ensuring that critical services are efficiently and cost-effectively provided.-

4 Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century, 2000, page 70.

5 California Government Code §56430(c).

9 BURR CONSULTING INTRODUCTION

Effective January 1, 2001, Government Code Section 56430 requires LAFCO to conduct a review of municipal services provided in the county by region, sub-region or other designated geographic area, as appropriate, for the service or services to be reviewed, and prepare a written statement of determination with respect to each of the following: 1) Infrastructure needs or deficiencies; 2) Growth and population projections for the affected area; 3) Financing constraints and opportunities; 4) Cost avoidance opportunities; 5) Opportunities for rate restructuring; 6) Opportunities for shared facilities; 7) Government structure options, including advantages and disadvantages of consolidation or reorganization of service providers; 8) Evaluation of management efficiencies; and 9) Local accountability and governance. The municipal service review process does not require LAFCO to initiate changes of organization based on service review findings; it only requires that LAFCO make determinations regarding the provision of public services per Government Code Section 56430. However, LAFCO, other local agencies, and the public may subsequently use the determinations to analyze prospective changes of organization or reorganization or to establish or amend spheres of influence

Municipal service reviews are not subject to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because they are only feasibility or planning studies for possible future action, which LAFCO has not approved. (Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 21150) The ultimate outcome of conducting a service review, however, may result in LAFCO taking discretionary action with respect to a recommended change of organization or reorganization. Either LAFCO, if acting on its own, or the local agency that submits a proposal to LAFCO, will be considered the lead agency for purposes of CEQA and must conduct an appropriate environmental review prior to LAFCO taking action.

S PHERE OF I NFLUENCE U PDATES

LAFCO is charged with developing and updating the sphere of influence for each city and special district within the county.6 A sphere of influence is a planning boundary that designates the agency’s probable future boundary and service area. Spheres are planning tools used to provide guidance for individual proposals involving jurisdictional changes, and are intended to encourage efficient provision of organized community services and prevent duplication of service delivery. Territory must be within a city or district's sphere in order to be annexed.

The purpose of the sphere of influence is to ensure the provision of efficient services while discouraging urban sprawl and the premature conversion of agricultural and open space lands by preventing overlapping jurisdictions and duplication of services. LAFCOs cannot tell agencies what their planning goals should be. Rather, on a regional level, LAFCO coordinates the orderly development of a community through reconciling differences between agency plans so that the most

6 The initial statutory mandate, in 1971, imposed no deadline for completing sphere designations. When most LAFCOs failed to act, 1984 legislation required all LAFCOs to establish spheres of influence by 1985.

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efficient urban service arrangements are created for the benefit of area residents and property owners.

The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg (CKH) Act requires LAFCO to develop and determine the sphere of influence of each local governmental agency within the county, and to review and update the SOI every five years. LAFCO is empowered to adopt, update and amend the SOI. It may do so with or without an application, and any party is allowed to submit an application proposing a SOI amendment.7

LAFCO may recommend government reorganizations to particular agencies in the county, using the SOIs as the basis for those recommendations. In determining the SOI, LAFCO must make determinations on four additional topics: 1) present and planned land uses in the area, including agricultural and open-space lands; 2) present and probable need for public facilities and services in the area; 3) present capacity of public facilities and adequacy of public service that the agency provides or is authorized to provide; and 4) existence of any social or economic communities of interest in the area if LAFCO determines that they are relevant to the agency. CKH stipulates several procedural requirements in updating SOIs. The CKH Act requires that special districts file written statements on the class of services provided, and that LAFCO clearly establish the location, nature and extent of services provided by special districts.8 LAFCO must notify affected agencies 21 days before holding the public hearing to consider the SOI, and may not update the SOI until after that hearing.9

M UNICIPAL S ERVICE R EVIEW P ROCESS

LAFCO is charged with preparing municipal service reviews and updating the spheres of influence of 180 local agencies. Given the enormity of this task, the Executive Officer has divided the county into the following nine geographic areas for which MSRs are being prepared: 1) Catalina Island 6) East San Gabriel Valley 2) High Desert 7) South Bay 3) Las Virgenes 8) Gateway 4) Santa Clara 9) Los Angeles 5) West San Gabriel Valley LAFCO has determined that certain special districts (cemetery, community services, garbage disposal, health care, library, recreation and park, resource conservation and mosquito abatement) are subject to sphere of influence reviews and updates, but are not considered providers of

7 If a city submits an application for a SOI amendment, it must first negotiate the boundaries, development standards, and zoning requirements within the annexable sphere area with county representatives. If an agreement is negotiated, LAFCO must give it great weight in making its final determination.

8 In conducting the MSRs, the Commission has required written statements entitled Requests for Information on the nature of services from all agencies including special districts.

9 The Commission may update the SOI at a Commission meeting held on the same day as the public hearing.

11 BURR CONSULTING INTRODUCTION

“backbone” municipal services. These special districts are subject to abbreviated municipal service reviews and sphere of influence updates, which are not part of this report.

The MSR process involves the following steps: 1) Draft Municipal Service Review. During this step, LAFCO has sent questionnaires (Requests for Information) to the agencies about their delivery of municipal services. LAFCO prepares the draft municipal service review report, and submits that report to the affected agencies for review. During the 30-day review period, LAFCO invites the agencies to discuss their comments and related policy options with the Executive Officer. After receiving the agencies’ comments and holding a public workshop, LAFCO makes report revisions and releases the final municipal service review report. 2) Final Municipal Service Review: At a duly noticed public hearing, LAFCO may consider the nine written determinations regarding the municipal service review or may request revisions or additional analysis be conducted for the MSR. In the latter case, the report will be revised and resubmitted to LAFCO at the next meeting. 3) Sphere of Influence Update: After making the nine written determinations, LAFCO may proceed to update the sphere of influence of the agencies covered in the particular municipal service review report. Affected agencies must be notified 21 days in advance of this hearing.

C AVEATS

This municipal service review report includes analysis of service delivery providers and policy options for LAFCO to consider as it makes its determinations with respect to municipal service reviews and sphere of influence updates. The decision whether or not to approve or disapprove any policy options, with or without amendment, wholly, partially or conditionally, rests entirely with LAFCO. This report is not a substitute for those discretionary decisions yet to be made by LAFCO.

This report and the policy options herein are subject to revision as may be directed by LAFCO during the course of its deliberations.

BURR CONSULTING 12 GATEWAY MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

CHAPTER 1: MSR AREA

This chapter provides an overview of the MSR area covered in this report, municipal service providers, and growth and population projections. For overviews of each local agency, please refer to Appendix A.

A REA O VERVIEW

The Gateway area is a densely developed urban area just southeast of the City of Los Angeles. The area includes the southeastern portion of the Los Angeles River watershed, as well as western portions of the San Gabriel River watershed.

The Gabrieleños occupied the area for over 6,000 years before the Spanish claimed the land. In 1782, the Spanish Governor of California gave a land grant to Juan Jose Dominguez that included 75,000 acres and was named Rancho San Pedro. The Rancho San Pedro includes most of the Gateway area. During the Rancho Era, the cattle hide trade was the major economic resource until the 1860’s when a drought destroyed the herds. The area grew significantly during the World War II Era as a result of the increased manufacturing for the military. The area became the center of aerospace and defense manufacturing during the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. Today, the area is urbanized and is largely a built-out community with diverse land uses. Although the area still serves as a major center of industrial activity, it has recently experienced a decline in manufacturing and a surge in the warehousing and transportation sector. The area currently serves as the “gateway” for goods being shipped through the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the nation’s largest port complex.

The MSR area includes cities along the Long Beach Freeway, including Long Beach, Carson, Compton, Paramount, Lynwood, South Gate, Huntington Park, Cudahy, Bell Gardens, Bell, Maywood, Commerce, and Vernon. The northern portion includes the cities of Pico Rivera, Whittier and La Habra Heights. The area also includes the cities of La Mirada, Cerritos, Lakewood, and Hawaiian Gardens, which border Orange County to the east. The central portion of the area includes the cities of Downey, Santa Fe Springs, Bellflower, Norwalk, and Artesia. The City of Signal Hill is completely surrounded by the City of Long Beach. In addition to the 26 cities, the Gateway area includes the unincorporated areas of West Carson, West Compton, Willowbrook, East Compton, Florence-Graham, Walnut Park, East Los Angeles, West Whittier-Los Nietos, South Whittier, and East La Mirada.

Visitor attractions in the area include the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach Marina, the historic Rancho Los Alamitos, the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, the Cerritos Center of Performing Arts, the Downey Museum of Art, the Downey Civic Theater, the world’s oldest McDonalds restaurant, casinos, and a number of golf courses.

The economic base in the Gateway MSR area is diverse. Major employers include the Port of Long Beach, Boeing, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Northrup Corporation, Nissan Motor Corporation, in addition to a large number of medical centers.

The transportation infrastructure serving the MSR area includes commercial rail, passenger rail,

13 BURR CONSULTING MSR AREA

the Port of Long Beach, Long Beach and Compton airports, and five major freeways: the San Diego Freeway (I-450), the Long Beach Freeway (I-710), the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5), the Artesia Freeway (91), and the Glenn Anderson Freeway (I-105).

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Figure 1-1: Gateway Area Map

CO

60 VERNON COMMERCE

MAYWOOD PICO RIVERA HUNTINGTON CO PARK BELL CO BELL CO GARDENS WHITTIER CUDAHY LA HABRA HEIGHTS

SANTA FE 110 SOUTH GATE CO DOWNEY SPRINGS CO 5 LYNWOOD

CO NORWALK 605 LA MIRADA PARAMOUNT COMPTON

BELLFLOWER 91 CERRITOS

710 ARTESIA CO LAKEWOOD

CARSON HAWAIIAN GARDENS CO

SIGNAL HILL 405

LONG BEACH

CO

Gateway MSR Area Legend Spheres of Influence Sphere of Influence LAFCO Local Agency Formation Commission City Boundaries 1:195,000 for MSR area Miles Los Angeles County 0361.5 D:\GIS\mxd\msr\gateway_soi.mxd November 29, 2005

15 BURR CONSULTING MSR AREA

M UNICIPAL S ERVICES

There are 52 municipal service providers in the MSR area that are local government agencies under LAFCO’s jurisdiction. These providers include the cities, the Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County (CFPD), nine County Sanitation Districts, five water districts, and a variety of miscellaneous districts. There are various private providers of street maintenance, park maintenance, and solid waste collection services, in addition to public providers that are not under LAFCO’s jurisdiction.

Municipal services are provided to the 26 cities and the unincorporated communities under different service configurations. Police: Ten cities are served by their own police departments, 14 cities contract with the County Sheriff for service, and two cities contract with neighboring cities for police services. Fire and Paramedic: Six cities are served by their own fire departments and twenty cities are served by the CFPD. Hospitals: There are general acute care hospitals in 10 of the cities. Water Retail: Eight cities provide retail water service directly, 10 cities are served by private water companies, seven cities are served by a combination of public and private purveyors, and one city is served by a county water district. Wastewater Treatment and Disposal: All of the cities are served by County Sanitation Districts, with seven of those cities relying in part on private septic systems. One city also relies on an Orange County Sanitation District for service to a small area. Wastewater Collection: Nine cities maintain their own collection systems, 13 cities rely on the Consolidated Sewer Maintenance District, two cities contract with Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, one provides direct maintenance and contracts with the County, and one receives private wastewater collection maintenance services. Stormwater: 11 cities maintain their local storm drains directly or in conjunction with LA County DPW or a private service provider, 13 cities contract with the County Department of Public Works (DPW) for catch basin maintenance and other services, and two cities contract with private stormwater maintenance providers. All of the cities rely on the Los Angeles County Flood Control District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for regional flood control facilities. Solid Waste: Two cities provide solid waste collection services directly, and 24 cities contract with various agencies for solid waste collection. Residential recycling is provided by 24 cities and commercial recycling is provided by 25 cities. Street Maintenance: 24 cities provide street maintenance services directly or in conjunction with LA County DPW or private contractors, one city contracts with a private provider for street maintenance services, and one city receives services from LA County DPW. Street Lighting: 12 cities provide street lighting services directly or in conjunction with Southern California Edison (SCE), seven cities rely on SCE for service, four cities rely on the County, two rely on a private provider, and one relies on a neighboring city. Park Maintenance: 22 cities provide park maintenance services directly, three cities rely entirely on private service providers, and one city does not have any parks. Recreation: 25 cities provide recreation services directly, and one city does not provide recreation services. BURR CONSULTING 16 GATEWAY MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

Library: Seven cities provide library services directly, 18 cities rely on Los Angeles County for library services, and one city relies on Orange County for library services. Transit: 23 cities provide transit services directly or in conjunction with neighboring cities and private providers, two rely on neighboring cities for service, and one uses a private provider. Land Use: 24 cities provide land use and planning services directly and two cities rely on private consultants.

17 BURR CONSULTING MSR AREA

Table 1-2: Gateway service providers Artesia Bell Bell Gardens Bellflower Carson Public Safety Police LA Sheriff Direct Direct LA Sheriff LA Sheriff Fire & Paramedic CFPD CFPD CFPD CFPD CFPD Ambulance AMRAMRAMRAMRAMR, Hospital None None None Hospital None Utilities Mutual Water Co., Tract 180 Bellfower Somerset Mutual, Mutual Water Co., Tract 349 Park Water, Peerless Water, Park Water Co., So. Cal Mutual Water Co., CA Water County Water Co., Bellflower So. Cal. Water, CA Water Water Retailers Water, and County Water Co. Service So. Cal. Water Co. Home Garden Service Wastewater Collection LACCSMD LA County DPW LACCSMD LACCSMD LACCSMD Wastewater Treatment CSDs 2, 3, 19 CSDs 1, 2 CSD 2 CSD 2 CSD 8 Wastewater Disposal CSDs 2, 3, 19 CSDs 1, 2 CSD 2 CSD 2 CSD 8 Service, High Waste Disposal Consolidated Disposal Solid Waste (recycling) Services Norcal Waste Services, Inc. Cal-Met Waste Management Public Works Stormwater Maintenance LACDPW LACDPW LACDPW Direct LACDPW Street Maintenance Direct, Private Private Direct Direct Direct, Private Street Lighting SCE LA County LA County Direct LA County Other Services Park Maintenance Direct Private Direct Direct Direct Recreation Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Library LA County LA County LA County LA County LA County Direct, Long Beach, MTA, Transit Direct, Norwalk Transit Old Timers Foundation Direct Norwalk Transit Direct, MTA Land Use Direct D and J Engineering Direct Direct Direct

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Cerritos Commerce Compton Cudahy Downey Public Safety Police LA Sheriff LA Sheriff LA Sheriff Maywood PD Direct Fire & Paramedic CFPD CFPD Direct CFPD Direct Ambulance AMR AMR Direct AMR Direct Hospital None None None None Downey Regional Med. Ctr. Utilities Utilities

So Cal Water, Tract 180 Mutual Water Co., Tract 349 Water Retailers Direct CA Water Direct Mutual Water Co. Direct Wastewater Collection Direct LACCSMD Direct LACCSMD Direct Wastewater Treatment CDSs 2, 3, 18, 19 CSD 2 CSD 1, 8 CSD 1, 2 CSD 2, 18 Wastewater Disposal CDSs 2, 3, 18, 19 CSD 2 CSD 1, 8 CSD 1, 2 CSD 2, 18 Solid Waste Cal-Met Cal-Met Hub City Disposal Consolidated Disposal Cal-Met Public Works Stormwater Maintenance Private LACDPW Direct Direct Direct Street Maintenance Direct Private Direct Direct, Private Direct, Private Street Lighting SCE SCE Direct, SCE Direct, SCE Direct, SCE Other Services Park Maintenance Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Recreation Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Library Direct Direct LA County LA County Direct Direct, Private, Norwalk Transit Transit Direct Direct, Gardena, MTA Direct Direct, MTA Land Use Direct Direct Direct D & J Engineering, Inc. Direct

19 BURR CONSULTING MSR AREA

Hawaiian Gardens Huntington Park La Habra Heights La Mirada Lakewood Public Safety Police LA Sheriff Direct LA Sheriff LA Sheriff LA Sheriff Fire & Paramedic CFPD CFPD Direct CFPD CFPD Ambulance AMR AMR AMR AMR AMR Community and Mission Lakewood Regional Hospital Tri-City Regional Med. Ctr. Hospital None None Med. Ctr. Utilities

Direct, So Cal Water, La Habra Heights County Suburban Water Systems, So. Water Retailers So. Cal. Water Maywood Mutual Water Co. Water District Cal. Water Direct Wastewater Collection LACCSMD Direct, LA County DPW LACCSMD LACCSMD LACCSMD Wastewater Treatment CSD 19 CSD 1 CSD 18, septic CSD 18 CSD 3, 19 Wastewater Disposal CSD 19 CSD 1 CSD 18, septic CSD 18 CSD 3, 19 Waste Management (Residential) and Consolidated Disposal BZ Disposal Services, Solid Waste Consolidated Disposal (Commercial) Private Consolidated Disposal Inc. Public Works Stormwater Maintenance LADPW ECO Resources LADPW LADPW Direct, LADPW Direct, LA County DPW, Private, LA County Street Maintenance Direct Direct LA County DPW Private DPW Street Lighting SCE Direct, SCE Santa Fe Springs SCE Direct, SCE Other Services Park Maintenance Direct Direct Private Direct Direct Recreation Direct Direct None Direct Direct Library LA County LA County Orange County LA County LA County Direct, Long Beach Transit, City of Whittier, MTA, and Norwalk Transit, Whittier Long Beach, MTA, and Transit MTA, and OCTA Direct, MTA OCTA Transit, MTA OCTA Land Use Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct

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Long Beach Lynwood Maywood Norwalk Paramount Pico Rivera Santa Fe Springs Public Safety Police Direct LA Sheriff Direct LA Sheriff LA Sheriff LA Sheriff Whittier PD Fire & Paramedic Direct CFPD CFPD CFPD CFPD CFPD Direct Ambulance Direct AMR AMR AMR AMR AMR AMR Memorial Med. Ctr., St. Francis Med. Norwalk Community Hospital Pacific Hospital, St. Ctr. None Hospital Suburban Med. Ctr. None None Utilities Direct, San Gabriel Valley Direct, Cerritos, Santa Water Co., So Cal Water, Fe Springs, Park Park Water, Suburban Mutual Water Co. Water Co., So. Cal. Direct, Pico County Water, Orchard Dale Water Retailers Direct Direct 1, 2, and 3 Water Direct Water District County Water District Wastewater Collection Direct Direct Direct Private LACCSMD LACCSMD LACCSMD Wastewater Treatment CSD 3, 8, 19 CSD 1 CSD 1 CSD 2, 18 CSD 2 CSD 2, 18 CSD 18 Wastewater Disposal CSD 3, 8, 19 CSD 1 CSD 1 CSD 2, 18 CSD 2 CSD 2, 18 CSD 18 Consolidated Consolidated Disposal, Consolidated Disposal, Jackson Jackson Disposal, Serv-Wel Solid Waste Direct Waste Management Disposal Disposal Cal-Met Cal-Met Disposal Public Works

LA County, Private Stormwater Maintenance Direct, LADPW LADPW and Direct Direct LADPW LA County and Direct LA County

Street Maintenance Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct

Street Lighting City Light and Power Direct, SCE Private SCE, Direct LA County SCE Direct Other Services Park Maintenance Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Private Recreation Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Library Direct LA County LA County LA County LA County LA County Direct Direct, Private, Direct, Long Beach Montebello Bus Line, Transit Direct, MTA Direct, MTA Direct, MTA Direct Transit, MTA MTA Direct/Norwalk, MTA Land Use Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct

21 BURR CONSULTING MSR AREA

Signal Hill South Gate Vernon Whittier Public Safety Police Direct Direct Direct Direct Fire & Paramedic CFPD CFPD Direct CFPD Ambulance AMR AMR AMR AMR Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital, Whittier Hospital Hospital None None None Med. Ctr. Utilities Direct, Suburban Water Direct, CA Water, Systems, San Gabriel Valley Water Retailers Direct Direct, So Cal Water Maywood Mutual Water Co. Wastewater Collection LA County DPW Direct Direct Direct Wastewater Treatment CSD 29 CSD 1, 2 CSD 1, 2, 23 CSD 18, 2 Wastewater Disposal CSD 29 CSD 1, 2 CSD 1, 2, 23 CSD 18, 2 OK Environmental Consolidated Disposal, Waste Solid Waste SH Disposal, EDCO Klistoff and Sons, Inc. Waste Services Management Public Works Stormwater Maintenance LA County Direct and Private Direct LA County Street Maintenance Direct, Private Direct Direct, Private Direct Street Lighting SCE Direct Direct Direct, SCE Other Services Park Maintenance Direct Direct None Direct Recreation Direct Direct None Direct Library Direct LA County LA County Direct Direct, Southland Transit, Transit Direct, Long Beach Direct Direct, MTA MTA Land Use Direct Direct Direct Direct B URR CONSULTING 22 GATEWAY MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

G ROWTH AND P OPULATION P ROJECTIONS

This section reviews the residential and commercial populations, the jobs-housing balance, projected growth and growth areas.

Residents Table 1-3: Residential Population by Place, 2000 The 2000 Census enumerated 1,752,895 Total MSR Area 2,125,087 residents in the incorporated cities and 372,192 in Cities 1,752,895 the unincorporated areas. 1 Long Beach 463,406 2 Downey 107,821 Long Beach, Downey and Norwalk are the 3 Norwalk 103,716 largest residential communities in the MSR area. 4 South Gate 96,772 Long Beach had 463,406 residents, Downey had 5 Compton 93,873 107,821 residents, and Alhambra had 103,716 6 Carson 90,526 residents, according to the 2000 Census. Vernon 7 Whittier 83,997 and La Habra Heights have the smallest residential 8 Lakewood 79,669 populations among the cities. 9 Bellflower 73,187 10 Lynwood 70,161 Unincorporated areas in the MSR area include 11 Pico Rivera 63,686 East Los Angeles, Florence-Graham, South 12 Huntington Park 61,597 Whittier, Willowbrook, West Whittier-Los Nietos, 13 Paramount 55,493 West Carson, Walnut Park, East La Mirada, East 14 Cerritos 51,705 Compton, and West Compton CDPs as well as 15 La Mirada 46,967 other unincorporated areas. East Los Angeles is the 16 Bell Gardens 44,230 largest unincorporated community in the MSR area 17 Bell 36,811 with 124,366 residents in 2000. 18 Maywood 28,200 19 Cudahy 24,388 Residents’ average income levels in the MSR 20 Santa Fe Springs 17,501 area as a whole are 26 percent lower than income 21 Artesia 16,462 levels countywide. However, the cities vary 22 Hawaiian Gardens 14,844 significantly in residential income levels. La Habra 23 Commerce 12,623 Heights, Cerritos, Signal Hill, and La Mirada 24 Signal Hill 9,425 residents enjoy the highest income levels in the 25 La Habra Heights 5,744 area. In Lakewood and Whittier, residents’ incomes 26 Vernon 91 are above-average. Residents in Bell Gardens, Unincorporated Areas 372,192 Cudahy, Maywood, Huntington Park, Lynwood, 1 East Los Angeles CDP 124,366 and in the unincorporated communities of East 2 Florence-Graham CDP 60,132 Los Angeles and Florence-Graham have the lowest 3 South Whittier CDP 55,047 income levels in the MSR area. 4 Willowbrook CDP 34,138 5 West Whittier-Los Nietos CDP 25,149 Population density tends to be lower in 6 West Carson CDP 21,138 communities where residents’ incomes are higher 7 Walnut Park CDP 16,180 and where there is a greater amount of open space. 8 East La Mirada CDP 9,538 Population density is highest in Maywood, Cudahy, 9 East Compton CDP 9,080 Huntington Park, and unincorporated Walnut Park. 10 West Compton CDP 5,418 11 Other Unincorporated 12,006

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Residential Growth Rates Figure 1-4: Annual Population Growth Rates, 2005-25 In the short-term (2005- 2010) and long-term (2005- Whittier 2005-10 2005-25 2020), growth in the MSR Vernon area population is projected South Gate to occur at a slower rate than Signal Hill countywide growth. Santa Fe Springs Pico Rivera A comparison of short- Paramount term and long-term annual Norwalk population growth by city is Maywood provided in Figure 1-4. Lynwood Within the MSR area, SCAG Long Beach projects the fastest growth to Lakewood occur in La Habra Heights, La Mirada La Mirada and South Gate. La Habra Heights Minimal growth is anticipated Huntington Park in Cerritos, Artesia, Hawaiian Gardens Lakewood, and Vernon. Downey Cudahy As a result of short-term Compton growth, Carson is expected to Commerce become larger than Compton Cerritos within the next few years. By Carson 2020, South Gate is expected Bellflower to become the second largest Bell Gardens city in the Gateway area. Bell Artesia In the long term, SCAG Unincorporated expects the pace of growth in MSR Area Total most of the MSR area to LA County increase. 0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% Although most of the cities did not dispute the SCAG growth projections, the cities of Downey, La Mirada and La Habra Heights consider the SCAG projections unlikely because the affected areas are already built out. The City of Downey expects annual short-term growth to be 0.4 percent lower than SCAG growth projections and long- term growth to be 0.2 percent lower. La Mirada expects long-term growth to be 0.4 percent lower than the long-term SCAG projection. La Habra Heights expects slower growth than projected by SCAG; the City has only 200 remaining vacant parcels but SCAG projects another 841 households will be added by 2025.

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Jobs Figure 1-5: Job Growth 2005-2025 Between the years 2005 and 2025, SCAG Unincorporated projects that 184,235 Whittier jobs will be created in Vernon the Gateway area.10 South Gate Signal Hill SCAG projects a Santa Fe Springs slightly lower rate of job Pico Rivera creation will occur in the Paramount Gateway MSR area than Norwalk countywide. Maywood Lynwood A comparison of Long Beach projected job growth by Lakewood city is provided in La Mirada Figure 1-5. The number La Habra Heights of jobs created is Huntington Park projected at 45,872 for Hawaiian Gardens Long Beach, 20,153 for Downey unincorporated areas, Cudahy 14,765 in Vernon, and Compton 14,193 in Carson. Commerce Cerritos The pace of job Carson creation, or in other Bellflower words the job growth Bell Gardens rate, is projected to be Bell fastest in Bell, Signal Artesia Hill, Maywood, Cudahy, MSR Area Total and Vernon. LA County

Job creation is 0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5% projected to occur most slowly in La Habra Heights, Downey, Santa Fe Springs, and Hawaiian Gardens.

Jobs-Housing Balance The jobs-housing balance in the MSR area is greater than the countywide jobs-housing balance. However, the number of jobs per housing unit is expected to grow in the MSR area and to decline countywide.

Vernon, Santa Fe Springs and Commerce had the highest ratio of jobs to housing units among the communities in the MSR area in the year 2000. These three communities are primarily industrial and commercial areas. In Vernon, there were 1,678 jobs per housing unit in 2000; whereas, there

10 SCAG job estimates include public sector employees, self-employed persons, and household workers, such as housekeepers.

25 BURR CONSULTING MSR AREA

were 1.4 jobs per housing unit in the MSR area as a whole. In Commerce there were 17 jobs per housing unit in 2000 and in Santa Fe Springs there were 13 jobs per housing unit. Employment in the City of Bell is expected to grow at a rate three times that of the residential population, converting the City from a bedroom community to a center for employment in the long term.

Lakewood, La Habra Heights, Cudahy, and Maywood are bedroom communities with a relatively low ratio of jobs to housing units. SCAG growth projections indicate job growth in the La Habra Heights, unincorporated areas, South Gate, and Santa Fe Springs is not expected to keep pace with population growth; hence, the areas are expected to increasingly become bedroom communities in the long-term.

24-Hour Population Table 1-6: Population Measures, 2005 In addition to residential Agency/Area Residents Jobs 24-Hour population and jobs, this report LA County 10,193,317 4,503,683 10,193,317 makes use of a concept called the 24- MSR Area 2,253,059 889,387 2,173,031 hour population in order to draw Unincorporated 409,210 101,058 349,049 meaningful per capita comparisons. Artesia 17,094 4,840 15,048 Bell 38,626 9,732 33,093 The cities and communities in Bell Gardens 46,355 10,643 38,933 this study vary significantly in the Bellflower 77,151 17,987 65,004 relative size of their respective Carson 95,856 59,739 108,974 commercial populations. Car Cerritos 54,433 30,599 59,374 accidents and crimes happen not only Commerce 13,204 57,872 52,464 to residents, but also to businesses, Compton 97,137 32,709 89,435 workers, and commuters. Not only Cudahy 25,953 3,909 20,251 residents, but also businesses require Downey 112,635 55,627 117,057 water, wastewater, and stormwater services. Hawaiian Gardens 15,806 4,244 13,739 Huntington Park 65,163 17,612 56,729 In order to draw meaningful La Habra Heights 6,284 425 4,510 comparisons across agencies, and La Mirada 50,486 17,033 46,508 specifically to include cities like Lakewood 82,872 14,690 66,331 Vernon, Commerce, and Santa Fe Long Beach 489,528 192,568 471,634 Springs, the 24-hour population Lynwood 73,544 14,561 60,015 metric was developed for each of the Maywood 29,368 4,747 23,160 communities.11 The metric is based Norwalk 109,673 23,793 91,066 on the number of residents and jobs Paramount 57,529 19,447 53,024 in a community, but is calculated Pico Rivera 66,534 23,082 61,770 taking into consideration that Santa Fe Springs 17,547 60,832 57,592 workers spend less time in the Signal Hill 10,388 11,373 15,506 jurisdiction than do residents. South Gate 103,516 25,531 88,272 Because the metric is used only as a Vernon 94 42,436 32,078 denominator for purposes of Whittier 87,073 32,298 82,416 developing comparable per capita

11 The 24-hour population is calculated as the sum of a) 2/3 of the residential population, and b) 1/3 of the product of the commercial population multiplied by the countywide ratio of residents to jobs.

BURR CONSULTING 26 GATEWAY MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

indicators, it must simply be effective at measuring differences between communities in the population served. Hence, for convenience, the metric is calculated by normalizing countywide 24- hour population to the countywide residential population.

Table 1-6 provides the three population measures—residents, jobs, and 24-hour population. For communities like Long Beach, Whittier and Downey with an (nearly) average balance of jobs and residents, the metric is not substantially different from the residential population. But for communities like Vernon, Commerce and Santa Fe Springs, the metric is closer to the daytime population for this community than to the residential population. Similarly, for a bedroom community like La Habra Heights, the metric is lower than the residential population, reflecting the reality that most working La Habra Heights residents are not in La Habra Heights much of the time.

27 BURR CONSULTING MSR AREA

Growth Areas and Constraints Table 1-7: Growth Areas and Growth Constraints Growth Areas/Opportunities Growth City Residential Commercial/Industrial Constraint(s) Redevelopment and infill of Commercial development on Lack of vacant land, industrial noise Artesia underutilized and vacant land vacant land and environmental impacts Infill of vacant and underutilized property, mixed use, and development of second units on Warehousing and logistics Lack of vacant land, industrial Bell large lots expansion traffic flows Mixed use in City Center, mobile Lack of developable vacant land, homes, rehabilitation of older Redevelopment in the City degraded water distribution system, Bell Gardens housing stock, infill development Center soil contaminants Commercial and office Lack of developable vacant land, Development of vacant land, development along Artesia community preference for low- Bellflower mixed use along corridor Boulevard density development Development of vacant and Infill development of vacant land underutilized land, industrial including Cambria Pines and development at Dominguez Lack of vacant land, soil Monterrey Pines neighborhoods to Technology Center, commercial contaminants, air quality and noise the south and Dominguez Hills and entertainment development levels along the 405 and Alameda Carson Village to the north in Town Center corridor. Manufacturing/office Mixed density residential developments at Cerritos Lack of vacant land (less than one development near Cerritos Industrial Park, expanded percent), preservation of low Cerritos Industrial Park commercial at Cerritos Auto Mall density community preferences Commercial development at former industrial sites, Infill development and increased warehousing and logistics Lack of vacant land; decline in Commerce density residential expansion manufacturing; industrial irritants Lack of vacant land, community Retail and commercial preference for low density, Redevelopment and recycling of development in CBD, deteriorating infrastructure unable existing land use to higher density, warehousing and logistics to accommodate dense Compton mixed use expansion development, industrial irritants Regional commercial Redevelopment of underutilized development in former industrial Lack of vacant land, industrial Cudahy and vacant land to high density area, new civic center traffic flows Commercial development along Infill of vacant and underutilized Firestone Boulevard and mixed property, recycling of commercial use development in Downtown, Lack of vacant land and community uses, mixed use and development Downey Landing and around preference for low density Downey of second units on large lots Green Line Metro station residential Redevelopment of underutilized Lack of vacant developable land, commercial along Norwalk community preferences for low Infill of underutilized property in Boulevard, commercial and density residential, proximity of the southwest, mixed use along entertainment development industrial activities to residential Hawaiian Gardens commercial corridors linked to the Casino areas Regional commercial Infill of underutilized land in development in northwest, central business district, senior commercial development in Lack of vacant land, industrial Huntington Park housing unit growth central business district traffic flows continued

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Growth Areas/Opportunities Growth City Residential Commercial/Industrial Constraint(s) Community preference for low density residential, safety and conservation issues related to La Habra Heights Infill development None topography Commercial expansion along Lack of vacant land, community Infill development of underutilized Interstate 5 and Imperial preference for low density La Mirada land Highway corridors neighborhoods Infill development of underutilized Lack of vacant land, community land, increased density in eastern Redevelopment of underutilized preference for low density Lakewood portion of City commercial and industrial land residential in some areas Infill development, high density Lack of vacant land, community development surrounding preferences for low density in downtown, conversion of old Port and airport growth, eastern areas, historic preservation, commercial strips to residential downtown shoreline industrial noise and environmental Long Beach use development, Alamitos Bay retail impacts Commercial development at Infill development of underutilized Plaza Mexico and along Long Community preference for low land, splitting of large single family Beach Boulevard and Atlantic density residential, industrial traffic Lynwood lots Avenue corridors flows Lack of vacant land, community Infill of underutilized land, mixed preference for low density use in Town Center, senior Town Center development, West residential, infrastructure needs, Maywood housing development Side industrial development adjacent industrial areas Entertainment and office use in City Center; commercial, light Lack of developable vacant land, Infill of underutilized land, mixed industrial and residential along community preference for low- Norwalk use development Firestone Boulevard density development Infill development of vacant and underutilized land, second unit Warehousing and logistics Lack of vacant land, industrial noise Paramount development expansion and environmental impacts Alternative commercial and/or Lack of vacant land, community industrial developments at preferences for low density Infill development of vacant and Northrup site, warehousing and neighborhoods, industrial noise and Pico Rivera underutilized land logistics expansion environmental impacts Community preferences for low Development of oil fields, density in existing residential areas, Infill development of vacant land, warehousing and logistics industrial noise and environmental Santa Fe Springs subdivision of oil fields expansion impacts

Soil contaminants and lack of Neighborhood commercial, light infrastructure on former oil fields, Development of vacant oil fields, industrial business park topological constraints along Signal Hill mixed use development on former oil fields hillsides, historic home preservation

Mixed use commercial/industrial, Community preferences for low Mixed use development, recycling expansion of commercial along density residential, preservation of South Gate of underutilized properties major corridors industrial areas Environmental constraints as a Brownfields development, result of proliferation of industrial Vernon None warehousing/logistics expansion activity Conservation efforts, topography, Mixed use development in Commercial developments in historic preservation, community Uptown and along Whittier Uptown and along Whittier preferences for low density Whittier Boulevard Boulevard residential

29 BURR CONSULTING PUBLIC SAFETY

CHAPTER 2: PUBLIC SAFETY

This chapter discusses the provision of public safety services—police, fire and paramedic—in the Gateway area. The section is designed to address questions relating to the efficiency and adequacy of services, the adequacy of infrastructure, and opportunities for sharing facilities and reducing costs. The chapter provides first an overview of the service configuration, a description of the level and type of workload, service quality indicators, facility descriptions, explanation of current and potential regional collaboration between service providers, a discussion of service delivery challenges, and an analysis of potential policy alternatives relevant to the particular service.

P OLICE S ERVICE

Ten cities in the MSR area staff independent police departments, 14 cities contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff for service, and two contract policing services from neighboring cities.

For the Sheriff contract cities, the Sheriff provides patrol and criminal investigations as well as dispatch, SWAT, canine services, and temporary holding of arrestees.

The Sheriff’s service area includes the 14 contract cities—Artesia, Bellflower, Carson, Cerritos, Commerce, Compton, Hawaiian Gardens, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, Lakewood, Lynwood, Norwalk, Paramount, and Pico Rivera—as well as the unincorporated areas. In addition to the unincorporated areas of West Whittier-Los Nietos, South Whittier, East La Mirada, Willowbrook, West Compton, East Compton, West Carson, Florence-Graham, Walnut Park, and East Los Angeles, the Sheriff serves the unincorporated areas south and east of the City of Compton and the Puente Hills area north of Whittier.

There are 10 cities in the MSR area providing police services directly. In addition to law enforcement and criminal investigations, the city police departments provide various kinds of services including dispatch, SWAT, canine services, and temporary holding of arrestees.

Two cities, Santa Fe Springs and Cudahy, receive police services from neighboring cities. The City of Whittier provides policing services for the City of Santa Fe Springs and the City of Maywood provides services for the City of Cudahy.

All of the direct service providers provide dispatch services directly; for other police services, some of the direct providers use various regional service providers, as depicted in Table 2-2. All of the direct service providers rely on the Sheriff for search and rescue services, except for the City of Downey, which uses the Downey Fire Department.

The Sheriff provides regional police services in the MSR area, with bomb squad services provided to all of the cities in the MSR area, and canine services, long term holding, crime lab, SWAT, search and rescue, and academy training for a majority of cities. The cities of Downey, Bell and Whittier contract with Correctional Systems, Inc. (CSI) to operate their temporary holding facilities. Regional training providers for agencies in the MSR area include the Orange County Sheriff's Academy, the Criminal Justice Training Center at Golden West College, and the Rio Hondo Police Academy, which is associated with the Rio Hondo Community College. The City of Lakewood provides air support to a number of other law enforcement agencies under contract service arrangements.

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Figure 2-1: Public Safety Facilities Map

CO

INDUSTRY VERNON COMMERCE MAYWOOD PICO RIVERA CO

HUNTINGTON PARK CO BELL CO CO WHITTIER CUDAHY 605 BELL LA HABRA HEIGHTS GARDENS

SOUTH GATE DOWNEY

SANTA FE SPRINGS CO

LYNWOOD 5 LA MIRADA NORWALK CO CO CO

PARAMOUNT BELLFLOWER COMPTON CO CERRITOS 91 ARTESIA

LAKEWOOD

405

CARSON CO HAWAIIAN GARDENS CO

SIGNAL HILL

LOS ANGELES LONG BEACH

CO

Fire Stations Gateway MSR Area Police / Sheriff Stations Sheriff Satellite Station Public Safety Facilities Hospitals 1:185,000 LAFCO Miles MSR Boundary 02.551.25 November 29, 2005

31 BURR CONSULTING PUBLIC SAFETY

Table 2-2: Police Service Configuration

Search & Canine Temporary Service Area Patrol Dispatch Training SWAT Air Support Rescue Services Holding Artesia Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Lakewood Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Bell Direct Direct Sheriff Sheriff NP Sheriff Direct Direct/CSI Bell Gardens Direct Direct Sheriff Sheriff NP Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Bellflower Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Lakewood Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Carson Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Cerritos Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Lakewood Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Commerce Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Compton Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Cudahy Maywood PD Maywood PD Sheriff Sheriff NP Sheriff Sheriff Maywood PD Downey Direct Direct Direct Sheriff NP Downey FD Sheriff Direct/CSI Hawaiian Gardens Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Huntington Park Direct Direct Rio Hondo College Direct NP Sheriff Direct Direct La Habra Heights Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Lakewood Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Direct Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff La Mirada Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Long Beach Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Lynwood Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Maywood Direct Direct Sheriff Sheriff NP Sheriff Sheriff Direct Norwalk Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Paramount Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Lakewood Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Pico Rivera Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Santa Fe Springs Whittier PD Whittier PD Rio Hondo College Sheriff NP Sheriff Direct Whittier PD Signal Hill Direct Direct Sheriff Sheriff NP Sheriff Sheriff Direct South Gate Direct Direct Rio Hondo College Direct NP Sheriff Sheriff Direct Orange County Sheriff, Rio Hondo College, Golden West Vernon Direct Direct College Sheriff NP Sheriff Sheriff Direct Whittier Direct Direct Rio Hondo College Sheriff NP Sheriff Direct Direct/CSI Unincorporated Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Sheriff Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct

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S ERVICE D EMAND

The demand for service is related to the size of the population, the size of the area being policed as well as crime levels.

Calls for Service Figure 2-3: Police Service Calls Per Capita, 2003 In 2003, there were approximately 1,450,000 total Long Beach calls for service in the MSR area. Bell Maywood The volume of service calls Bell Gardens per capita was greatest in Long Whittier Beach, Bell, Maywood, and Bell MSR Area Gardens. The service call volume Cudahy per capita was lowest in Downey, South Gate La Mirada, Cerritos, and Bellflower unincorporated areas. The Hawaiian Gardens number of service calls per capita Compton is depicted in Figure 2-3.12 Paramount Lakewood In the jurisdictions reporting Carson detail information on service Artesia calls, the majority (79 percent) of Pico Rivera calls for service were non- Lynwood emergency and routine calls, Norwalk such as filing traffic incident La Habra Heights reports. About 25 percent of the Santa Fe Springs calls for service were 911 calls; Signal Hill Commerce however, some of the 911 calls Vernon involve situations that are not Huntington Park emergencies. Hence, the Unincorporated proportion of service calls that Cerritos represent actual emergencies is La Mirada lower than 25 percent. Downey

0 400 800 1,200 1,600

12 Service calls in 2003 were reported by the agencies. Service calls per capita is calculated as the number of service calls per 1,000 people, based on the 2003 24-hour population. For discussion of the 24-hour population metric, please refer to Chapter 1.

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Citations and Arrests Table 2-4: Citations, Arrests, and Crimes per Capita

There were a total of Service Calls Citations Arrests per FBI Crimes 339,343 citations issued in Service Area per 1,000 per 1,000 1,000 per 10,000 the MSR area in 2003, MSR Area 636 160 40 388 according to the local Artesia 385 126 34 313 agencies. Citations involve Bell 928 557 49 248 the issuance of tickets for Bellflower 515 634 30 477 moving violations, parking Bell Gardens 834 188 33 351 violations, failure to wear a Carson 386 201 30 326 safety belt, and pedestrian jaywalking among other Cerritos 290 150 18 375 violations. Commerce 306 109 21 244 Compton 481 106 47 458 In the MSR area as a Cudahy 594 178 27 347 whole, there were 160 Downey 265 370 24 356 citations issued per 1,000 Hawaiian Gardens 508 153 67 478 people. A relatively large Huntington Park 298 176 54 627 number of citations on a La Habra Heights 364 456 10 200 per capita basis were issued Lakewood 451 99 32 488 in Bell, Bellflower, La La Mirada 282 155 15 270 Habra Heights, Downey, and Signal Hill. The Long Beach 1,458 146 61 404 number of citations issued Lynwood 379 99 40 454 per capita in Santa Fe Maywood 847 276 28 297 Springs, Lakewood, Norwalk 369 145 35 398 Lynwood, Compton, Paramount 480 154 29 489 Commerce, and Pico Rivera 381 122 48 298 unincorporated areas was Santa Fe Springs 352 82 25 270 relatively low by Signal Hill 337 316 44 451 comparison. South Gate 525 156 32 453 Vernon 301 118 21 185 There were a total of 72,128 arrests made in the Whittier 643 116 44 351 MSR area cities in 2003, Unincorporated 293 30 36 NA according to the California Notes: Attorney General’s (1) 2003 service calls and citations were provided by the agencies. (2) 2003 arrests and FBI Index Crimes for cities were provided by the California statistics. Nearly three- Attorney General's Law Enforcement Information Center. fifths of the arrests were (3) 2003 arrests for unincorporated areas were provided by Los Angeles County Sheriff. related to misdemeanor (4) Population reflects the 24-hour population in 2003. offenses, and two-fifths of the arrests involved felony offenses.

Overall, there were 40 arrests made in 2003 per 1,000 people in the MSR area. By comparison, there were 35 arrests made countywide per 1,000 people in 2003. The arrest rate was highest in Hawaiian Gardens, Long Beach, Huntington Park, Bell, and Compton. Arrest rates were lowest in La Mirada, La Habra Heights, Cerritos, Commerce, and Vernon.

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Serious Crime Serious crime—FBI Crime Index13 offenses—has generally decreased in the last decade countywide and in the MSR area, but has increased slightly in the past few years.14

Previously, from 1983 to 1991, crime had been increasing throughout the State. The crime rate decline is associated with a steep short-term decline in violent juvenile and youth crime, particularly in large cities. A study by the California Attorney General’s Office argues that violent periods tend to occur when gang-controlled illegal substances are in high demand.15 This study notes that community policing, crime mapping and increased incarceration rates have also contributed to declining crime rates.

Figure 2-5: FBI Crime Index Offenses, 1994-2003

The MSR area has 120,000 experienced a declining trend in serious crime, 100,000 similar to the countywide trend. The decline in 80,000 serious crime has occurred throughout the MSR area. 60,000 Since the mid-1990s, serious crime declined by 40,000 FBI Index Crimes Index FBI 36 percent in the MSR area 20,000 as a whole. In some communities, crime has 0 decreased even more. In 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Long Beach, La Habra Heights, Hawaiian Gardens, Vernon, Cerritos, and Artesia, serious crime has fallen the most rapidly since the mid- 1990s.

Since 2000, the number of serious offenses has increased in the MSR area by six percent. Some cities in the MSR area have experienced a more significant increase in crime since 2000. In Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, South Gate, and Bellflower, serious crimes have increased by more than 20 percent from 2000 to 2003. The number of serious crimes in some communities has continued to decline in recent years. In the cities of Cerritos, Commerce, Compton, Signal Hill, and Vernon, serious crime has continued to decline in recent years.

The crime rate reflects the ratio of FBI Crime Index offenses (serious felony crimes) per capita, and is expressed as crimes per 10,000 people.

13 Both the FBI and the California Attorney General’s Office have suspended the used of the FBI Crime Index. The index is currently being redefined in order to represent a more robust depiction of crime in the US and California (U.S. Department of Justice, 2004).

14 FBI Crime Index offenses include murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and simple assault.

15 Marowitz, 2000.

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Figure 2-6: FBI Crime Index Rate, 2003 Crime rates in the MSR area are similar, compared to the countywide Huntington Park crime rate. In the MSR area cities, the Paramount 2003 serious crime rate was 388. By Lakewood comparison, the countywide crime rate Hawaiian was 399, which is one percent higher Bellflower than the crime rate in the MSR area. Compton Throughout the MSR area, serious Lynwood crime rates vary greatly among the South Gate cities. Signal Hill Long Beach In low-crime cities, such as Norwalk Vernon, La Mirada and La Habra MSR Area Heights, crime rates are half the level as Cerritos for the MSR area as a whole. Downey Bell Gardens Huntington Park has the highest crime rate in the MSR area, with a Whittier crime rate 60 percent higher than in the Cudahy MSR area as a whole. Other cities with Carson relatively high crime rates are Artesia Lakewood, Paramount, Hawaiian Pico Rivera Gardens, Bellflower, and Compton. Maywood Santa Fe Springs As measured by the former FBI La Mirada crime index rate, serious crime includes Bell larceny. Larceny involving less than $400 is a common crime included in Commerce the index. Violent crimes—murder, La Habra rape, robbery, and aggravated assault— Vernon make up about one in five of serious crimes included in the index. 0 200 400 600 800

There were 72 violent crimes committed in 2003 in the MSR area per 10,000 people. The violent crime rate is highest in Compton (176), Lynwood (156), and Hawaiian Gardens (116). Cities with relatively low violent crime rates are La Habra Heights (9), Santa Fe Springs (21), Vernon (21), and Commerce (29).

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I NFRASTRUCTURE N EEDS OR D EFICIENCIES

In the context of police service, infrastructure needs signify facilities that do not provide adequate capacity to accommodate current or projected demand for service for the region as a whole or for the jurisdictions within the region.

Most of the law enforcement agencies provide service from a single facility where headquarters, patrol, crime lab and temporary holding facilities are located. Long Beach and the County Sheriff operate multiple facilities in the MSR area.

The police departments provided the facility age and an assessment of each facility’s condition and deficiencies. Table 2-7 provides a summary of each facility’s age, condition and deficiencies, as well as the police department’s assessment of its infrastructure needs.

Table 2-7: Police Facility Conditions, Needs and Deficiencies Year Service Built/ Provider Facility Name Condition Acquired Infrastructure Needs Expansion of the facility and upgrades to Bell Bell Police Department Fair 1957 dispatch system are needed. Bell Gardens Bell Gardens Police Station Fair 1975 911 system upgrades are needed. Downey Downey Police Department Good 1984 None Huntington Huntington Park Police Current facility is too small. A new facility is Park Department Fair 1950 needed. City Hall East Good 2000 None Facility is currently under interior Work in improvements, including expansion of lobby Public Safety Building progress 1959 and addition of a community room. West Patrol Substation Good 1996 None North Patrol Substation Good 2004 None East Patrol Substation Fair 1984 Need new facility. Field Support Division Fair 1998 None Youth Services Division Fair 1999 None Sea Spray Good 2000 None Long Beach Sea Spray Good 1998 None Marine Patrol Fair 1999 None Emergency Communications and Operations Center (ECOC) Good 2003 None Police Academy Fair 1958 Facility dated and in need of repairs Crime Laboratory and Property Storage Facility Good 2001 None

North Police Athletic League Good 2002 None East Police Athletic League Good 1995 None West Police Athletic League Good 1993 None continued

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Year Service Built/ Provider Facility Name Condition Acquired Infrastructure Needs

Maywood Maywood Police Department Fair 1994 Expansion of the facility is needed. Signal Hill Signal Hill Police Station Poor 1920 Expansion of the facility is needed.

South Gate South Gate Police Department Poor 1949 New facility is needed. Upgrade radio system and update dispatch Vernon Vernon Police Department Good 1976 technology. Expansion of the facility or construction of a Whittier Whittier Police Department Fair 1955 new facility is needed. Police Services Center NP NP None Expansion of office space, lobby area and Carson Station Fair 1974 security improvements are needed. Century Station Good 1994 None Cerritos Station Good 1997 None Compton Station Fair 1964 None East LA Station Fair 1955 A new facility or expansion is needed. Industry Station needs expansion and updated Industry Station Fair 1963 dispatch technology.

County Sheriff Construction of a new two-story structure will provide increased lobby space and workspace Lakewood Station Fair 1956 for detectives and deputies. Bellflower Sub-Station Fair 1997 None Paramount Sub- Station Good 1993 None Expansion of the facility and upgraded Norwalk Station Good 1972 communications technology. La Mirada Sub-station Good 2002 None Whittier Sub-station Good 2002 None Pico Rivera Station Good 1972 None

S ERVICE S TANDARDS

There are no established standards for law enforcement agencies relating to emergency response times, crime clearance rates, patrol staffing levels, or citizen satisfaction levels. Voluntary accreditation programs establish standards for law enforcement agencies as well as crime laboratories. In the arenas of police training and selection, there are clear standards for California law enforcement agencies.

General The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) is a national organization that functions as an independent accrediting authority. Law enforcement agencies may voluntarily choose to apply for CALEA accreditation. CALEA offers an accreditation program as well as a law enforcement recognition program in which the agency is required to meet a more modest list of standards.

CALEA law enforcement accreditation does not require the law enforcement agency to meet specific benchmarks in terms of response time, staffing levels or crime clearance rates. CALEA

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accreditation requires the police service provider to pass inspection and to meet dozens of requirements such as annual documented performance evaluation of each employee, investigation of all complaints against the agency and its employees, and annual review of allocation and distribution of personnel.

None of the service providers in the MSR area is accredited by CALEA. Although the Los Angeles County Sheriff has not opted to pursue CALEA accreditation, the Sheriff Contract Law Enforcement Bureau does conduct annual documented performance evaluation of each employee, investigates all formal complaints against the agency and its employees, and annually reviews the allocation and distribution of personnel. In the MSR area, the Sheriff is in compliance with CALEA accreditation standards.

The California Peace Officers Association has developed sample law enforcement agency policies on use of force, use of safety belts, review of complaints about personnel, fitness for duty evaluations, and law enforcement values. For example, the sample policy on conduct review states, “it should be standard practice for all law enforcement agencies to conduct comprehensive and thorough investigations into any allegation of misconduct or substandard service, whether such allegations are from citizen complaints or internally generated.”16 Hence, policies relating to ethics and evaluation standards are readily available to law enforcement agencies.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff maintains written policies on use of force, use of safety belts, review of complaints about personnel, fitness for duty evaluations, and law enforcement values, among other issues.17 Hence, the Sheriff abides by CPOA standards in the Gateway area and throughout its larger service area.

Crime Laboratories Crime laboratory standards are established by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors—Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB). Accreditation is a voluntary program whereby a lab is inspected to determine whether the lab’s polices, procedures, staff, physical plant, and work product meet published peer-based standards.18

The accredited Los Angeles County Sheriff laboratory serves all law enforcement agencies in the MSR area except for the City of Long Beach which operates its own accredited crime lab. In addition to the County crime lab, the cities of Whittier and Santa Fe Springs rely on the City of Los Angeles Police Department for crime lab services.

Training The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) has developed standards for the testing and selection of police officer applicants as well as the training of police officers, dispatchers and detectives. All of the cities in the MSR area and the Los Angeles County Sheriff conduct training to POST standards.

16 California Peace Officers Association, 2004.

17 Interview with County Sheriff Contract Law Enforcement Bureau Lt. Richard Mouwen, 2004.

18 Three states—New York, Oklahoma and Texas—require accreditation of all crime laboratories, California does not.

39 BURR CONSULTING PUBLIC SAFETY

S ERVICE A DEQUACY

Crime clearance rates, response time for serious crimes in progress, patrol staffing, complaints and awards are potential indicators of service adequacy.

Crime Clearance Rates Figure 2-8: FBI Index Crime Clearance Rates, 2001-2003 Average The effectiveness of a law enforcement agency can be Lakewood 28% gauged by many factors, Huntington Park 27% including serious crime Compton 27% clearance rates, or the Cudahy 27% proportion of serious (FBI index) crimes that are solved. Carson 26% Again, however, there are no Pico Rivera 25% clear-cut standards or guidelines Whittier 25% on the proportion that should Santa Fe Springs 25% be solved. Lynwood 24% The median jurisdiction in Unincorporated 24% the MSR area cleared 21 percent Norwalk 24% of serious crimes between 2001 Cerritos 24% and 2003. Cleared crimes refer Signal Hill 22% to serious (FBI Crime Index) Commerce 21% offenses for which at least one MSR Area Median person was arrested, charged 21% with the offense, and turned Hawaiian Gardens 21% over to the appropriate court for Maywood 20% prosecution. Law enforcement Long Beach 19% agencies may also clear crimes Downey 18% when the offender dies, the Paramount 18% victim refuses to cooperate, or extradition is denied, by La Mirada 17% reporting clearance by Bellflower 16% exceptional means to the FBI. Artesia 15% Bell 15% Figure 2-8 provides a La Habra Heights 14% comparison of crime clearance rates by city. Relatively low Vernon 14% crime clearance rates were South Gate 13% reported in Bell Gardens, South Bell Gardens 12% Gate, Vernon, and La Habra Heights. The cities of 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Lakewood, Huntington Park, Cudahy, Compton, and Carson had relatively high crime clearance rates.

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Response Times Table 2-9: Response Times, 2004

Although police response times for serious crimes Priority One in progress are an important indicator of service Average Response adequacy, there are not clear standards as to what that Service Area Time response time should be. Police response times were MSR Area Median 3:46 traditionally used to measure effectiveness. However, Artesia 3:01 more recent research indicates that response time does Bell NP not have a significant effect on crime-solving, because Bell Gardens 3:00 most crimes are “cold” crimes and victims do not tend to call police immediately after the crime is committed. Bellflower 2:54 The modern approach to response time—differential Carson 4:24 response—is to ensure quick response to serious crimes Cerritos 4:12 (Priority 1) in progress, when there are opportunities to Commerce 5:07 save a victim and/or to apprehend the criminal, and to Compton 4:55 inform lower-priority callers that response time may be Cudahy 2:22 lengthy. Experiments indicate that differential response Downey 3:00 leads to both citizen and officer satisfaction.19 Hawaiian Gardens 2:48 Huntington Park 3:23 Average response times to serious crimes in 2004 La Habra Heights 7:31 are listed in Table 2-9. The median jurisdiction’s average La Mirada 3:40 response time to serious crimes in progress was 3 Lakewood 3:24 minutes and 46 seconds in 2004. Long Beach 4:36 Fastest response times to serious crimes were Lynwood 5:10 reported in the cities of Maywood, Cudahy, Hawaiian Maywood 1:27 Gardens, and Paramount. Norwalk 3:46 Paramount 2:48 Response times in La Habra Heights, Lynwood and Pico Rivera 4:19 Commerce were longer than in other jurisdictions. In La Santa Fe Springs 4:07 Habra Heights, longer response times were attributed to Signal Hill 3:30 lack of staff, winding terrain, and poor road sign and South Gate 4:00 house number visibility. Response times for Lynwood Vernon 4:00 and Commerce may be higher due to a larger distance Whittier 4:01 from police stations serving the cities or larger service areas.

Priority One response time in Bell could not be provided. The Sheriff pointed out that response to crimes in progress, rescues and felony crimes take precedence over non-violent crimes and police report calls, and that response times to certain remote park areas tend to be longer.

19 Walker and Katz, 2002.

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Staffing Some jurisdictions point to the ratio of sworn officers to residents as an important indicator of police service level. No established State or national standards for police staffing levels were identified. Each city contracts for a particular staffing level.

Table 2-10: Sworn Staffing per 1,000 Population, FY 04-05

There are 3,128 sworn officers serving the Per 1,000 MSR area. There are 1.5 sworn officers per # Sworn Pop 1,000 people in the service area.20 MSR Area Total 3,128 1.5 Table 2-10 provides a comparison of sworn Bell 42 1.3 staff levels by service area. The sworn staffing Bell Gardens 56 1.5 level per capita is highest in Long Beach and Cudahy 12 0.3 Signal Hill and lowest in Santa Fe Springs and Downey 114 1.0 Cudahy. Staff levels may be lower in the cities Huntington Park 73 1.3 of Santa Fe Springs and Cudahy because staff Long Beach 966 2.1 levels represent contracted staff only and do not include other sworn staff used by the Maywood 29 0.7 contracting agencies (Whittier and Maywood) in Santa Fe Springs 33 0.6 serving these cities. Signal Hill 32 2.1 South Gate 83 1.0 Similar to the cities of Cudahy and Santa Fe Vernon 59 1.9 Springs, sworn staffing per capita at the Whittier 96 1.2 Sheriff’s contract cities cannot be calculated in a form comparable to the cities with independent Sheriff Service Area 1,533 1.0 police departments. Each of these cities Carson Station 174 1.2 contracts for a specific staffing level involving Century Station 258 1.6 patrol and traffic deputies, with contract service Cerritos Station 60 1.0 payments calculated to include other sworn Compton Station 151 1.5 staffing such as detectives and supervisory staff. East LA Station 168 1.0 The contracted staffing level is not directly Industry Station 195 1.1 comparable to the total for the Sheriff station service area or to staffing per capita in Lakewood Station 237 1.1 jurisdictions that provide police services Norwalk Station 188 1.0 directly. Pico Rivera Station 102 1.2

Among the Sheriff contract cities, Hawaiian Gardens contracts for the highest staffing service level on a per capita basis, and Lynwood contracts for the lowest staffing service level on a per capita basis.

Distinguished Service and Complaints Several jurisdictions reported that they had received the following awards or commendations for distinguished service:

20 Sworn staffing per capita is calculated as the sworn staffing level in FY 03-04 divided by the 2004 24-hour population (in 1,000s).

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Long Beach received the FBI's Special Recognition Award to its Career Criminal Apprehension Team. It is also the recipient of a 2001 California Cities Helen Putnam Award for excellence in public safety. The "10851 Award" from the Automobile Club of Southern California has been awarded to 41 officers.

Santa Fe Springs won the ICWA Award of Program Excellence for Public Safety.

Vernon is the recipient of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Award given to the department for superior results in enforcing drunk driving laws within city boundaries. The Vernon Police Department has also received a certificate of appreciation from the Peace Officers Association in Los Angeles. The Sheriff’s Carson station has received several awards for Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) for conducting successful and on-going DUI checkpoint operations.

Table 2-11: Annual Police-Related Complaints Most of the police service providers reported the Complaints number of complaints received annually. Complaints may Bell 4 be initiated by citizens or by fellow officers. Complaints Bell Gardens 3 may involve improper use of force, demeanor, failure to Downey 11 maintain confidentiality, or other issues. Each of the law Huntington Park 21 enforcement agencies reported that it conducts Long Beach 428 investigations of serious complaints. Maywood 9 Among the smaller police departments, there may be Signal Hill 14 difficulties in conducting impartial investigations of officer South Gate 15 complaints due to camaraderie between the investigator Vernon 4 and the officer being investigated, and the past and future Whittier 36 working relationship between the investigator and the Sheriff Stations officer investigated. Neighboring jurisdictions could Carson Station 164 consider regional collaboration on investigating Century Station NA complaints. This approach could improve both the Cerritos Station 85 objective nature of the investigation and preserve Compton Station 196 important working relationships among officers within the East LA Station 120 same police department. Industry Station 120 Lakewood Station 164 S ERVICE C HALLENGES Norwalk Station 105 Pico Rivera Station 42 Most of the jurisdictions cited financing constraints as a service challenge. In particular, many of the law enforcement agencies raised concerns about available financing in light of state budget pressures. Several jurisdictions indicated that they had reduced staffing, had frozen staff positions, or had refocused efforts on core responsibilities as a result of budget pressures.

In addition, the service providers mentioned the following challenges in providing law enforcement service in the MSR area: Cudahy: when response units are dispatched from the headquarters located in the City of Maywood, this may increase response times. Whittier: The department faces challenges serving the southern end of the City. Sheriff Industry Station: Response times are longer in the City of La Habra Heights due to

43 BURR CONSULTING PUBLIC SAFETY

unusually hilly terrain and poor street sign and house number visibility. Sheriff Carson Station: Several neighborhoods in the service area are difficult to serve due to concentrations of gang members. Sheriff East Los Angeles Station: City Terrace is difficult to serve due to the area’s underdeveloped roadway system. Sheriff Norwalk Station: Some unincorporated areas served have poor radio reception. In addition, a number of the jurisdictions reported challenges relating to outdated dispatch technology, as discussed above under infrastructure needs.

Another dispatch-related issue involves the routing of 911 calls from cellular phones. Most service calls on the freeway are made via cellular phone. Calls from cellular phones are difficult to locate and are received by the California Highway Patrol rather than local agencies. By 2006, new cellular telephones are expected to be equipped with GPS, allowing most 911 calls from cellular phones to be dispatched directly to the locale. This will require new dispatch technology.

F INANCING C ONSTRAINTS AND O PPORTUNITIES

Most cities rely primarily on general fund resources to finance police service. Other revenues used to finance police service include Proposition 172 funds, federal and state grants, funds from seizure of criminals’ assets, parcel taxes, fees, and fines.

The most significant general fund revenue streams are sales and use tax, utility users’ tax, vehicle license fees, and property tax. The median Gateway city relies less on property tax and more on sales tax and vehicle license fees than does the median city in the County and the state. Fourteen of the 26 cities impose a utility users’ tax. Two cities—Bell Gardens and Hawaiian Gardens—rely on wagering fees and taxes as their primary revenue stream.

The median city in the MSR area generates $418 in general fund revenue per capita. The cities of Cudahy and Maywood generate the least general fund revenues with less than $250 per capita. In nine cities—Bell, Bellflower, Compton, Huntington Park, Lynwood, Norwalk, Paramount, Pico Rivera, and South Gate—general fund revenues are relatively modest with $300-400 per capita. General fund revenues are most ample in Signal Hill, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, and Vernon, where per capita revenues exceed $650.

Financing constraints will affect the ability to finance not only service costs but also infrastructure needs like police station and technology improvements. Municipal service providers are constrained in their capacity to finance services by the inability to increase property taxes, requirements for voter approval for new or increased taxes, and requirements of voter approval for parcel taxes and assessments used to finance services.

In FY 2002-03, $4.9 billion statewide was shifted from local agencies to local schools due to the State Education Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) created in the 1990s. As a result, city property tax shares are an average of 25 percent lower.

Cities rely heavily on a portion of the State-collected vehicle license fees (VLF) and property taxes paid by the State in lieu of VLF. For cities annexing new territory, the amount of property tax paid in lieu of VLF does not credit the agency for the value of development in place at the time of annexation.

Financing opportunities that do not require voter approval include imposition of or increases in

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fees to more fully recover the costs of providing services, including false alarm fees, development impact fees, and other fees to recover the actual cost of services provided. Agencies may also finance many types of facility improvements through bond instruments that do not require voter approval.

Financing opportunities that require voter approval include special taxes such as parcel taxes, increases in general taxes such as utility taxes, sales and use taxes, business license taxes, and transient occupancy taxes. Agencies may finance facilities with voter-approved (general obligation) bonded indebtedness. Communities may elect to form business improvement districts to finance supplemental services, such as bicycle patrol, or Mello-Roos districts to finance development-related infrastructure extension.

Additional financing opportunities involve the issuance of parking and moving citations. The median city in the MSR area issues 144 citations per 1,000 inhabitants annually. The cities of Bell and La Habra Heights issued relatively high numbers of citations, with 557 and 456 citations annually per 1,000 people. Citation issuance is relatively low in the unincorporated areas, Santa Fe Springs, Maywood, and Lynwood. Cities with relatively inactive citation programs may wish to consider collaborating with another service provider for traffic enforcement, such as the program that Calabasas conducts on behalf of its neighboring cities.

Contingency reserves and unreserved fund balances are one indicator of the financial health of a local agency. Contingency reserves in the median city in the MSR area would cover 41 percent of annual general fund expenditures. Vernon had no contingency reserves, indeed a negative general fund balance; the City plans to eliminate its deficit through a parcel tax designated for street improvements. Pico Rivera and the City of Commerce maintained contingency reserves covering only three percent of annual general fund expenditures. Reserve ratios in the remainder of the cities meet Government Finance Officers Association recommendations. Reserves were most abundant in the cities of Cerritos, La Mirada and Lakewood.

O PPORTUNITIES FOR R ATE R ESTRUCTURING

Traditional rate charges are not a source of revenue for police providers. Rates generally refer to charges for use of a revenue-producing enterprise such as water and sewer treatment, supply or collection facilities, airports, garbage disposal service, or parking lots.

However, there are opportunities for jurisdictions to restructure certain tax rates for significant general fund taxes with voter approval, as well as opportunities to restructure various fees. The jurisdictions may increase the utility users’ tax, transient occupancy tax, and business license tax without legal limits, subject to economic competition considerations and voter approval. The jurisdictions also have opportunities to restructure user fees, regulatory fees and development impact fees. However, there are limits to the increases that may be enacted. In order to raise user fees, the jurisdiction must document that the fee recoups only the costs of providing the fee-related service. For development impact fees, the jurisdiction must justify the fees as an offset to the future impact that development will have on facilities. In setting regulatory fees such as false alarm fees, the jurisdiction may impose fees that include the costs of inspection, investigation, enforcement and administration.

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C OST AVOIDANCE O PPORTUNITIES

Law enforcement agencies have implemented a number of strategies to avoid unnecessary costs. Agencies share or use each other’s facilities or expert staff to achieve levels of service they could not otherwise obtain. These practices and additional opportunities are discussed in the next section. False alarm fees, 911 call response fees, and public outreach could be used to reduce the number of unnecessary service calls and related costs.

R EGIONAL C OLLABORATION

The law enforcement agencies within the MSR area are already collaborating in a number of areas through contract service arrangements, mutual aid, JPAs, and regional task forces. The departments cited these regional collaboration efforts as offering services that they could not otherwise afford and as examples of management efficiencies.

Table 2-12: Police Regional Collaboration Activities Agency Existing Efforts Bell Auto Theft: membert of regional task force (TRAP). Narcotics: Member of LA Impact, a regional narcotics trafficking unit responsible for drug Bell Gardens dealers and clandestine labs. Cudahy Contract Service Recipient: Receives services from Maywood PD Auto Theft: Member of regional task force (TRAP). Animal Control: Maintains membership in Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA). Dispatch: Fire and emergency dipatching is handled by the Joint Powers Communications Center (JPCC) in the city of Downey. This is a collaboration between Compton, Downey, and Santa Fe Springs Narcotics: Member of LA Impact, a regional narcotics trafficking unit responsible for drug Downey dealers and clandestine labs. Huntington Park Mutual Aid: Member Crime Prevention: LA County Sheriff provides insight into trends in LA County. LBPD also part of numerous MOU's with federal, state, and local agencies to suppress and prevent crime. Narcotics: Member of LA Impact, a regional narcotics trafficking unit responsible for drug dealers and clandestine labs. Auto Theft: Member of regional task force (TRAP). Long Beach Records Management: Provides CAD & records management services to Signal Hill PD Maywood Contract Service Provider: Provides policing services to City of Cudahy Contract Service Recipient: Receives police services from Whittier PD Dispatch: Fire and emergency dipatching is handled by the Joint Powers Communications Center (JPCC) in the city of Downey. This is a collaboration between Compton, Downey and Santa Fe Santa Fe Springs Springs. Mutual Aid: Member Signal Hill Records Management: CAD & records management provided by Long Beach PD South Gate Mutual Aid: Member Cargo Investigations: Cargo theft interdiction program (CTIP) involving cooperation among the CHP, LA Port Police, Vernon PD, and U.S. Customs) Narcotics: Member of LA Impact, a regional narcotics trafficking unit responsible for drug dealers and clandestine labs. Auto Theft: Member of regional task force (TRAP). Vernon Mutual Aid: Member continued

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Agency Existing Efforts Contract Service Provider: Police services provided to City of Santa Fe Springs. Communications: Agreement with the cities of Montebello and Downey for intercommunication capabilities such as the mobile data computers in the patrol cars. Narcotics: Member of LA Impact, a regional narcotics trafficking unit responsible for drug dealers and clandestine labs. Whittier Auto Theft: Membert of regional task force (TRAP). Sheriff Service Area Artesia Helicopter: The City contracts helicopter services from the Lakewood patrol helicopter program. Bellflower Helicopter: The City contracts helicopter services from the Lakewood patrol helicopter program. Carson Mutual Aid: Member Cerritos Mutual Aid: Member Mutual Aid: Member Street Racing & DUI: Joint task forces have been established with the CHP and surrounding Commerce agencies to address street racing issues. Dispatch: Fire and emergency dipatching is handled by the Joint Powers Communications Center (JPCC) in the City of Downey. This is a collaboration between Compton, Downey, and Santa Fe Springs. Compton Mutual Aid: Member Helicopter: The City contracts helicopter services from the Lakewood patrol helicopter program. Hawaiian Gardens Mutual Aid: Member La Habra Heights Mutual Aid: Member La Mirada Mutual Aid: Member Helicopter: The City of Lakewood operates a patrol helicopter program. Four other cities contract helicopter services from the program. Lakewood Mutual Aid: Member Lynwood Mutual Aid: Member Norwalk Mutual Aid: Member Helicopter: The City contracts helicopter services from the Lakewood patrol helicopter program. Paramount Mutual Aid: Member Pico Rivera Mutual Aid: Member

Opportunities The police departments identified a number of opportunities for sharing facilities and more extensive approaches to interagency collaboration throughout the region. Dispatch: Although there are clear economies of scale in dispatch, the individual law enforcement agencies are generally providing their own dispatch services except for members of the JPCC in Downey (Downey, Santa Fe Springs, and Compton). Staffing levels and redundant equipment costs could be reduced through regionalized efforts. SWAT: Regionalization of SWAT could reduce training and management costs, and potentially enhance service by standardizing response and providing economies of scale in purchasing and training. Training: The City of Long Beach mentioned that the construction of a permanent training camp could meet regional training needs. Jail: Although many agencies use CSI to provide jailing services, a regional jail facility for the Gateway area could benefit participating agencies. Norwalk mentioned opportunities to share the Sheriff station’s facilities with the Department of Corrections, parole officers and local school police through joint use of holding facilities.

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Detectives: Overlapping jurisdiction of investigative, forensic and crime analysis units would reduce the cost of these functions on individual agencies and possibly result in increased crime clearance rates as a result of greater collaboration among agencies. Records Management: Larger cities could host other smaller agencies’ CAD and records management systems as Long Beach does for Signal Hill. Parking Enforcement: A regional approach to parking enforcement could enhance efficiency, such as the approach used in the Las Virgenes area where Calabasas administers a parking citation program for three other cities. Internal Affairs: Shared investigators for Internal Affairs cases may promote impartiality and camaraderie. Probation: There is potential for collaboration with probation and parole officers. Task Forces: The City of Carson suggested greater use and development of task forces with adjacent agencies to combat common concerns. Code Enforcement: The City of Carson mentioned potential to use redevelopment funds to enlarge the Sheriff’s Carson Station to house the City’s Code Enforcement and Public Safety departments. U.S. Coast Guard: The City of Signal Hill mentioned potential to share facilities with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

P OLICY A LTERNATIVES

There are no potential major changes in law enforcement provision in the MSR area.

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F IRE AND PARAMEDIC S ERVICE

This section reviews the fire, paramedic and ambulance transport services provide by local government agencies in the Gateway MSR area.

Table 2-13: Fire Service Providers The majority of fire, emergency CFPD medical, and fire inspection services in Direct Providers Contract Cities the MSR area are provided by the Compton Artesia La Mirada Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County (CFPD). Six cities Downey Bell Lakewood provide fire and emergency medical La Habra Heights Bell Gardens Lynwood services directly. American Medical Long Beach Bellflower Maywood Response is the provider of ambulance Santa Fe Springs Carson Norwalk services for 23 of the cities and the Vernon Cerritos Paramount unincorporated areas. The remaining Commerce Pico Rivera cities provide ambulance transport Cudahy Signal Hill service directly. Hawaiian Gardens South Gate Compton Huntington Park Whittier The Compton Fire Department is the primary provider of fire suppression and ambulance transport service in the City of Compton. For emergency medical service, the City provides direct service and relies on automatic aid from CFPD. Hazardous materials response is provided by the Vernon and Santa Fe Springs Fire Departments. The CFPD provides air rescue, air ambulance and fire suppression helicopter service by mutual aid request.

All 911 calls are received at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department dispatch center. Once the call has been determined to be fire or medical emergency related, it is routed to the Downey Joint Powers Communication Center (JPCC) for the dispatch of fire personnel to the incident. JPCC is owned and operated by the City of Downey and serves as a regional communications center for the cities of Downey, Compton, Montebello, and Santa Fe Springs.

Downey The Downey Fire Department is the primary provider of fire suppression, emergency medical, and ambulance transport service in the City of Downey. Hazardous materials response is provided by the cities of Vernon or Santa Fe Springs Fire Departments. The CFPD provides air rescue, air ambulance and fire suppression helicopter service by mutual aid request.

All 911 calls are received at the Downey Police Department dispatch center. Once that call has been determined to be fire or medical emergency related, it is routed to JPCC for the dispatch of fire personnel to the incident.

La Habra Heights The La Habra Heights Fire Department is the primary provider of fire suppression and emergency medical services in the City of La Habra Heights. The City relies on American Medical Response (AMR) for ambulance transportation services. Hazardous materials response is provided

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by mutual aid request. The CFPD provides air rescue, air ambulance and fire suppression helicopter service by mutual aid request.

All 911 calls are received at the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department dispatch center. Once that call has been determined to be fire or medical emergency related, it is routed to the City of La Habra Heights Fire Department for the dispatch of fire personnel to the incident.

Long Beach The Long Beach Fire Department is the primary provider of fire suppression, emergency medical, and ambulance transport service in the City of Long Beach. Hazardous materials response is provided by mutual aid request. The CFPD provides air rescue, air ambulance and fire suppression helicopter service by mutual aid request.

All 911 calls are received at the Long Beach Emergency Communications and Operations Center. Once that call has been determined to be fire or medical emergency related, it is routed to the fire service dispatcher for the dispatch of fire personnel to the incident.

Santa Fe Springs The Santa Fe Springs Fire Department is the primary provider of fire suppression and emergency medical services. AMR provides ambulance transport service per contract. The City provides direct haz-mat response service and may receive additional haz-mat response services from the City of Vernon and CFPD through mutual aid request. The CFPD provides air rescue, air ambulance and fire suppression helicopter service by mutual aid request.

All 911 calls are received at the Whittier Police Department dispatch center. Once that call has been determined to be fire or medical emergency related, it is routed to JPCC for the dispatch of fire personnel to the incident.

Ver non The Vernon Fire Department is the primary provider of fire suppression and emergency medical services. American Medical Response (AMR) provides ambulance transport service per contract. The City provides direct haz-mat response service and may receive additional haz-mat response services from the City of Santa Fe Springs and CFPD through mutual aid request. The CFPD provides air rescue, air ambulance and fire suppression helicopter service by mutual aid request.

All 911 calls are received at the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department dispatch center. Once that call has been determined to be fire or medical emergency related, it is routed to the Vernon Fire Department fire service dispatcher for the dispatch of fire personnel to the incident.

Consolidated Fire Protection District The CFPD Battalions 3, 7, 8, 9, and 13 carry primary responsibility for fire and emergency medical service in the unincorporated areas and 20 cities in the MSR area. The 20 cities served by the CFPD and the unincorporated areas lie within the boundary of the CFPD, with services financed primarily through property taxes.

Specialized services like hazardous materials, air rescue helicopter, air ambulance helicopter, and fire suppression helicopter are provided by the CFPD centrally. A helicopter responds to heavy

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trauma incidents when street congestion precludes timely response by ground-based units.

911 phone calls are dispatched by the CFPD Command and Control facility in Los Angeles. The California Highway Patrol provides initial dispatch of cell phone 911 calls; CHP dispatches law enforcement related calls to Sheriff Stations and dispatches fire and emergency medical calls to the CFPD Command and Control facility.

M UTUAL AND A UTOMATIC A ID

Most of the fire and EMS providers primarily serve their own jurisdictions. Given the critical need for rapid response, however, there are extensive mutual aid efforts that cross jurisdictional boundaries. Mutual aid refers to reciprocal service provided under a mutual aid agreement, a pre- arranged plan and contract between agencies for reciprocal assistance upon request by the first- response agency. In addition, the jurisdictions rely on automatic aid primarily for coverage of areas with street access limitations and freeways. Automatic aid refers to reciprocal service provided under an automatic aid agreement, a prearranged plan or contract between agencies for an automatic response for service with no need for a request to be made.

All agencies are required to provide mutual aid in times of extreme disaster as part of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services Master Mutual Aid Agreement.

Table 2-14: County Mutual Aid Areas The county is broken up into several mutual aid AREA A AREA C (cont'd) areas, four of which extend into the MSR area. Direct Beverly Hills San Marino providers located within proximity of one another Culver City Sierra Madre provide assistance to each other, as needed. The CFPD LA City South Pasadena makes up Area B, which includes the cities contracting Santa Monica AREA D for service. Areas D, E and F include the direct providers of fire and paramedic services within the MSR AREA B La Verne area. In Area E, four of the five agencies are in the MSR CFPD La Habra Heights area. This forms the basic mutual aid structure. AREA C West Covina Alhambra AREA E In addition to basic mutual aid, there are additional Arcadia Compton arrangements made by the various service providers. Burbank Downey • The CFPD has mutual aid agreements Glendale Montebello with all direct service providers in the Monrovia Santa Fe Springs MSR area and throughout the County, Monterey Park Vernon including the National Forest Service Pasadena AREA F Some specialized services, such as San Gabriel Long Beach hazardous material response, air rescue and fire suppression helicopter service, are provided extensively through mutual aid. • Although part of Area D, the City of La Habra Heights also maintains mutual aid agreements with Area E providers and CFPD. • The City of Long Beach has mutual aid agreements with Los Angeles County, Orange County and the City of Los Angeles. • The City of Vernon provides occasional mutual aid to the City of Los Angeles and CFPD. • The Vernon and Santa Fe Springs fire departments and the CFPD serve as first

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responders to hazardous materials (“haz-mat”) incidents through mutual and automatic aid arrangements with other service providers in the MSR area. In addition to mutual aid, the service providers reported extensive use of automatic aid in which neighboring providers are automatically dispatched to incidents within the service area. • CFPD provides automatic aid for EMS service to the City of Compton. • CFPD battalions in the MSR area have automatic aid agreements with Downey, Santa Fe Springs, Long Beach, Montebello, Monterey Park, the City of Los Angeles, Buena Park, and the Orange County Fire Authority. • Long Beach reported automatic aid agreements with the City of Los Angeles, CFPD and the Orange County Fire Authority. • The City of Vernon provides automatic haz-mat response to the cities in Mutual Aid Area E—Compton, Downey, and Montebello.

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S ERVICE D EMAND

Figure 2-15: Incidents per Capita (1,000), 2004 There were a total of 156,215 calls for service in the Compton MSR area in 2004. In other Long Beach words, there were 428 service CFPD (Uninc.) calls throughout the MSR area Bellflower on an average day. MSR Area Lynwood Most of the calls (75 Lakewood percent) in the MSR area were Downey Whittier medical emergencies. Fires, Artesia fire alarms, and hazardous Norwalk materials calls accounted for Carson 17 percent of the incident Bell Gardens volume. Other calls, including Bell non-emergencies, accounted Pico Rivera for eight percent of calls for La Mirada service. Paramount Signal Hill Although the largest La Habra Hts number of incidents occurred Huntington Park in Long Beach and the Hawaiian Grdns smallest number occurred in Cudahy La Habra Heights, this is not South Gate surprising since Long Beach is Cerritos the largest city and La Habra Santa Fe Springs Heights is the smallest city in Commerce the MSR area. Maywood Vernon By comparing the incident counts on a per capita basis, 0 20406080100120 as shown in Figure 2-15, it is clear that Compton, Long Beach and the unincorporated areas have the largest volume of calls for fire and emergency medical services on a per capita basis.21 On the other hand, incidents per capita were lowest in Vernon, Maywood and Commerce. Vernon, Commerce and Santa Fe Springs with high jobs-housing ratios have relatively small residential populations, which may explain the low number of incidents per capita.

The volume of service demand may vary between jurisdictions based on age, access to primary health care, visitor counts, and freeway miles within the agency’s boundaries.

The wildland interface areas— where structures and development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuel—are expanding as more people are building homes in such areas.

21 Incidents per capita is calculated as the ratio of total callsin 2004 for fire and paramedic services to the 24-hour population (in 1,000s).

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FACILITIES

There are currently 82 fire stations in the Gateway MSR area. Of the 82 fire stations, 68 are classified as in either good or fair condition by their agencies. Among those classified as in fair or good condition, 24 are housed in buildings that were built in 1960 or earlier. Two of the stations classified as in fair or good condition need major improvements or replacement.

There are 14 fire stations classified as in poor condition by their agencies. In total, sixteen stations were identified as in poor condition and/or in need of major improvements or replacement.

CFPD Station No. 34 located in Hawaiian Gardens was identified as in poor condition and in need of capital improvements. All other CFPD fire stations were identified as in good or fair condition.

The City of Long Beach identified 10 of its fire stations as being in poor condition. The City has planned capital improvement plans for one of its stations. The City has acknowledged that new facilities or facility upgrades are needed throughout the city including stations 7, 9, 10, 12, and 18.

The City of La Habra Heights identified its single fire station as in poor condition and in need of replacement. The City plans to begin construction of a new fire facility in 2006. Additional upgrades are needed for the department’s paramedic services unit.

Vernon Fire Station No. 2 was identified by the City of Vernon as in poor condition. However, the City did not identify any specific facility needs or deficiencies in its response to LAFCO’s request for information. The City did not provide a capital improvement plan, and therefore the City’s plans for upgrading or replacing the station are unknown.

The City of Downey Fire Department Station No. 3 is in poor condition and needs improvements. The headquarters needs additional renovations.

The City of Compton identified Station No. 2 as deficient in space and is in need of expansion or construction of a new facility.

The City of Santa Fe Springs has identified needed facility renovations including remodeling and expansion of its headquarters and replacement of security gates.

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Table 2-16: Fire Stations Fire Facilities Location Built/ Condition Staff per Shift1 Apparatus Acquired Artesia Served by CFPD No. 30 in Cerritos 1985 Good See Cerritos See Cerritos Cerritos Bell CFPD No. 163 Bell 1956 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Squad 1 Firefighter 3 Firefighter/Paramedics Bell Gardens CFPD No. 39 Bell Gardens 1990 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Squad 3 Firefighter/Paramedics Bellflower CFPD No. 23 Bellflower 1953 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters CFPD No. 98 Bellflower 1969 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Squad 3 Firefighter/Paramedics Utility Vehicle 1 Utility Driver Carson CFPD No. 10 Carson 1975 Good 1 Captain Engine 2 Engineers Foam Unit 2 Firefighters Utility Vehicle 1 Utility Driver Staff Vehicle 1 Battalion Chief CFPD No. 36 Carson 1967 Fair 2 Captains 2 Engines 2 Engineers Squad 3 Firefighters 3 Firefighter/Paramedics CFPD No. 116 Carson 1973 Fair 2 Captains Engine 2 Engineers Squad 2 Firefighters Truck CFPD No. 127 Carson 1966 Good 13 Captain Fi fi h /P di Engine 2 Engineers Quint 3 Firefighters Light Force Cerritos CFPD No. 30 Cerritos 1985 Good 2 Captains Engine 2 Engineers Squad 2 Firefighters Quint 3 Firefighter/Paramedics Utility Vehicle 1 Assistant Fire Chief 2 Staff Vehicles 1 Battalion Chief 1 Utility Driver CFPD No. 35 Cerritos 1970 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter continued

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Fire Facilities Location Built/ Condition Staff per Shift1 Apparatus Acquired Commerce CFPD No. 22 Commerce 1932 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter CFPD No. 27 Commerce 1988 Good 2 Captains Engine 2 Engineers Quint 3 Firefighters Staff Vehicle 1 Utility Driver Utility Vehicle 1 Battalion Chief CFPD No. 50 Commerce 1955 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Squad 3 Firefighter/Paramedics Compton No. 1 Compton 1958 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Battalion Chief 2 Ambulances 1 Engineer Command Unit 1 Firefighter 1 Firefighter/Paramedic No. 2 Compton 1959 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Ambulance 1 Firefighter 1 Firefighter/Paramedic No. 3 Compton 1986 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Truck 1 Firefighter Ambulance 1 Firefighter/Paramedic No. 4 Compton 1969 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter Cudahy Served by CFPD No. 54 in South Gate 1950 Poor See South Gate See South Gate Served by CFPD No. 163 in Bell 1956 Fair See Bell See Bell Served by CFPD No. 165 in Huntington 1940 Good See Huntington Park See Huntington Park Huntington Park Park Downey No. 1 Downey 1974 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Battalion Chief Staff Vehicle 1 Engineer Truck 2 Firefighters 2 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 2 Downey 1957 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter No. 3 Downey 1957 Poor 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter No. 4 Downey 1960 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter 2 Firefighter/Paramedics continued

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Fire Facilities Location Built/ Condition Staff per Shift1 Apparatus Acquired Hawaiian Gardens CFPD No. 34 Hawaiian 1948 Poor 1 Captain Engine Gardens 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter Huntington Park CFPD No. 164 Huntington 1962 Fair 2 Captains Engine Park 2 Engineers Squad 3 Firefighters Truck 3 Firefighter/Paramedics 2 Staff Vehicles 1 Assistant Fire Chief Utility Vehicle 1 Battalion Chief 1 Utility Diver CFPD No. 165 Huntington 1940 Good 1 Captain Engine Park 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters La Habra Heights2 La Habra Heights Fire La Habra 1950 Poor 1 Fire Chief 4 Engines Dept Heights 1 Captain Brush Truck 5 Firefighters Water Tender 3 Paramedics OES Engine Patrol 2 Command Units Rescue Forest Service Staff Vehicle Utility Truck

La Mirada CFPD No. 49 La Mirada 1967 Fair 2 Captains Engine 2 Engineers Squad 2 Firefighters Quint Lakewood 3 Fi fi h /P di CFPD No. 45 Lakewood 1958 Good 2 Captains Engine 2 Engineers Squad 2 Firefighters Truck 3 Firefighter/Paramedics CFPD No. 94 Lakewood 1961 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Emergency Support Team 3 Firefighters CFPD No. 122 Lakewood 1970 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter Long Beach No. 1 Long Beach 1958 Poor 2 Captains 2 Engines 2 Engineer Rescue 6 Firefighters Truck 4 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 2 Long Beach 1965 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Rescue 2 Firefighters 2 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 3 Long Beach 1948 Poor 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters continued

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Fire Facilities Location Built/ Condition Staff per Shift1 Apparatus Acquired Long Beach No. 4 Long Beach 1966 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter 1 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 5 Long Beach 1968 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter 1 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 6 Long Beach 1993 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters No. 7 Long Beach 1940 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Truck 3 Firefighters 3 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 8 Long Beach 1920 Poor 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter 1 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 9 Long Beach 1938 Poor 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Rescue 2 Firefighters 2 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 10 Long Beach 1967 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Battalion Chief Rescue 1 Engineer Staff Vehicle 2 Firefighters 2 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 11 Long Beach 1963 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Rescue 6 Firefighters Truck 2 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 12 Long Beach 1936 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Rescue 2 Firefighters 2 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 13 Long Beach 1956 Poor 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Rescue 2 Firefighters 2 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 14 Long Beach 1986 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Rescue 2 Firefighters 2 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 15 Long Beach 1982 Poor 1 Captain Boat 1 Engineer 3 Firefighters No. 16 Long Beach 1972 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Truck 4 Firefighters 2 Firefighter/Paramedics continued

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Fire Facilities Location Built/ Condition Staff per Shift1 Apparatus Acquired Long Beach No. 17 Long Beach 1948 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Truck 4 Firefighters 2 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 18 Long Beach 1936 Poor 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters No. 19 Long Beach 1963 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Rescue 2 Firefighters 2 Firefighter/Paramedics No. 20 Long Beach 1982 Poor 1 Captain Boat 1 Engineer 3 Firefighters No. 21 Long Beach 1958 Poor 1 Captain Boat No. 22 Long Beach 1959 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Battalion Chief Staff Vehicle 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter 1 Firefighter/Paramedic No. 23 Long Beach 1994 Poor 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters Lynwood CFPD No. 147 Lynwood 1950 Fair 1 Captain Squad 1 Engineer Quint 1 Firefighter 3 Firefighter/Paramedics CFPD No. 148 Lynwood 1950 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter Maywood Served by CFPD No. 163 in Bell 1956 Fair See Bell See Bell Bell Norwalk CFPD No. 20 Norwalk 1960 Fair 2 Captains Engine 2 Engineers Squad 3 Firefighters Truck 3 Firefighter/Paramedics CFPD No. 115 Norwalk 1960 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters Paramount CFPD No. 31 Paramount 1966 Fair 2 Captains Engine 2 Engineers Squad 3 Firefighters Truck 3 Firefighter/Paramedics continued

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Fire Facilities Location Built/ Condition Staff per Shift1 Apparatus Acquired Pico Rivera CFPD No. 25 Pico Rivera 1961 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters CFPD No. 40 Pico Rivera 1971 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Squad 3 Firefighter/Paramedics CFPD No. 103 Pico Rivera 1958 Fair 2 Captains Engine3 2 Engineers Urban Search and Rescue 2 Firefighters Unit3 Santa Fe Springs No. 1 (Headquaters) Santa Fe 1972 Good 6 Captains Engine Springs 6 Engineers 2 Reserve Engines 6 Firefighters Quint 6 Battalion Chiefs Hazmat Unit 1 Fire Chief 2 Staff Vehicles 1 Fire Marshall Water Tanker No. 2 Santa Fe 1962 Good 3 Captains Engine Springs 3 Engineers Light & Air Unit 3 Firefighters No. 3 Santa Fe 1962 Good 3 Captains Engine Springs 3 Engineers Urban Search and Rescue 3 Firefighters Vehicle No. 4 Santa Fe 1962 Good 3 Captains Engine Springs 3 Engineers Paramedic Van 6 Firefighters/Engineers Signal Hill CFPD No. 60 Signal Hill 1975 Fair 1 Captain Paramedic Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighter/Paramedics South Gate CFPD No. 54 South Gate 1950 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Squad 1 Firefighter 3 Firefighter/Paramedics CFPD No. 57 South Gate 1959 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter Vernon No. 1 Vernon 1957 Fair 1 Battalion Chief Engine 1 Training Battalion Chief Truck 2 Captains Command Vehicle 2 Engineers Utility Vehicle 5 Firefighters Training Staff Vehicle Reserve Engine Reserve Command Vehicle

No. 2 Vernon 1961 Poor 1 Captain Engine 2 Engineers HazMat Response Unit 3 Firefighters HazMat Mass Casualty Trailer Utility Truck 2 Reserve Engines continued

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Fire Facilities Location Built/ Condition Staff per Shift1 Apparatus Acquired Vernon No. 3 Vernon 1959 Fair 1 Captain Engine 2 Engineers Urban Search and Rescue 3 Firefighters Unit Urban Search and Rescue Trailer Paramedic Unit Reserve Engine No. 4 Vernon 1962 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Reserve Engine 2 Firefighters Whittier CFPD No. 17 Whittier 1938 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters CFPD No. 28 Whittier 1966 Fair 2 Captains Engine 2 Engineers Squad 2 Firefighters Truck 3 Firefighter/Paramedics Staff Vehicle 1 Battalion Chief Utility Vehicle 1 Utility Diver CFPD No. 59 Whittier 1960 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer Emergency Support Team 3 Firefighters Unincorporated CFPD No. 1 City Terrace 1978 Good 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters CFPD No. 3 East LA 1977 Fair 2 Captains Engine 2 Engineers Quint 4 Firefighters Squad 2 Firefighter/Paramedics CFPD No. 15 East Whittier 1962 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters CFPD No. 16 Watts 1994 Good 2 Captains 2 Engines 2 Engineers Squad 3 Firefighters 2 Firefighter/Paramedics CFPD No. 41 Willowbrook 1978 Fair 1 Captain Paramedic Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters CFPD No. 95 Rosewood 1955 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 2 Firefighters continued

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Fire Facilities Location Built/ Condition Staff per Shift1 Apparatus Acquired Unincorporated CFPD No. 96 South Whittier 1956 Fair 1 Captain Engine 1 Engineer 1 Firefighter CFPD No. 105 Rancho 1958 Fair 2 Captains Engine Dominguez 2 Engineers HazMat Squad4 5 Firefighters Notes: (1) For consistency across service providers, standard terms have been used to describe staffing, and differ in some cases from actual position titles used by the various agencies. The engineer term in this table includes the CFPD "Fire Fighter Specialist" position. (2) The La Habra Heights Fire Department also employs 27 part-time paid captains, 60 part-time paid paramedics, and 70 unpaid volunteer firefighters. (3) Vehicle assigned to CFPD Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (4) Vehicle assigned to CFPD Hazardous Materials Task Force

S ERVICE S TANDARDS

For fire and paramedic service, there are service standards relating to response times, dispatch times, staffing, and water flow.

Particularly in cases involving patients who have stopped breathing or are suffering from heart attacks, the chances of survival improve when the patient receives medical care quickly. Similarly, a quick fire suppression response can potentially prevent a structure fire from reaching the “flashover” point at which very rapid fire spreading occurs—generally in less than 10 minutes.22

The guideline established by the National Fire Protection Association23 (NFPA) for fire response times is six minutes at least 90 percent of the time, with response time measured from the 911-call time to the arrival time of the first-responder at the scene.24 The fire response time guideline established by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International is 5 minutes 50 seconds at least 90 percent of the time.25 NFPA recommends a six-minute response time for basic life support (BLS) and ten minutes for advanced life support (ALS) at least 90 percent of the time. The BLS medical response time guideline established by the California EMS Agency is five minutes in urban areas, 15 minutes in suburban areas, and as quickly as possible in wilderness areas; for ALS first- response, the guideline is eight minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in suburban areas.

22 NFPA Standard 1710, 2004.

23 The National Fire Protection Association is a non-profit association of fire chiefs, firefighters, manufacturers and consultants.

24 Guideline for a full structure fire is response within ten minutes by a 12-15 person response team at least 90 percent of the time.

25 Commission on Fire Accreditation International, 2000.

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Table 2-17: Fire and Medical Response Time Standards (minutes) Full Advanced Structure Basic Life Life Ambulance Agency Providing Guideline Fire Fire Support Support Transport National Fire Protection Association 6 10 6 10 Commission on Fire Accreditation 5:50 5:50 CA EMS Agency Urban/Metro 5 8 8 Suburban/Rural 15 20 20 Wilderness1 AQAP AQAP AQAP (1) AQAP means as quickly as possible. NFPA recommends a 60-second standard for dispatch time—the time between the placement of the 911 call and the notification of the emergency responders. The Commission on Fire Accreditation International recommends a 50-second benchmark for dispatch time.

For structure fires, NFPA recommends that the response team include 14 personnel—a commander, five water supply line operators, a two-person search and rescue team, a two-person ventilation team, a two-person initial rapid intervention crew, and two support people. The NFPA guidelines require fire departments to establish overall staffing levels to meet response time standards, and to consider the hazard to human life, firefighter safety, potential property loss, and the firefighting approach. NFPA recommends that each engine, ladder or truck company be staffed by four on-duty firefighters, and that at least four firefighters (two in and two out), each with protective clothing and respiratory protection, be on scene to initiate fire-fighting inside a structure. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard states that when at least two firefighters enter a structure fire, two will remain on the outside to assist in rescue activities.26

For emergency medical response with advanced life support needs, NFPA recommends the response team include two paramedics and two basic-level emergency medical technicians. For structure fires, NFPA recommends the availability of an uninterrupted water supply for 30 minutes with enough pressure to apply at least 400 gallons of water per minute.

26 29 CFR 1910.134

63 BURR CONSULTING PUBLIC SAFETY

S ERVICE A DEQUACY

Fire and emergency medical service adequacy measures include response times, ISO ratings, and awards for distinguished services.

Figure 2-18: Average Response Times

Response Times La Mirada Long Beach Response times reflect the time La Habra Heights elapsed between the dispatch of Norwalk personnel and the arrival of the first Cudahy responder on scene. As such, Cerritos response times do not include the Maywood time required to transport a victim to Signal Hill a hospital. The response times listed Unincorporated in Figure 2-18 are 2004 annual South Gate Pico Rivera averages, except for the cities of Commerce Compton, Downey, Santa Fe Springs, Compton and Vernon which are 2002 annual MSR Area Median averages.27 Hawaiian Gardens Whittier Overall, response times in the Carson MSR area are comparable to Lakewood countywide response times for urban Bellflower areas. The quickest responses occur in Santa Fe Springs Vernon where the average response Bell time is 3 minutes and 30 seconds, and Artesia Lynwood Bell Gardens where the average Paramount response time is 3 minutes and 43 Downey seconds. By comparison, the CFPD Huntington Park average response time for all urban Bell Gardens areas in the County is 4 minutes and Vernon 30 seconds. 0:00 1:12 2:24 3:36 4:48 6:00 All of the response times in the MSR area are quicker than the NFPA standards. Several of the cities have response time performance objectives for fire and EMS calls. The La Habra Heights fire department follows the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1710 guidelines for fire and emergency medical response times. Response time policies which differ include the cities of Compton and Downey, each with a target response time policy of 4 minutes.

Response times in the unincorporated areas of the MSR area are comparable to CFPD response times in urban areas of Los Angeles County. There are fifteen area hospitals, which service the MSR area with emergency medical services. Area hospitals with the most emergency room visitation are the Kaiser Hospital in Bellflower and Saint Francis Medical Center in Lynwood.28

27 Response times were reported by the agencies to the LAFCO Request for Information Part III—Fire Services.

28 ER visitation is from the 2002 Annual Hospital Utilization Report from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. BURR CONSULTING 64 GATEWAY MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

Some of the agencies indicated why their response times might be quicker than neighboring jurisdictions. The City of Santa Fe Spring’s fire department is able to respond quickly as a result of the large number of staff, quality equipment, efficient city infrastructure, and lack of residential areas to serve. The City of Vernon maintains a Class 1 ISO rating and has a small jurisdiction with strategically located stations.

ISO Classifications The Insurance Service Office (ISO), an advisory organization, classifies communities from 1 to 10. Communities with the best systems for water distribution, fire department equipment, firefighting personnel and fire alarm facilities receive a rating of 1. A Pubic Protection Classification (PPC) rating has a direct bearing on the cost of property insurance for every home and building in a community.29 The Public Protection Classification rating for the cities of Long Beach and Vernon are Class 1, as awarded by the ISO. The cities of Compton, Downey and Santa Fe Springs have Class 2 ratings and the rest of the fire departments in the MSR area have a Class 3 rating.

Distinguished Service The Consolidated Fire Protection District receives one to two dozen letters of commendation for service provided in the area each year. The City of La Habra Heights Fire Department has received the Life Safety Achievement Award for 2001 and 2002 from the Residential Fire Safety Institute (RFSI). The City of Long Beach has received “Outstanding Team and Individual Performance” awards from the California Public Safety Radio Association. A Santa Fe Springs Fire Department employee have been selected to serve on the National Committee of the International Code Council ad-hoc Committee on Hydrogen Gas and another has been selected to be the instructor for an annual CUPA conference. The City of Vernon has maintained an ISO class rating of 1.

S ERVICE C HALLENGES

There are numerous challenges in providing adequate fire and paramedic service in the MSR area, particularly in the urban wildland interface areas in the northeast. Another service challenge is community growth increasing demands on service. In addition, some of the agencies named current and expected budget constraints as causing reductions in service or deferred infrastructure improvements.

There are fire hazards within the MSR area to the northeast, running from the Puente Hills to La Habra Heights where severe fire hazards exist during dry weather.

A service challenge raised by the City of Compton includes problems serving eastern areas of the City. The City mentioned that poor distribution of resources has resulted in challenges to serving the area. Continued population growth through higher density residential development and commercial development along the City’s major corridors will also contribute to growing demands for services.

29 The ISO classification affects fire insurance rates for both residential and commercial properties. Generally, property owners in communities with a lower PPC rating pay a lower fire insurance premium than property owners in communities with a higher PPC rating.

65 BURR CONSULTING PUBLIC SAFETY

In the City of Downey, City land use plans and growth patterns are currently increasing service demand with more housing and commercial development. The Fire Department expects growth to contribute to a one to two percent increase in service per year within the next five years.

The City of La Habra Heights identified service challenges in their wildland interface areas, which are difficult to reach. Access to structures in and around La Habra Heights is difficult as many of the structures are only reachable via winding roads. Powder Canyon has a high fire hazard and is difficult to access. Additionally, winding roads make vehicle access difficult in some areas. Although growth and development in the City is limited by local land use policies, the area is expected to experience moderate growth, impacting fire service over the next five years with increasing residential population.

The City of Long Beach expects to face increasing service demands with the growth in high-rise development in the downtown area within the next two to five years. Growth is also expected through housing development in the West Gateway area, resulting in additional need for fire services. Increased port activity and highway traffic are also expected to contribute to growing service demands.

Due to increased population growth and new housing and commercial development, the Santa Fe Springs Fire Department expects in the next ten years the need for increased emergency medical and fire services. City land use plans and growth patterns are currently increasing service demand with conversion of former oil fields to residential areas.

The City of Vernon did not mention any difficult to serve areas and stated it is not expecting growth patterns to affect service demands.

Minor service challenges raised by CFPD relate to difficult access to structures in wildland areas. Challenges occur in serving areas in the Whittier Hills due to topography. New development in Carson is creating increasingly congested areas and is also requiring increased staffing and infrastructure needs to serve the area.

The CFPD responds to a number of emergency medical incidents within the City of Compton as part of an automatic aid agreement. Currently, the CFPD and the City are working together to achieve a reciprocal balance of fire and emergency medical service responses for both agencies.

Maintaining an acceptable level of training, especially for specialized services, is an ongoing challenge for CFPD. Occasionally, neighborhoods with security gate access can delay arrival time. Population growth that is combined with increased density development in high-rise apartment and business complexes are expected to cause increased demand on services, especially EMS.

F INANCING C ONSTRAINTS AND O PPORTUNITIES

Most cities rely primarily on general fund resources to finance fire and EMS service. Other revenues used to finance services include Proposition 172 funds, ambulance service charges, federal and state grants, parcel taxes, and fees.

The median city in the MSR area generates $418 in general fund revenue per capita. The cities of Cudahy and Maywood generate the least general fund revenues with less than $250 per capita. In nine cities—Bell, Bellflower, Compton, Huntington Park, Lynwood, Norwalk, Paramount, Pico Rivera, and South Gate—general fund revenues are relatively modest with $300-400 per capita.

BURR CONSULTING 66 GATEWAY MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

General fund revenues are most ample in Signal Hill, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, and Vernon, where per capita revenues exceed $650.

Financing constraints will affect the ability to finance not only service costs but also infrastructure needs like police station and technology improvements. Municipal service providers are constrained in their capacity to finance services by the inability to increase property taxes, requirements for voter approval for new or increased taxes, and requirements of voter approval for parcel taxes and assessments used to finance services.

O PPORTUNITIES FOR R ATE R ESTRUCTURING

Traditional rate charges are not a source of revenue for fire providers. Rates generally refer to charges for use of a revenue-producing enterprise such as water and sewer treatment, supply or collection facilities, airports, garbage disposal service, or parking lots.

However, there are opportunities for jurisdictions to restructure certain tax rates for significant general fund taxes with voter approval, as well as opportunities to restructure various fees. The jurisdictions may increase the utility users’ tax, transient occupancy tax, and business license tax without legal limits, subject to economic competition considerations and voter approval. There are opportunities for jurisdictions to increase user fees and development impact fees, and many jurisdictions do increase the fees on an annual basis; however, with the exception of development impact fees in growing cities, none of these fees has the potential to generate significant revenue.

C OST AVOIDANCE O PPORTUNITIES

Fire service providers have implemented a number of strategies to avoid unnecessary costs. Agencies share or use each other’s facilities or expert staff to achieve levels of service they could not otherwise obtain. These practices and additional opportunities are discussed in the next section. False alarm fees, 911 call response fees, and public outreach could be used to reduce the number of unnecessary service calls and related costs. Demand management strategies like increased insurance co-payments, patient education, and availability of alternative services like primary care and telephone-based service may reduce the future number of ambulance transports for non-urgent emergency room visits.

R EGIONAL C OLLABORATION

The fire service providers practice extensive collaboration through mutual and automatic aid, as discussed above

The most significant regional collaboration effort is the Joint Powers Communication Center (JPCC). The JPCC is owned and operated by the City of Downey and functions as a regional dispatch center for several fire departments, including the cities of Santa Fe Springs, Compton and Downey in the MSR area. Participating agencies benefit from pooling resources and training opportunities.

Additional fire service collaboration in the Gateway MSR area includes haz-mat response services. The cities of Santa Fe Springs and Vernon serve as regional responders to haz-mat incidents. Both cities provide haz-mat automatic aid to Compton, Downey and Montebello, and mutual aid to CFPD.

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The City of Long Beach participates in the Long Beach/Signal Hill Joint Powers Agency responsible for fire and health department programs related to hazardous materials management.

Staff at CFPD Station No. 103 in Pico Rivera conducts search and rescue training with the Downey Fire Department staff at the Rancho Los Amigos facility.

Opportunities for Shared Facilities Some agencies may benefit from expansion of collaboration efforts among providers. The City of Compton suggested establishing new agreements with other neighboring agencies. The City of La Habra Heights mentioned possible improvements through participation in a regional dispatch provider, such as the JPCC. The City of Santa Fe Springs is open to automatic aid approaches that will help streamline fire and emergency medical services regionally, and development of radio and data interoperability among all jurisdictions.

P OLICY A LTERNATIVES

There are no potential major changes in fire and emergency medical service provision in the MSR area.

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CHAPTER 3: UTILITIES

This chapter discusses the provision of utility services—water, wastewater, storm water and solid waste—in the MSR area. The section is designed to address questions relating to the efficiency and adequacy of services, the adequacy of infrastructure, along with opportunities for sharing facilities, reducing costs and rate restructuring. The chapter provides an overview of the service configuration, the level and type of service demand, facilities, current and potential regional collaboration between service providers, service delivery challenges, and an analysis of potential policy alternatives relevant to the particular service.

W ATER

There are eight water districts, 15 cities and 12 private companies providing water services within the Gateway MSR area. The local agencies under LAFCO jurisdiction providing water services to the area are reviewed in a separate MSR report and that do not require further review of water services in this report. Dudek and Associates has prepared the detailed MSR study of water providers in the Gateway area (“Water MSR”). The local agencies providing water services to the area are: 1) City of Cerritos, 14) City of Vernon, 2) City of Compton, 15) City of Whittier, 3) City of Downey, 16) Central Basin Municipal Water 4) City of Huntington Park, District, 5) City of Lakewood, 17) La Habra Heights County Water 6) City of Long Beach, District, 7) City of Lynwood, 18) Orchard Dale County Water District, 8) City of Norwalk, 19) Pico County Water District, 9) City of Paramount, 20) Sativa County Water District, 10) City of Pico Rivera, 21) Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal 11) City of Santa Fe Springs, Water District, 12) City of Signal Hill, 22) Water Replenishment District of 13) City of South Gate, Southern California, and

23) West Basin Municipal Water District.

In addition, there are 14 private purveyors of water to the MSR area. The private purveyors are not under LAFCO jurisdiction, and are not subject to review. These purveyors are: Bellflower Home Garden Water Company, Bellfower Somerset Mutual Water Company, California Water Service Company, County Water Company, Dominguez Water Corporation, Maywood Mutual Water Company, Midland Park Water Trust, Park Water Company, Peerless Water Company, San Gabriel Valley Water Company, Southern California Water Company, Suburban Water Systems, Tract 180 Mutual Water Company, and Tract 349 Mutual Water Company.

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Figure 3-1: Wastewater and Solid Waste Facilities Map

BURBANK SIERRA MADRE BRADBURY CO GLENDALE CO CO PASADENA MONROVIA CO CO DUARTE AZUSA GLENDORA ARCADIA CO CO SAN MARINO CO Azusa Land Reclamation Co. Landfill CO IRWINDALE CO CO CO SOUTH PASADENA CO COCO TEMPLE CITY CO CO CO CO CO CO SAN GABRIEL COVINA

ALHAMBRA BALDWIN PARK CO CO CO EL MONTE CO ROSEMEAD

CO CO CO CO WEST COVINA MONTEREY PARK CO SOUTH EL MONTE San Jose Creek Water Reclamation Plant

CO LA PUENTE LOS ANGELES CO CO WALNUT WHITTIER Puente Hills Landfill MONTEBELLO Puente Hills Materials Recovery Facility INDUSTRY CO VERNON COMMERCE DIAMOND BAR Commerce Refuse to PICO RIVERA CO Energy Facility CO HUNTINGTON PARKMAYWOOD CO CO BELL WHITTIER

CO BELL GARDENS CUDAHY Savage Canyon Landfill LA HABRA HEIGHTS

INGLEWOOD CO CO SOUTH GATE DOWNEY SANTA FE SPRINGS CO CO CO

HAWTHORNE LYNWOOD CO

CO NORWALK CO CO CO Los Coyotes Water LA MIRADA CO Reclamation Plant GARDENA CO PARAMOUNT CO COMPTON

CO BELLFLOWER CO

ARTESIA CERRITOS

CO CO LAKEWOOD TORRANCE Orange County CO CARSON HAWAIIAN GARDENS CO CO Long Beach Water Reclamation Plant

Joint Water Pollution SIGNAL HILL LOMITA Control Plant

ROLLING HILLS ESTATES LONG BEACH

LONG BEACH RANCHO PALOS VERDES LONG BEACH

LOS ANGELES Southeast Resource CO

Legend Freeways Gateway Utilities Facilities Wastewater Treatment Plants Recycling Facililty 1:225,000 LAFCO Landfills MSR Boundary Miles 02.551.25 August 26, 2005

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W ASTEWATER

Table 3-2: Wastewater Service Providers For the most part, the wastewater Area Collection Treatment & Disposal generated in the MSR area is conveyed Artesia LACCSMD CSD 2, 18, 19 through local collection systems to LA County Los Angeles County Sanitation Bell DPW CSD 1, 2 Districts (CSD) trunk lines, and then Bell Gardens LACCSMD CSD 2 to CSD water reclamation plants.30 Bellflower LACCSMD CSD 2, 3, 18 From there, the treated effluent flows LACCSMD CSD 8 to the Joint Water Pollution Control Carson Plant in Carson for further treatment, Cerritos Direct CSD2, 3, 18, 19 and is then discharged through an Commerce LACCSMD CSD 2 outfall that extends two miles off the Compton Direct CSD 1, 2, 8; Septic coast into the Pacific Ocean. Cudahy LACCSMD CSD 1 Downey Direct CSD 2, 18 There are eight active CSDs Hawaiian Gardens LACCSMD CSD 19 servicing the MSR area. The CSDs are Direct & LA the primary providers of wastewater Huntington Park County DPW CSD 1 treatment and disposal services in the La Habra Heights LACCSMD Septic; CSD 18; OCSD MSR area. As a contract service La Mirada LACCSMD CSD 18 provider, the City of Los Angeles treats and disposes of a small portion Lakewood LACCSMD CSD 3, 19 of the wastewater generated in the Long Beach Direct CSD 1, 2, 3, 8, 19; Septic MSR area. La Habra Heights receives Lynwood Direct CSD 1; Septic limited wastewater service from Maywood Direct CSD 1; Septic Orange County Sanitation District for Norwalk Private CSD 2, 18 17 homes in the southern portion of Paramount LACCSMD CSD 1, 2 the City. Within Compton, Long Pico Rivera LACCSMD CSD 2, 18 Beach, Lynwood, Maywood and Santa Fe Springs LACCSMD CSD 18 South Gate, some small areas rely on LA County private septic systems rather than Signal Hill DPW CSD 3, 29 public sewers. South Gate Direct CSD 1, 2; Septic Vernon Direct CSD 1, 2, 23 In the unincorporated areas, the Los Angeles County Consolidated Whittier Direct CSD 2, 18 Sewer Maintenance District CSD 1, 2, 3, 8, 18, 19; (LACCSMD) is responsible for Unincorporated Direct Septic maintaining the wastewater collection CSD = Los Angeles County Sanitation District system laterals and pumps LACCSMD = Los Angeles County Consolidated Sewer Maintenance District OCSD = Orange County Sanitation District Each of the cities is responsible for maintaining the local wastewater collection system. Thirteen of the cities contract with

30 The County Sanitation Districts span multiple MSR areas, and are being reviewed in a separate MSR report focused on all County Sanitation District operations.

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LACCSMD for this service. The City of Norwalk uses a private wastewater collection system maintenance provider and others rely on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works for sewer maintenance services.

Table 3-3: Wastewater Service Area

Area CSD 1 CSD 2 CSD 3 CSD 8 CSD-15 CSD-18 CSD-19 CSD-23 CSD-29 Septic OC San.

Eastern half, Center of Northern western Artesia City sliver sliver Eastern Bell Most of City sliver Bell Gardens All of City Southern Eastern Bellflower Most of City sliver sliver Carson All of City Northern Western Cerritos sliver sliver NE sliver Most of City Commerce All of City Eastern Southwester Compton Most of City sliver n sliver Scattered Cudahy All of City Eastern Downey Most of City sliver Hawaiian Gardens All of City Huntington Park All of City La Habra Western Southern Heights sliver Most of City sliver La Mirada All of City Eastern Lakewood Most of City sliver Rose Park & Western N. Long Long Beach NW sliver NE sliver Most of City sliver East Beach Lynwood All of City Scattered Maywood All of City Scattered

Norwalk SW sliver Most of City Western Paramount sliver Most of City Eastern Pico Rivera Most of City sliver Santa Fe Springs All of City Western Signal Hill sliver Most of City Eastern South Gate Most of City sliver Scattered Southern Eastern Vernon sliver sliver Most of City Western Whittier sliver Sliver Most of City Other MSR W. San E. San Areas Gabriel Gabriel

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S ERVICE A REA

The wastewater service area for each of the eight CSDs and for Orange County Sanitation District is listed in Table 3-2. Although many of the CSDs straddle city boundaries, most of the cities lie predominantly within one CSD.

Areas that do not lie within the service area of these providers do not receive central wastewater treatment services, but rather rely on septic systems. Septic systems serve most of La Habra Heights. Other cities with scattered septic include Lynwood, Maywood, South Gate and Compton. In Long Beach, there are scattered households on septic primarily in Rose Park and North Long Beach. Scattered septic systems are found in unincorporated territory of the MSR area in the Walnut Park, East Rancho Dominguez and Willowbrook areas.31

S ERVICE D EMAND

Wastewater demand is affected primarily by growth in residential populations and commercial development, and secondarily by factors such as water usage and conservation efforts. Increased service demand in the MSR area as a result of population growth has been balanced with decreased demand resulting from greater water use efficiency. The increased use of water-efficient fixtures reduces wastewater flows and service demand. Ultra-low flush toilets (ULFTs) use only about one- quarter as much water as older models, and the latest versions of these toilets work much better than models made in the early 1990s. Washing machine replacement is also effective in reducing wastewater flows. Conventional top-loading washers discharge about 42 gallons of water per load. New, frontloading washers, although more expensive, discharge only about 26 gallons per load.

Wastewater flow includes not only discharges from residences, businesses, institutions, and industrial establishments, but also infiltration and inflow.32 Infiltration and inflow tend to affect older sewer systems to a greater degree and are greatest during or right after heavy rain. They are the primary factors driving peak flows through the wastewater system and a major consideration in capacity planning and costs.

31 The most recent Census data on septic use (1990) indicate septic use was most prevalent in La Habra Heights (75 percent of homes) and the Walnut Park unincorporated area (four percent). Two percent of homes were on septic in Lynwood, Maywood, South Gate and Compton and in the East Rancho Dominguez, Willowbrook and Florence-Graham unincorporated areas.

32 Infiltration refers to groundwater that seeps into sewer pipes through cracks, pipe joints and other system leaks. Inflow refers to rainwater that enters the sewer system from sources such as yard and patio drains, roof gutter downspouts, uncapped cleanouts, pond or pool overflow drains, footing drains, cross-connections with storm drains, and even holes in manhole covers. A sewer cleanout is a pipe rising from the underground sewer line to the ground surface with a removable cap; it is used to access the sewer line to clear blockages.

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FACILITIES

The wastewater facilities include collection, treatment and disposal facilities.

Wastewater Treatment Plants There are four upstream wastewater reclamation plants in or near the MSR area, and one major downstream wastewater treatment plant from which the effluent is discharged into the Pacific Ocean. All are owned and operated by the County Sanitation Districts.

Table 3-4: Wastewater Treatment Facilities Capacity Year of Facility Location (MGD) 2003 Operation

San Jose Creek WRP Near City of Whittier 100 1971 Whittier Narrows WRP Near South El Monte 15 1962 Los Coyotes WRP City of Cerritos 37.5 1970 Long Beach WRP City of Long Beach 25 1973 Joint Water Pollution Control Plant City of Carson 320 1928

The San Jose Creek Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) treats some wastewater originating from La Habra Heights, and is located adjacent to the MSR area in unincorporated territory near Whittier. The plant was built in 1971, and is owned and operated by the CSD. The plant provides primary, secondary and tertiary treatment for 100 million gallons of wastewater per day. Sludge is placed back into the sewer system, conveyed to the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (JWPCP) in Carson for further treatment, and disposed in the Pacific Ocean. Approximately 35 million gallons per day of the purified water from San Jose Creek Plant is sent to percolation basins for groundwater recharge. In 1994, the San Jose Creek Plant was connected to the Rio Hondo Water Recycling projects which supply the water recycling needs of more than a dozen cities in the Central L.A. Basin. These projects are owned and operated by the Central Basin Municipal Water District.

The Whittier Narrows WRP treats wastewater originating in the northern portion of the MSR area, and is located adjacent to the MSR area in unincorporated territory near El Monte. The plant was built in 1962, and is owned and operated by the CSD. The plant has a 15 million gallon per day (mgd) design capacity. Treatment at the facility includes primary sedimentation, activated sludge biological treatment, secondary sedimentation with coagulation, filtration, chlorination, and dechlorination. Sludge is placed back into the sewer system, conveyed to the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (JWPCP) in Carson for further treatment, and disposed in the Pacific Ocean. The Whittier Narrows WRP currently recycles nearly all of the treated effluent. Recycled water is used for irrigation and for groundwater recharge. Effluent that is not recycled is discharged to the San Gabriel River and to Rio Hondo, a tributary of the Los Angeles River.

The Los Coyotes WRP treats wastewater originating in the northeastern portion of the MSR area, and is located in Cerritos at the juncture of the San Gabriel River Freeway and the Artesia Freeway. The plant is owned and operated by the CSD. The plant has a 37.5 million gallon per day (mgd) design capacity. Treatment at the facility includes primary, secondary and tertiary treatment. The Los Coyotes WRP currently recycles 5 mgd of the treated effluent. Recycled water is used for irrigation and for industrial use. Effluent that is not recycled is discharged to the San Gabriel River.

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Sewage solids are returned to the trunks to be processed by the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (JWPCP).

The Long Beach WRP treats wastewater originating in southeastern portion of the MSR area. The plant is owned and operated by the CSD. The plant provides primary, secondary and tertiary treatment. The plant is located in Long Beach west of the San Gabriel River Freeway. The plant currently treats 25 million gallons per day (mgd) serving a population of 250,000 people. Almost 5 mgd of the effluent is used at 40 reuse sites including irrigation for schools, parks, golf courses, greenbelts and pressurization of oil-bearing strata. The remainder of the treated effluent is disposed in Coyote Creek upstream of the San Gabriel River in the San Gabriel Estuary. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has classified Long Beach WRP a major discharger.

The Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (JWPCP) in Carson receives and disposes waste from the upstream San Jose Creek, Long Beach, Los Coyotes and Whittier Narrows WRPs. The plant also receives wastewater directly from the western portion of the MSR area. The plant is owned and operated by the CSD. The facility provides both primary and secondary treatment for approximately 320 million gallons of wastewater per day. The plant was recently upgraded to full secondary treatment, with an increase in the amount of sludge that must be processed. The District is acquiring off-site locations for composting sludge. Prior to discharge, the treated wastewater is disinfected with hypochlorite and sent to the Pacific Ocean through a network of outfalls. These outfalls extend two miles off the coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula to a depth of 200 feet. The CSD is building another tunnel for the ocean outfall to allow the existing tunnel and outfall to be inspected and maintained.

In portions of Long Beach and Lakewood, and most of La Habra Heights, property owners use on-site septic systems. Septic systems that are not properly cleaned, maintained and replaced are believed to be sources of bacterial contamination in groundwater. Septic system failure rates have been estimated to be 20 to 30 percent in the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County. Cities are responsible for identifying and correcting sources of bacteria from septic systems that affect surface waters.

Wastewater Collection Facilities The 26 cities in the MSR area maintain local intercept collector sewer lines that are connected typically to CSD trunk lines and, in limited cases, to the City of Los Angeles sewer system. Elsewhere, the wastewater collection lines are maintained by the cities or, as a contract service provider, by Los Angeles County.

Trunk sewers convey sewage to the respective wastewater treatment facilities. Many of these treatment facilities are at or approaching capacity, and are scheduled for upgrades. Several cities are performing sewer reconstruction and rehabilitation. The City of Norwalk plans on cleaning the sewer lines to prevent blockages.

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Figure 3-5: Miles of Sewer per City Square Mile Most of the cities maintained Artesia 20 approximately similar amounts of Maywood 19 sewer pipe length per city square Norwalk 19 mileage. Development density and Lakewood 18 parcel size impact the amount of Huntington Park 17 sewer pipes a city must maintain. For South Gate 17 cities consisting of larger parcels, Bellflower 16 sewer pipe density is lower. The sewer Bell Gardens 16 pipe miles include only city owned Bell 16 and maintained connections to the Hawaiian Gardens 16 CSD trunks and interceptors. Lynwood 15 La Mirada 15 The built-out residential cities of Downey 15 Artesia, Maywood, and Norwalk Signal Hill 15 maintain the largest length of sewer Whittier 15 line per city square miles. The cities of Cerritos 14 La Habra Heights, Vernon, and Long Beach 14 Commerce have relatively low sewer Paramount 14 pipe line density. The City of Vernon Pico Rivera 13 has a lower sewer line density due to Cudahy 13 the low residential population of the Carson 10 City. The City of Commerce also has Santa Fe Springs 9 a low residential population which Commerce 7 leads to less pipe miles. The City of La Vernon 1 Habra Heights mostly depends on La Habra Heights 1 septic systems to provide wastewater 0 5 10 15 20 25 treatment and does not have many sewer pipes. Of the remaining cities, the cities of Santa Fe Springs, Carson and Cudahy have the lowest sewer pipe mileage per city square mile. The City of Compton did not have total sewer pipe mileage available and was left out of Figure 3-5.

There are no wastewater collection facilities in certain parts of the MSR area—most of La Habra Heights, and in scattered areas of Compton, Lynwood, Long Beach, Maywood, South Gate and the unincorporated areas of Walnut Park, East Rancho Dominguez, Willowbrook and Florence- Graham. On-site septic systems are located on individual properties, provide treatment of wastewater, collect sludge, and discharge effluent into a leach field. Property owners are responsible for septic system maintenance and sludge disposal. The life span of a properly maintained septic system is about 30 years. The amount of use can shorten a septic system’s lifetime.

Due to corrosion of CSD trunk sewer lines, the CSDs are installing corrosion-resistant liners in the sewers throughout the MSR area.

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Table 3-6: Wastewater Collection Deficiencies and Needs

Area Deficiencies/Needs LA County The County needs septic system refurbishments throughout. Artesia The City is undergoing sewer reconstruction. The City has an ongoing cleaning, videotaping, rehabilitation, and maintenance Bell of the city sanitary sewer system. The City is undergoing an assessment of sewer system condition and Schull Bell Gardens Sewer Replacement. Bellflower The City needs sewer line replacement. Carson None Cerritos None Commerce None The City continues to implement the City of Compton Sewer Rehabilitation Program. The program involves reconstruction of sewers and rehabilitation of Compton projects. Cudahy None Downey None Hawaiian Gardens None The City is undertaking rehabilitation of sanitary sewer and sewer main Huntington Park replacement. La Habra Heights Most of the City uses septic systems. La Mirada None Lakewood None The City has conducted $40 million in sewer upgrades in the last ten years. The City is undertaking a reclaimed water system expansion and general sewer Long Beach collection system and facility improvements. Lynwood The City has ongoing sewer upgrades. Maywood None Norwalk The City plans to clean 50 percent of all sewer lines City-wide. Paramount None Pico Rivera None Santa Fe Springs None Signal Hill None Sewer manhole ring and cover replacements. The City needs a sewer master South Gate plan developed. Vernon CIP not provided The City needs sewer maintenance on Palm Ave, Catalina Ave, Nogales Ave, Whittier and Shiloh Ave.

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S ERVICE A DEQUACY

For wastewater service, the most appropriate benchmarks for evaluating service adequacy are the number of spills, regulatory sanctions, and pollution of the water.

Sewage Spills Table 3-7: OES-Reported Sewage Spills (gallons)

Date Jurisdiction Location Cause Gallons Contained 6/9/05 Long Beach Other A grease blockage caused the spill. 500 Yes 6/7/05 Huntington Park Business A grease stoppage caused sewage to overflow. 2,000 Yes A blue dye was reported to be leaking from a manhole and into a storm drain that feeds into the 6/6/05 Huntington Park Road sewer system. Unknown No Sewage spilled from manhole, flowing into a storm 6/4/2005 Long Beach Road drain and Los Cerritos Channel. 2,000 No 5/8/2005 Signal Hill Business Sewage main broke. 1,000 Yes 2/23/05 Artesia Road Overflow caused by groundwater infiltration. Unknown Unknown High intensity rain overwhelmed the system at a 2/21/05 La Mirada Road sanitary sewer in the street. 25,000 No Sewage released from pump station at manhole 2/21/05 La Mirada Pump Station cover. 12,000 Yes Substance released at pumping station near manhole 2/20/05 Artesia Sewage Facility during rain event. 500 Yes Substance released from manhole due to high 2/19/05 La Mirada Road intensity rainfall. 50,000-100,000 Yes 1/13/05 Whittier Road Excessive rain caused the spill. 4,000 Yes 1/9/05 La Mirada Road Release due to high intensity rain. 5,000 Yes Backup in sewer main caused overflow from 12/24/04 La Habra Heights Residence manhole. Sewage collected in a dry creek bed. 9,000 Yes A transformer burned up, allowing sewage to flow 11/27/04 La Mirada Road into the flood control area. Unknown Yes 8/27/04 Long Beach Waterways A grease stoppage caused sewage to overflow. 500 Yes 8/21/2004 Long Beach Apartment Break in sewage main from apartment building.UnknownYes 7/9/04 Whittier Sewage Facility Partial blockage in sewage due to root mass. 6,800 Yes 7/6/04 Paramount Residence Grease stoppage caused a backup. 22,000 Yes 6/24/04 Whittier Road Released due to a sewer blockage. 1,100 Yes Blockage in an 8-inch sewer, contained in a storm 4/26/04 Signal Hill Business drain.. 1,000 Yes Sewage spill from manhole due to grease blockage, 3/4/2004 East LA Residence with some flowing into storm drain. 1,000 No Substance released due to buildup of grease and 12/19/03 La Mirada Road construction debris. 1,000 Yes Release due to a blockage in the sewer line, the 12/17/03 Whittier Road storm drain is a tributary of Coyote Creek. 31,000 Yes Sewage overflow from manhole cover and into 8/9/2003 Long Beach Road storm drain. Unknown Unknown

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Figure 3-8: OES-Reported Sewage Spills per 100 Sewer Miles There have been several sewage spills in the La Habra Gateway MSR area in the last two years, as reported to 12.5 OES.33 Most of the reported spills were related to Heights sewage line blockage. Rainwater inflow during storm Artesia 3.2 events caused sewage overflows in Artesia, La Mirada, and Whittier. The reported spills do not include all Signal Hill 3.0 incidents; several jurisdictions did not appear in the OES hazardous spills data. La Mirada 2.5 Sewer overflow rates are measured as the number Huntington 1.9 of reported sewage spills (annualized) per 100 miles of Park sewer collection lines. Due to the small size of the La Habra Heights sewer system, its one spill equates to a Whittier 0.9 relatively high sewer overflow rate. Similarly, the two spills in the relatively small Artesia and Signal Hill Paramount 0.8 collection systems represent a relatively high overflow Long rate. Overflow rates in La Mirada, Huntington Park, 0.4 Whittier, Paramount and Long Beach were greater Beach than zero. In the remaining communities, no 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 overflows were reported. In the median city in the MSR area, the overflow rate was zero. Annual Spills per 100 Sew er Miles

Twenty of the 26 cities disclosed sewer overflow information for purposes of stormwater reporting to the RWQCB. The median sewer overflow rate in FY 03-04 among the 20 cities was 0.2 based on these reports. Overflow rates in Vernon, Whittier, Downey and Bell Gardens were relatively high (greater than 1.0) in FY 03-04.

Regulatory Actions The RWQCB, per federal mandate, requires sewage discharges to have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, which includes various sewage system requirements for the disposal of treated water and sludge. The Board also monitors sewage and other hazardous spills that contaminate waterways.

California Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) has taken various types of enforcement actions against the Water Reclamation Plants in the MSR area region due to discharge of effluent into the Los Angeles River that exceeds TMDL standards for ammonia, nitrogen and metals. Both the County Sanitation Districts and the City of Los Angeles are investing in additional treatment processes to address these water quality concerns.

Generally, the CSD facilities in this area have abided by water quality requirements. The San Jose Creek WRP received a Silver award in 2002, and the JWPCP received a Gold award for 100 percent

33 California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, Hazardous Materials Spill Reports.

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compliance with permit effluent limits in 2002. The Whittier Narrows WRP received the Platinum award in 2002 for 100 percent compliance with permit effluent limits for five consecutive years.

S ERVICE C HALLENGES

In the MSR area, service challenges include capacity for increased development, the regulation of the onsite septic systems and minimizing the causes of sewage contamination in the region’s waterways.

For both the County Sanitation Districts and the City of Los Angeles, service challenges include complying with requirements for further treatment of effluent discharged into the Los Angeles River, Rio Hondo, and the San Gabriel River.

The cities of Artesia, La Mirada and Whittier have experienced sewer overflows due to rainwater inflow during heavy rainfall. These incidents may be attributed to poor stormwater drainage and sewer system conditions in these areas.

In the areas served by septic systems, the primary service challenge also relates to regulatory issues. The cities are now responsible for inspecting and monitoring septic systems, and for devising a plan to ensure that septic systems are properly sited and maintained.

O PPORTUNITIES FOR R ATE R ESTRUCTURING

The County Sanitation Districts have indicated that increases in wastewater service charge rates will be necessary, but the Districts have postponed those rate increases until the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board resolves regulatory uncertainties about more stringent waste discharge requirements.

Additional opportunities for rate restructuring include charging customers based on water flow, which would promote water conservation.

P OLICY A LTERNATIVES

In the areas served by septic systems, centralized wastewater collection is an alternative to the use of septic systems.

No other government structure options were identified.

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S OLID W ASTE

The solid waste generated in the MSR area is disposed at several different landfills, some of which are owned by local agencies and others are owned by private companies. Solid waste collection and hauling services in the cities are provided by private operators and the cities. Most of the cities arrange for residential trash collection, although some also arrange for commercial collection. All cities except Huntington Park and Paramount arrange for curbside recycling services for residents. No information was provided about the residential refuse services offered by the City of Vernon. All but Compton arrange for curbside recycling services for businesses as well.

A new regulatory environment has had a profound effect on solid waste disposal in the MSR area and throughout the County. In 1989, California passed historic legislation that sought to radically decrease the amount of materials deposited in the state’s landfills. Assembly Bill 939 mandates that cities must have 50 percent less trash going to landfills in the year 2000 than it was estimated to be sending in 1990. Under the law, the state can fine a city $10,000 a day for failing either to prepare an approved diversion plan or to make a good faith effort to implement such a plan.34 A Senate bill passed in 1997 offers extensions through 2005 to jurisdictions falling short of the AB 939 standards that have made a “good faith effort” to comply.

Service Demand Figure 3-9: Trash Disposed (Tons), 1995-2003 The cities in the MSR area disposed 2,653,124 tons of solid waste in 2002. 3,500,000 This represents a decline of 12 percent 3,000,000 since 1999 when the tonnage disposed peaked.35 2,500,000 2,000,000 This decline in tons disposed has occurred despite growth over this 1,500,000 period in population and employment. 1,000,000 Businesses generate more trash 500,000 than residents. Overall, 64 percent of 0 the disposed trash is collected from

businesses in the MSR area. The 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 average resident in the MSR area generated nine pounds of trash daily, Independent Cities Regional Agency Members whereas, the average employee generated 34 pounds daily. Restaurants, construction, food manufacturing and medical services are the industries generating the most trash in the MSR area.

34 California Integrated Solid Waste Management Act of 1989, California Public Resources Code §40050 et seq.

35 In 2003, Artesia, Lynwood and South Gate joined a regional agency—Los Angeles Area Integrated Waste Management Authority—for reporting purposes. Hence, MSR area trash disposed in 2003 and later cannot be identified. Solid waste statistics for 2004 were not available from CIWMB at the time of report preparation.

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Figure 3-10: Trash (Tons) Disposed per Capita, 2002 A comparison of the amount of trash disposed per capita for each city Vernon within the MSR area is depicted in Commerce Figure 3-10.36 Overall, Vernon, Carson Commerce, Carson, and Santa Fe Santa Fe Springs Pico Rivera Springs generated the most trash per La Habra Heights capita in the MSR area.37 Whittier, South Gate South Gate, Cerritos and Artesia Whittier generated the largest amount of MSR Area household trash per capita that was Long Beach 38 disposed in landfills. Businesses in La Artesia Habra Heights, Vernon, South Gate and Compton Pico Rivera generated the largest Paramount amount of business trash per employee Downey in the MSR area. Cerritos Lakewood Maywood, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, La Bellflower Mirada, and Hawaiian Gardens Huntington Park generated the least trash per capita in Lynwood the MSR area. Santa Fe Springs, Bell, Bell Bellflower, and Cudahy generated the Norwalk least amount of household trash per Signal Hill capita. Signal Hill, La Mirada, Hawaiian Hawaiian Gardens Gardens, and Downey generated the La Mirada least amount of business trash per Cudahy employee in the MSR area. Bell Gardens Maywood The amount of trash disposed is not 0123456 the only indicator of service demand. While each jurisdiction has faced decreasing demand for trash disposal in landfills, the agencies have faced increasing demand for recycling services over the period. In order to meet A.B. 939 requirements, the agencies have encouraged recycling actively by collecting and hauling recyclables and green waste.

36 Tons of trash disposed per capita represents the total amount disposed in 2002 divided by the 24-hour population in that year.

37 Vernon is a predominantly industrial city with only 94 residents.

38 Household trash per capita represents the annual tons disposed by households in 2000 divided by the residential population in that year. Business trash per capita represents the annual tons disposed by businesses in 2000 divided by the daytime population.

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Table 3-11: Landfill diversion rates by agency, 2002 Although data on the tonnage Artesia 27% La Mirada 49% * recycled was not available from the Bell 25% * Lakewood 53% * California Integrated Waste Bell Gardens 54% Long Beach 54% * Management Board (CIWMB), the Bellflower 35% * Lynwood <25% Board releases the landfill diversion Carson 57% * Maywood 44% * rates achieved by each jurisdiction. Cerritos 42% Norwalk 33% By 2002, the median jurisdiction in the MSR area had succeeded in Commerce 46% * Paramount 44% diverting 47 percent of its trash from Compton <25% Pico Rivera 48% * landfills compared with 1990. Cudahy 47% * Santa Fe Springs 76% * Comparable statistics for subsequent Downey 41% Signal Hill 66% * years were not available from Hawaiian Gardens 39% South Gate 47% CIWMB. Huntington Park 47% Vernon 57% * La Habra Heights 51% Whittier 52% Two cities—Compton and * indicates CIWMB has approved the agency's diversion rate Lynwood—have been placed under compliance orders by CIWMB to enhance recycling programs and improve diversion. Of the agencies, nine have succeeded in meeting the A.B. 939 requirement of diverting at least 50 percent of its trash. Fifteen of the agencies have not yet met the requirement, although the Board has extended the deadline for each of these agencies due to good-faith efforts.

Facilities The solid waste originating in the cities in the MSR area is disposed in 25 different landfills, which are located throughout southern California. The top five landfills accommodate 80 percent of the MSR area’s solid waste, and the top ten landfills accommodate 95 percent of the MSR area’s waste.

Table 3-12: Top 10 Disposal Sites Used Disposal Facility Location Tons Disposed 2003 Closure MSR Agencies Using Facility MSR Area Total 1 Puente Hills Whittier 1,195,672 3,722,409 2013 All agencies Southeast Resource 2 Recovery Long Beach 341,518 498,146 NA All agencies except Long Beach and Lynwood 3 Olinda Alpha Brea 241,151 2,069,137 2013 All agencies except Long Beach 4 Frank R. Bowerman Irvine 237,595 2,194,816 2022 All agencies except Long Beach All agencies except Hawaiian Gardens and Long 5 El Sobrante Corona 201,009 2,218,631 2030 Beach 6 Chiquita Canyon Valencia 188,448 1,541,515 2019 All agencies Bell, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Norwalk, Santa 7 Savage Canyon Whittier 73,139 82,814 2025 Fe Springs and Whittier Artesia, Cerritos, City of Commerce, Compton, Bradley West and West Huntington Park, Lynwood, Norwalk, Paramount, 8 Extension Los Angeles 50,822 461,012 2007 South Gate, Vernon and Whittier All agencies except Bell, Cudahy, Hawaiian Gardens 9 Antelope Valley Palmdale 40,712 306,262 1999 and Maywood 10 Azusa Land Reclamation Azusa 37,126 173,504 2025 All agencies Puente Hills Landfill in unincorporated territory adjacent to Whittier received 43 percent of the MSR area’s waste. The landfill is owned and operated by the Los Angeles County Sanitation

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Districts (LACSD). The Puente Hills Landfill is one of the largest landfills in the world, second to New York City's Fresh Kills. The disposal area is 433 acres, and most of the site is lined. The landfill is permitted to receive up to 13,200 tons per day. The waste originating in the MSR area accounted for 32 percent of all waste disposed at the landfill in 2003. Over 40 cities outside the MSR area also dispose of waste at this landfill. There is a recycling and materials recovery facility at the landfill. The site contains a gas collection system,39 power generation plant,40 natural gas auto fuel facility,41 environmental control systems, and five groundwater monitoring wells. The landfill is expected to be filled by 2013, when it is expected to close.

The Puente Hills materials recovery facility is the site from which the Sanitation Districts plan eventually to load and ship solid waste by rail to more remote disposal sites—the Eagle Mountain Landfill in Riverside County and the Mesquite Regional landfill in Imperial County.

Twelve percent of the MSR area’s waste is disposed at the Southeast Resource Recovery Facility in Long Beach. The transformation facility is owned and operated by the City of Long Beach. The total area is 17 acres. The facility is permitted to receive up to 2,240 tons per day. The facility transforms refuse into energy and only receives non-hazardous waste. The waste originating in the MSR area—mostly originating from Long Beach, Lakewood and Signal Hill—accounted for 69 percent of all waste disposed at the landfill in 2003. The transformation facility has no expected closure date.

Olinda Alpha Landfill in Brea receives nine percent of the waste originating in the MSR area. The landfill is owned and operated by Orange County. The disposal area is 420 acres, and is not lined. The landfill is permitted to receive up to 8,000 tons per day. The landfill accepts municipal solid waste, but does not accept hazardous waste. The waste originating in the MSR area—mostly originating in Long Beach, Norwalk and La Mirada—accounted for 12 percent of all waste disposed at the landfill in 2003. The landfill accepts waste from various communities throughout southern California. The cities of Anaheim, Fullerton, and Orange are the largest users of the landfill. The site contains a gas collection system, a landfill gas-to-energy plant, and a flare station. The landfill is expected to be filled by 2013, when it is expected to close.

Frank R. Bowerman Sanitary Landfill in Irvine received nine percent of the waste originating in the MSR area. The landfill is owned and operated by the Orange County Integrated Waste Management Department. The disposal area is 341 acres, and is lined. The landfill is permitted to receive up to 8,500 tons per day. The landfill accepts mixed municipal solid waste, but does not accept hazardous waste. The waste originating in the MSR area—mostly originating in Downey, Bellflower, South Gate, and Pico Rivera—accounted for 11 percent of all waste disposed at the landfill in 2003. The landfill accepts waste from various communities throughout southern California. The cities of Santa Ana, Irvine and Huntington Beach are the largest users of the landfill. The site contains a gas collection system and groundwater monitoring wells. The landfill is expected to be filled by 2022, when it is expected to close.

39 The landfill gas—a natural by-product of waste decomposition—is collected through an extensive network of wells and trenches and is converted on site into electricity and auto fuel.

40 The landfill gas is burned in a boiler, creating steam which is processed through a turbine to generate electricity. This gas-to-energy facility generates 50 megawatts of electricity—enough to provide the electrical needs of 100,000 homes.

41 The facility processes and concentrates landfill gas, compresses it and stores it for vehicle use. The resultant high octane fuel is a form of compressed natural gas, and is less expensive to produce than conventional fuels.

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El Sobrante Landfill in Corona receives seven percent of the waste originating in the MSR area. The landfill is owned and operated by a private company—USA Waste Services of California. The disposal area is 495 acres, and is fully lined with geosynthetic materials.42 The landfill is permitted to receive up to 10,000 tons per day. The landfill accepts municipal solid waste, but does not accept hazardous waste. The waste originating in the MSR area—mostly originating in Carson and Long Beach—accounted for nine percent of all waste disposed at the landfill in 2003. The landfill accepts waste from various communities throughout southern California. The cities of Ontario and Corona are the largest users of the landfill. The site contains a gas collection system and groundwater monitoring wells. The landfill is expected to be filled by 2030, when it is expected to close.

In addition to the five landfills described above, the MSR area relies on 20 other landfills and disposal facilities.

Service Adequacy At present, all of the top ten landfills used by the MSR area meet the State minimum standards for solid waste handling and disposal.43 State minimum standards regulate the design and operation of solid waste facilities in order to protect public health and safety and the environment.

Each of the facilities is inspected monthly. None of the top five facilities used by the MSR area have been recently notified by regulatory agencies of areas of concern.

Table 3-13: Landfill Regulatory Compliance History Present Regulatory Landfill Concerns Past Challenges Gas impacts to groundwater from unlined cell, odor nuisance, gas 1 Puente Hills None emissions Southeast Resource 2 Recovery None NA 3 Olinda Alpha None Exceeding surface gas emissions, gas impacts to groundwater 4 Frank Bowerman None Litter control, erosion control, excess surface gas emissions 5 El Sobrante None Dust emissions, gas emissions A Landfill Facility Compliance Study commissioned by the Integrated Waste Management Board documented regulatory violations, concerns, and enforcement actions taken.44 This study provides perspective on the challenges faced by the various landfills in meeting regulatory requirements.

42 A geosynthetic liner contains a layer of clay, usually bentonite, sandwiched between two geotextiles or attached to a geomembrane with adhesive.

43 Integrated Waste Management Board, Inventory Of Solid Waste Facilities Violating State Minimum Standards, last updated February 18, 2005.

44 GeoSyntec Consultants, Inc., August 2004.

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The Regional Water Quality Control Boards have raised concerns over landfill gas impacts to groundwater at the two of the top five facilities. Puente Hills Landfill has enhanced groundwater and gas containment systems to improve the situation. Olinda Alpha has been studying groundwater flow models to determine the location of the problem.

All four of the top landfills used by the MSR area have been cited by the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) for excess landfill gas emissions. These emissions have related to landfill gas collection system inadequacies, mal-functioning, and wildfire damage.

The Puente Hills Landfill has been issued several notices of violation for odor nuisance by AQMD relating to green waste and garbage odors. In response, the landfill has shifted the working face farther away from residents, used fans to blow air away from residents, and used more soil as alternative daily cover.

The Frank R. Bowerman Landfill has been issued notices over exposed waste slopes and refuse due to heavy rain. The landfill has regarded the waste slopes and improved the drainage and erosion control systems.

The El Sobrante Landfill has been issued several notices to comply for dust emissions by AQMD, and asked to provide a dust control plan.

Opportunities for Rate Restructuring Figure 3-14: Municipal Solid Waste Rates (per ton), 2004 The rates currently charged for disposing solid waste differ between the top landfills used El Sobrante $31 by cities in the MSR area. Generally, Puente Hills charges rates less than the other landfills used by cities in the MSR area. Clearly, there are Frank R. $27 opportunities for Puente Hills to increase its Bowerman rates. Olinda $27 The County Sanitation Districts plan to Alpha increase in the future at Puente Hills Landfill as part of the transition to waste-by-rail. The Southeast estimated cost of waste-by-rail is $55 to $60 per Resource $35 ton, almost triple current rates. To transition to Recovery these unavoidable higher rates, the Districts plan to phase in waste-by-rail by 2010 while the Puente Hills $21 Puente Hills Landfill is still in operation and blend the waste-by-rail fees with the landfill fees. According to the Districts, gradually increasing $- $10 $20 $30 $40 the $21 per ton landfill fee to the higher rail haul fee would allow the County to transition to waste-by-rail sooner and make it more economically viable.

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Service Challenges Many of the cities face challenges in meeting landfill diversion requirements through the promotion of recycling and other best management practices. Eighteen of the cities have not yet met A.B. 939 diversion requirements.

The landfills face challenges in preventing waste from entering groundwater and in preventing landfill gas from violating air quality requirements. There are also challenges posed by heavy rainfall and erosion as well as challenges from excess dust.

Policy Alternatives Three cities in the Gateway area joined a regional agency—the Los Angeles Integrated Waste Management Authority (LARA)—in 2003 to economize on regulatory reporting costs. LARA is a JPA comprised of 15 member cities, including Artesia, Lynwood and South Gate. The cities are collectively responsible for meeting diversion requirements, and report disposal and diversion information as a group. Member cities perceive the advantages to include cost avoidance and greater likelihood of meeting and sustaining diversion requirements. Disadvantages include sharing of compliance status and penalties with other agencies. Indeed, the cities of Lynwood and Hermosa Beach were under compliance orders when they joined the JPA. Other agencies may wish to consider joining this regional agency or forming a similar regional agency for solid waste regulatory purposes.

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CHAPTER 4: PUBLIC WORKS

This chapter discusses the provision of public works services—storm water, flood control, street maintenance, and street lighting—in the Gateway area. The section is designed to address questions relating to the efficiency and adequacy of services, the adequacy of infrastructure, along with opportunities for sharing facilities and reducing costs. The chapter provides an overview of the service configuration, current service delivery challenges, and an analysis of any potential policy alternatives relevant to the particular service.

S TORMWATER

Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD) manages major flood control facilities. LACFCD owns mainline storm drain pipelines, and the cities own lateral lines and catch basins connecting with the LACFCD main lines. Stormwater service providers are responsible for maintenance of stormwater systems, preventative maintenance and regulatory activities including water quality monitoring and inspections.

Flood Control Due to heavy, seasonal rainwater flowing down the Santa Monica, Santa Susana, and San Gabriel Mountains and historical flooding in the MSR area, the LACFCD and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have constructed several dams north of the area—Sepulveda, Hansen, Whittier Narrows—as well as spreading grounds, spreading basins, and the Montebello Forebay. Most of the flood control channels in the area have been covered with concrete. The LACFCD plans a number of flood control improvements according to a Master Plan of Drainage program.

Although small areas within the cities of Huntington Park, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, Santa Fe Springs, and Signal Hill experience localized flooding, many other cities in the MSR area are located within a 100 year flood plain surrounding the Los Angeles River and Rio Hondo Channel. A 100-year flood plain is an area determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to have a one percent chance of flooding in any given year. Within the 100-year flood plain areas, FEMA requires flood insurance. If infrastructure improvements reduce the chance of flood damage, FEMA may remove affected properties from the 100-year flood plain and waive the flood insurance requirement. In some areas, infrastructure improvements cannot alleviate all risk of floods due to topographical constraints. Flood prone cities in the MSR area include the cities of Pico Rivera, Downey, Paramount, Lynwood, Compton, Bellflower, Lakewood, and Long Beach.

While most flooding is the result of heavy rainfalls, additional flood risks stem from dam and reservoir failure. While many cities in the MSR area fall within a 100 year flood plain, most cities in the MSR area are vulnerable to inundation as a result of upstream dam failures from the Hansen Dam Sepulveda Dam and Whittier Narrows Dam. The City of Cerritos is vulnerable to Prado Dam failure. Also, the cities of Bell, Commerce, and Bell Gardens are vulnerable to inundation in the event of failure of the Garvey Reservoir in Monterey Park.

Slope stability is a concern in developed hillside areas, which are prone to landslides and mudslides. Landslide hazards exist in northern hillside areas in La Habra Heights, Whittier and

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Signal Hill.

The run-off in the MSR area drains through washes which drain into the Los Angeles River, Rio Hondo Channel, San Gabriel River Channel, Dominguez Channel, and Los Cerritos Channel through Long Beach and ultimately into the Pacific Ocean. Major tributaries in the MSR area include Los Angeles River’s Compton Creek and San Gabriel River’s Coyote Creek, La Mirada Creek and Leffingwell Creek.

Water Quality Regulations The run-off not only raises concerns about flooding, but also about water quality. Pollutants in the Los Angeles River, San Gabriel River, Rio Hondo Channel, Dominguez Channel, and Los Cerritos Channel/Alamitos Bay have been attributed, in large part, to stormwater runoff.45 Additional sources of stormwater contaminants include historic use of pesticides, industrial discharges, industrial spills, illicit dumping, and cross-contamination between surface and groundwater. Portions of watersheds in the Gateway MSR area are located downstream from contamination sources outside of the area, resulting in greater levels of stormwater contamination. The MSR area is also heavily urbanized with a large concentration of the region’s industrial and commercial activities, which further increases the risk of stormwater contamination. These factors have resulted in major impairments to water bodies within the MSR area.

Table 4-1: TMDLs in MSR Area To reduce pollution in watersheds, Completed Watershed Area Scheduled TMDLs the Clean Water Act directed the states TMDLs to establish Total Maximum Daily Dominguez Bacteria Coliform FY 04-05 Loads (TMDLs) of pollutants. The Channel/LA Harbor Regional Water Quality Control Board Metals FY 05-06 (RWQCB) has established TMDLs for San Gabriel River Trash a number of pollutants in the MSR Toxicity FY 06-07 area. The RWQCB has established Nitrogen FY 07-08 Historic TMDLs for trash in the East Fork of Trash FY 07-08 the San Gabriel River, the Rio Hondo Pesticides Channel and throughout the Los Los Angeles River Nitrogen Angeles River and its estuary. Metals Coliform FY 07-08 Additionally, TMDLs have been Bacteria established for metals in the Los Angeles River and Rio Hondo Channel, nitrogen in Compton Creek and bacteria in the Dominguez Channel. Additional TMDLs are scheduled for the watersheds, requiring agencies to dedicate further resources for future monitoring and implementation methods.

The TMDLs require local agencies to monitor pollutant levels and develop remedial actions that will prevent contaminants from exceeding maximum allowable levels. Trash TMDLs for the watersheds require the local agencies in the watersheds to eliminate trash from stormwater run-off by installing and maintaining catch basins and developing other stormwater controls necessary to prevent trash from flowing downstream. The nitrogen, bacteria and metals TMDLs require the local

45 Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, Watershed Management Initiative, October 2004.

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agencies to identify and monitor potential point sources of these stormwater contaminants and develop stormwater controls and treatment methods effective in reducing contaminant levels.

Stormwater Service Description Stormwater and drainage services include direct maintenance services, preventative maintenance, regulatory activities and pre-treatment services.

Table 4-2: Stormwater Maintenance Provider Cities are responsible for performing Area Provider routine maintenance and clean-up of debris Artesia LACDPW in City-owned laterals. Los Angeles County Bell LACDPW Department of Public Works (LACDPW) provides maintenance of city-owned catch Bell Gardens LACDPW basins and pumping stations under a Bellflower Direct contract service arrangement to 12 cities. Carson LACDPW Ten cities provide direct maintenance and Cerritos Private two rely on private service providers. South Commerce LACDPW Gate provides direct maintenance in Compton Direct addition to contracted services. Pico Rivera and Lakewood provide direct maintenance Cudahy Direct in addition to services provided by Downey Direct LACDPW. Catch basins in the City of Hawaiian Gardens LACDPW Maywood are maintained by the City, Huntington Park Private LACDPW, and by a private service provider. La Habra Heights LACDPW Lakewood Direct, LACDPW Preventative services provided by the Long Beach Direct agencies include open space litter control, street sweeping and inspection of inlets. Lynwood LACDPW Maywood LACDPW, Private, Direct Regulatory activities involve public Norwalk Direct outreach and education, industrial and Paramount LACDPW commercial discharger permitting and Pico Rivera Direct, LACDPW inspections, development of source controls Santa Fe Springs LACDPW and site design for development projects and inspection for illicit wastewater discharge. Signal Hill LACDPW Many cities in Los Angeles County also South Gate Direct, Private support programs to promote proper Vernon Direct recycling and disposal of hazardous waste. Whittier LACDPW Unincorporated LACDPW Each of the cities and certain industries known to contribute to stormwater runoff pollution are regulated by National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. The NPDES permits are administered by Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB).

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Table 4-3: Active Stormwater Discharge Permits

Stormwater permits require cities and other Active Active permittees to implement programs that minimize Industrial Construction the negative impacts of construction, industrial Discharge Discharge and commercial activities on municipal City Permits Permits stormwater quality. This is a parallel and separate Artesia 3 2 effort from the statewide construction and industrial permits issued by the State Water Bell 5 0 Resources Control Board (SWRCB). Bell Gardens 3 3 Bellflower 2 2 Industrial permits are issued to industrial and Carson 43 29 commercial sites, which by their nature can Cerritos 15 1 contribute to stormwater pollution. Industries Commerce 5 10 subject to NPDES permits include manufacturing, mining, service stations, Compton 67 8 laundromats, trailer parks and other potential Cudahy 6 1 industrial and commercial sources of runoff. Downey 23 14 Hawaiian Gardens 0 1 Stormwater service providers are responsible Huntington Park 20 4 for inspecting all potential non-residential La Habra Heights 0 1 dischargers. Table 4-3 shows the currently active industrial and construction discharge permits in La Mirada 29 4 each jurisdiction as of August 2005.46 Lakewood 1 3 Long Beach 85 48 Financing Constraints and Opportunities Lynwood 19 5 Maywood 6 3 The new TMDL requirements impose new Norwalk 11 4 costs on the local agencies. Certain agencies in Los Angeles County—Santa Monica and Santa Paramount 26 2 Clarita—had already imposed special stormwater Pico Rivera 13 7 assessments prior to the passage of Proposition Santa Fe Springs 158 18 218, and have a dedicated funding source for Signal Hill 9 9 implementing the TMDLs. A few agencies, such South Gate 51 6 as San Clemente, have succeeded in getting two- Vernon 58 7 thirds voter approval for stormwater Whittier 20 11 assessments. Bond financing is an option being used by the City of Los Angeles. In newly developing communities, such as Santa Clarita, cities have transferred the local storm drains and catch basins in new developments to the County, and transferred the maintenance responsibility to the County. However, cities may only transfer storm drains that meet all County requirements, so this approach is unlikely to be viable for established cities.

Many local agencies have not yet identified a funding stream to finance their new responsibilities. Many—including 18 of the 26 cities in the MSR area—have litigated the matter on the grounds that the TMDLs are unfunded mandates and reach beyond the Clean Water Act requirements. Although a recent State Superior Court decision upheld the stormwater permit requirements, the Los Angeles

46 Information accessed from the State Water Quality Control Board website.

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County Board of Supervisors voted to authorize an appeal to the judgment, and the TMDL requirements are currently pending.

Infrastructure Needs and Deficiencies Table 4-4: Drainage System Infrastructure and Condition Agency Drainage System Infrastructure Condition Artesia 1 catch basin, 90 ft. of closed storm drain Stormwater sewer reconstruction needed Bell 27 inlets, 10,000 ft. of closed storm drain CIP not provided Storm drain improvements needed on Darwell Bell Gardens 50 inlets, 15,000 ft. of closed storm drain and Colmar Ave, and PM Yard alley. No needed improvements are mentioned in the Bellflower 171 inlets, 34,100 ft. of closed storm drains City's CIP. Existing drainage system is adequate to provide flood protection for developed areas of the City Carson 216 inlets, 22 miles of closed storm drain with a few exceptions. Storm drain upgrades needed to alleviate surface drainage problems near Palo Verde Ave. and Cerritos 543 inlets, 38 miles of closed storm drain Artesia Blvd. Commerce NP CIP not provided Storm drain rehabilitation being completed along Compton NP Willowbrook Ave. Cudahy 23 inlets No improvements mentioned in City's CIP. Minor repairs needed to storm drains and Downey 52 inlets, 5,080 ft. of open channel storm drains drainage culverts.

City has recently made storm drain Hawaiian Gardens 52 inlets, 6,000 ft. of closed storm drains improvements and current facilities are adequate. Areas of storm drain system are aging and need Huntington Park 52 inlets, 15,400 linear ft. of closed storm drain replacement. Installation of storm drains needed along La Habra Heights 35 inlets Hacienda Road.

Rehabilitation and replacement of storm drains 177 inlets, 1 mile of open channel drains, 23,500 are needed throughout the City. The City has La Mirada ft. of closed storm drains planned improvement projects through 2010. No needed improvements are mentioned in the Lakewood 29 inlets City's CIP for FY 03-08. Storm drain system improvements needed throughout the City are addressed through the CIP process. Hamilton Bowl (owned by LA 3,872 inlets, 180 miles of open and closed storm County DPW) needs detention basin/pump Long Beach drain station upgrades. Storm drains are in need of extension and Lynwood 16 inlets, 2,550 ft. of closed storm drains replacement. continued

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Agency Drainage System Condition Maywood 12 inlets, 1,800 ft. of closed strom drains No improvements mentioned in City's CIP. 28 inlets, 800 ft. of open channel and 3,200 ft. of Norwalk closed storm drains Curtis and King lift station repairs needed. Installation of debris gates and filter inserts for storm drains serving commercial/industrial Paramount 84 inlets, 5,500 ft. of closed storm drains areas. Pico Rivera 143 inlets Assessment of storm drains needed. 317 inlets, 0.25 miles of open channel storm Improvements needed for storm drains running Santa Fe Springs drains to Sorensen Drain Channel.

31 inlets, detention basin, 0.25 miles of closed Trash capture devices currently being installed Signal Hill storm drains on storm drain outfalls in detention basin. Stormwater Master Plan will be completed FY 06- South Gate 67 inlets, 2.46 miles of closed storm drains 07 Needed improvements east of Downey Road Vernon 377 inlets and south of the LA River 693 inlets, 1,200 ft. of open channel and 10 miles No needed improvements mentioned in City's Whittier of closed storm drains CIP.

Service Adequacy The stormwater service providers report their stormwater programs, performance and workload indicators annually to the Los Angeles County RWQCB. According to the most recent (FY 03-04) Municipal Stormwater Permit Annual Report, most of the providers in the Gateway MSR area have labeled all inlets with “No Dumping;” although 11 percent of inlets in Paramount are not yet labeled and Compton did not provide this information.

Response times for illicit discharges into the stormwater system vary in the MSR area cities from 15 minutes to 48 hours. Response times for illicit discharges are 24 hours or longer in 13 of the 26 cities. Response times are relatively quick in Bell, Cerritos, Cudahy, Huntington Park, La Mirada, Lakewood, Maywood and Pico Rivera. Compton did not provide response times.

For the most part, the providers reported that they inspect stormwater inlets at least once annually. Compton and Huntington Park did not provide inspection rates.

Government Structure Options As lead agency for the Los Angeles County NPDES MS4 Stormwater Permit, the County Department of Public Works (DPW) is studying various alternatives for financing the costs associated with meeting the RWQCB requirements for filtering, maintaining, and monitoring the stormwater systems. Potential options include increasing the countywide stormwater assessment charge, bond finance, and creation of countywide or watershed-based entities through JPA or special district formation. The DPW indicated that the study is in its early stages, that special district formation is only one of many alternatives, and that the various government structure options would be analyzed and discussed amongst the agencies for quite some time.

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S TREET M AINTENANCE

Street maintenance services in the MSR area are provided by the cities, the County, and private companies. Most of the cities provide street maintenance services directly, the City of Lakewood provides direct service and relies on County contracted work, and the cities of Bell, La Habra Heights and La Mirada contract with the County and/or private providers. Several of the direct street maintenance providers contract with private providers for specific street services such as asphalt overlay, slurry sealing and street sweeping. Street lighting maintenance is provided by the cities, the County, City Light and Power, and by Southern California Edison (SCE). SCE provides street lighting maintenance solely to the cities of Artesia, Bell, Cerritos, Commerce, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Norwalk, Paramount, Pico Rivera, and Signal Hill and partly to the cities of Compton, Cudahy, Downey, Lakewood, Lynwood, and Whittier. The City of Long Beach receives street lighting maintenance from City Light and Power.

Table 4-5: Street Maintenance Service Configuration Asphalt Sidewalk, Curb Maintain Overlay/ Street & Pot & Gutter Street Painting Street Maintain Intersection Agency Slurry Sealing Hole Repair Repair & Marking Sweeping Street Signs Signals Artesia Private Direct Private Private Private Direct Private Bell Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Bell Gardens Direct Direct Diret Direct Private Direct Direct Bellflower Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Carson Direct Direct Direct Direct Private Private Private Cerritos Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Commerce Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Compton Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Cudahy Private Direct, Private Direct, Private Direct, Private Private Direct Direct, Private Downey Direct Direct Direct Direct Private Direct Direct Hawaiian Gardens Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Huntington Park Direct Direct Direct Direct Private Direct Direct La Habra Heights LA County LA County LA County LA County LA County LA County LA County La Mirada Private Private Direct LA County Private Private Private Private, LA Private, LA Private, LA Lakewood Private County County County Private LA County LA County Long Beach Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Lynwood Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Maywood Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Norwalk Direct Direct Direct Direct Private Direct Direct Paramount Direct Direct Direct Direct Private Direct Santa Fe Springs Pico Rivera Direct Direct Direct Direct Private Direct Direct Santa Fe Springs Direct Direct Direct Direct Private Direct Direct City of Long Signal Hill Private Direct Direct Direct Private Direct Beach South Gate Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Vernon Direct Direct Direct Private Private Direct Direct,Private Whittier Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Direct Several agency capital street programs include annual asphalt overlay and slurry sealing. Other street infrastructure is repaired as problems occur or as demand increases. Several of the cities provide daily regular and emergency street service and contract with private providers for larger capital projects.

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Street infrastructure needs in the MSR area include the following:

Table 4-6: Street Miles and Street Lights Artesia - Ongoing street, curb and alley Street City-Owned repairs; some arterial streets in critical Agency Miles Street Lights condition. Artesia 30 None Bell 39 40 Bell - Overlay on Florence Ave, Bell Gardens 37 NP Loma Vista Ave and Filmore Ave.; slurry seal needed in the east side of the city. Bellflower 97 100 Carson 206 1,832 Bell Gardens - Alley improvements, Cerritos 136 272 street resurfacing, and slurry sealing are Commerce 65 NP needed in various locations citywide; Clara Compton 179 1,138 Street is planned for extension. Cudahy 14 NP Bellflower - Street resurfacing and Downey 210 858 slurry sealing are needed in various Hawaiian Gardens 17 None locations citywide. Improvements needed Huntington Park 65 2,800 on Bellflower Boulevard. La Habra Heights 40 2 La Mirada 116 None Cerritos - Street improvements needed Lakewood 196 5,380 on Valley View Ave and Marquardt Ave; Long Beach 802 27,281 repairs and painting needed on Marquardt Lynwood 96 950 Ave, Norwalk Ave, South St, and Coyote Creek Bridge; 166th St and Midway St need Maywood 26 NP reconstruction; rehabilitation needed for Norwalk 181 4 Studebaker Rd and Palo Verde Ave; 195th Paramount 73 2,760 St needs slurry seal. Pico Rivera 117 NP Santa Fe Springs 104 3,000 Commerce - Street and sidewalk Signal Hill 37 None improvements needed citywide; many South Gate 130 4,394 residential and arterial streets are in critical condition. Vernon 48 1,400 Whittier 190 1,903 Compton - Willowbrook Ave and Alondra Blvd street rehabilitation need completed; some arterial and residential streets are in poor or critical condition.

Cudahy - Improvements are needed along Elizabeth Avenue, Otis Avenue, Atlantic Avenue and Florence Avenue.

Downey - Lakewood Blvd needs improvements; street rehabilitation is needed on Imperial Ave, Firestone Blvd, and Firestone Bridge; residential streets need pavement rehabilitation; some arterial streets are in poor to critical condition.

Hawaiian Gardens - Street repaving and sealing needed in various locations citywide; Carson Boulevard needs repaved; residential streets need widening (currently 30 ft. wide but should be 37 ft.

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wide); many collector and residential streets are in poor or critical condition.

Huntington Park - Some residential streets have been identified as in critical condition and in need of repairs; street resurfacing and alley improvements are needed in various locations; resurfacing is needed on Randolph Street; Pacific Boulevard needs streetscape improvements; some residential and collector streets have been identified as in critical condition..

La Mirada - Major improvements to Telegraph Road and Alicante Road; street resurfacing and slurry sealing citywide; replacement of sidewalks, curbs and gutters; median landscaping; traffic signal installation/replacement.

Lakewood - Street and alley resurfacing is needed in various locations; major streets are scheduled for resurfacing; some arterial and residential streets are in poor to critical condition.

Long Beach - Reconstruction of 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway intersection; arterial street improvements in conjunction with installation of video imaging detection and fiberoptics to improve traffic flows; citywide residential street improvements; construction of bike path connecting Alamitos Bay to Downtown; major corridor enhancements including 7th Street, Willow Street, Long Beach Boulevard, and Bellflower Boulevard; road realignments or continuation needed on Shoreline Drive, Ocean Boulevard, Deforest Avenue, Ninth Street, and Studebaker Rd.; street widening needed along parts of 7th Street, Alamitos Avenue, Atlantic Boulevard, Magnolia Avenue, Lakewood Boulevard, and Spring Street; some arterial and residential streets are in poor to critical condition.

Lynwood - Some arterial and residential streets are in poor to critical condition.

Maywood - The island on Slauson and Alamo needs resurfacing.

Norwalk - Street improvements are required on Bloomfield Avenue and Studebaker Road.

Paramount - Street resurfacing and slurry seal is needed in various locations citywide. Street resurfacing and miscellaneous improvements are needed on Paramount Blvd. Street striping, legend repairs, and pavement marking is needed citywide. The City is also exploring funding options for a grade separation at the rail crossing on Alondra Blvd between Paramount Blvd and Garfield Ave.

Pico Rivera - Improvements are needed along Rosemead Blvd and Slauson Ave.

Santa Fe Springs - Resurfacing is needed east of Bloomfield Ave, along Alondra Blvd, and along the north half of Excelsior Dr; some arterial streets are in poor to critical condition.

Signal Hill – General street repairs such as damaged curbs, gutters, sidewalks and utility trenches are needed citywide. Street overlay is needed on Willow, Orange, and Cherry Ave. Cherry Ave also needs widening.

South Gate - Construction of Phase III of the I-710/ Firestone Ave interchange will begin. Many arterial streets and some residential streets are in poor to critical condition requiring improvements.

Vernon - Improvements are scheduled for 26th St and Soto St including street widening and intersection improvements.

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Whittier - Whittier Blvd widening and streetscape improvements are currently underway. Some residential and arterial streets are in poor to critical condition requiring improvements.

Los Angeles County Public Works Department The Los Angeles County Public Works Department provides street maintenance services to all of the unincorporated areas in the MSR area and to the cities of Bradbury, La Cañada Flintridge, Rosemead, South El Monte, and Temple City.

The County maintains over 3,100 miles of roads and local streets in the unincorporated areas and over 1,700 miles in 22 incorporated cities. County Public Works maintains streets, signalized intersections, traffic and street name signs, streetlights, as well as pavement markings, painted curbs, and raised traffic markers. The street services include street sweeping, pothole repair, and tree trimming. The County also provides road design and improvements, check plans, and road inspections.

Service Challenges Street maintenance service challenges in the MSR area include high traffic flow areas. Many cities experience congested arterials and freeway interchanges as a result of poor traffic flows along major freeways intersecting the communities.

The City of Artesia has deficient traffic flow areas at the intersection of Pioneer and Artesia Blvd.

The City of Bell has deficient traffic flow areas at the intersections of Florence and Wilcox, Atlantic and Gage, and Atlantic and Slauson. The city’s streets are also affected by poor traffic flow and truck traffic along the I-710.

The City of Bell Gardens has several arterial roadways with poor traffic flow along Florence Ave west of Eastern Ave, and Gage Ave east of Eastern Ave. Additional challenges to the City’s roadways include through truck traffic and deficient traffic flows along the I-710.

The City of Bellflower has deficient traffic flow areas along Lakewood Blvd. between Rosecrans Ave. and Compton Blvd., Woodruff Ave. between SR-91 and Alondra Blvd. Traffic flow deficiencies exist at the intersection of Bellflower Blvd and SR-91.

In the City of Carson, various street sections are deficient for the demands of current traffic flows along Carson St between Figueroa St and Avalon Blvd, and along Main St and Wilmington Ave. The city is also faced with poor traffic flow and truck traffic stemming from the I-710.

In the City of Cerritos, traffic flow deficiencies exist along South St. east of I-605 and at the intersections of Del Amo and Pioneer Rd, and Artesia Blvd and Carmenita Rd.

The City of Commerce has several arterial roadways with poor traffic flow along all of Garfield Ave, Washington Ave between the I-710 and Garfield Ave, and Telegraph Rd between Eastern Ave and Washington Blvd. Traffic flow deficiencies in various locations are due to I-5 deficiencies and traffic along the I-710.

In the City of Compton, traffic flow deficiencies exist along Rosecrans Ave between Santa Fe

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Ave and Long Beach Blvd, and along Wilmington Ave south of the Artesia Freeway. The city is also faced with poor traffic flow on and around the I-710.

The City of Cudahy, has deficient traffic flow areas along Atlantic and Otis Ave and the I-710.

In the City of Downey, traffic flow deficiencies exist along Florence Ave between Paramount Blvd and Lakewood Blvd and along Firestone Blvd between Brookshire Ave and Lakewood Blvd. Additional traffic flow problems are a result of I-5 deficiencies.

The City of Hawaiian Gardens has traffic congestion along Carson St and Norwalk Blvd.

The City of Huntington Park experiences heavy truck traffic stemming from nearby industrial areas.

In the City of La Habra Heights, because the area is low-density residential with no commercial or industrial activity, the City does not experience heavy traffic or congestion.

The City of La Mirada has deficient traffic flow areas along La Mirada Blvd at the intersections of Rosecrans Ave, Imperial Highway, and Leffingwell Rd. Heavy congestion also occurs along Imperial Highway at the intersections of Valley View Ave, La Mirada Blvd, and Santa Gertrudes Ave. Traffic congestion also exists along and around the Santa Ana Freeway.

Traffic congestion in the City of Lakewood occurs along Del Amo Blvd at the intersections of Palo Verde Ave, Woodruff Ave, Bellflower Ave, and Graywood Ave. Traffic flow deficiencies also exist along Lakewood Blvd at the South St and Candlewood St intersections.

The City of Long Beach experiences heavy truck traffic and deficient traffic flows along the I- 710 resulting in congestion, especially at interchanges near the Port of Long Beach.

The City of Lynwood is faced with congested arterial streets and through truck traffic stemming from the I-710.

In the City of Maywood, traffic flow deficiencies exist at the Atlantic Blvd and Slauson Ave intersection. The City also experiences heavy truck traffic and deficient traffic flows stemming from the I-710.

In the City of Norwalk, various street sections are deficient for the demands of current and future traffic flows. The street sections include areas of Firestone Blvd and Imperial Highway. Other traffic congestion is due to I-5 deficiencies.

In the City of Paramount, has deficient traffic flow area along Rosecrans Ave west of Garfield Ave, and along Somerset Blvd west of Orange Ave. City is also is faced with poor traffic flow on the I-710.

The City of Pico Rivera has congested roadways along Rosemead Blvd at the intersections with Beverly Blvd, Whittier Blvd, Washington Blvd, Slauson Blvd, and Telegraph Rd. Narrow bridges over Rio Hondo and San Gabriel Rivers create bottlenecks.

In the City of Santa Fe Springs, several arterial roadways experience poor traffic flow including Florence Ave west of Pioneer Blvd and along Washington Ave west of Sorenson Ave. Heavy truck

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traffic throughout the city results in increased street maintenance needs. I-5 deficiencies lead to increased congestion on local streets.

In the City of Signal Hill, traffic flow deficiencies exist along Pacific Coast Highway and Willow St between Walnut and Temple Ave. The poor traffic flow is expected to worsen with increased residential and commercial developments.

The City of South Gate has several arterial roadways with poor traffic flow including the east end of Firestone Blvd, the east end of Southern Ave, and along the north end of Garfield Ave. Heavy truck traffic creates greater street maintenance demands as well as deficient traffic flows along the I-710 and surrounding areas.

The City of Vernon faces increased street maintenance demands as a result of heavy truck traffic stemming from the I-710 and the Hobart Yard industrial area.

In the City of Whittier, various street sections are likely to become deficient for the demands of future traffic flows. Areas that may face heavy congestion in the future include the intersections of Norwalk and Whittier Boulevard, Painter Avenue and Whittier Boulevard, Laurel Avenue and Lambert Road, Colima Road and Mar Vista Street, and Colima Road and Whittier Boulevard.

Policy Alternatives No policy alternatives have been identified regarding street maintenance services.

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CHAPTER 5: COMMUNITY SERVICES

This chapter discusses the provision of community services—parks, libraries, transportation and housing—in the Gateway area. The section is designed to address questions relating to the efficiency and adequacy of services, the adequacy of infrastructure, along with opportunities for sharing facilities and reducing costs. The chapter provides an overview of the service configuration, current service delivery challenges, and an analysis of any potential policy alternatives relevant to the particular service.

PARKS

There are adequate amounts of park and open space resources in only a few of the cities in the MSR area. Where there is inadequate park space, this is mainly due to lack of land available to the cities. All of the residents have access to regional park space both within and adjacent to the MSR area. Park and recreation service providers in the MSR area include 25 cities, the County, and the National Park Service.

R EGIONAL PARK S ERVICE

There are adequate amounts of regional open space recreational areas in the MSR area. The County maintains most of the large regional parks in the MSR area including:

Schabarum Regional Park, Unincorporated – This 640-acre wilderness park is located north of the cities of Whittier and La Habra Heights. It is comprised of open space and natural areas and contains canyons and hills suitable for hiking, biking and horseback riding. The park contains a variety of plants and wildlife. There is an eighteen-station fitness trail as well as an equestrian center, picnic areas, soccer fields, and playgrounds.

Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, Unincorporated - This is a 1400-acre park located just inside the MSR area, provides fishing lakes, picnic areas, playgrounds, an equestrian facility, trails, a multi-purpose athletic complex, a military museum, soccer fields, volleyball courts, and archery, skeet, pistol and trap ranges. The park also features the Whittier Narrows Nature Center, which includes over 200 acres of natural woodland and four lakes.

Other significant regional recreational facilities include the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and a sports training complex in Carson. The Aquarium of the Pacific is one of the largest aquariums in the United States, containing nearly 1,000 species from the Pacific Ocean. The sports training and entertainment complex in Carson is a 125-acre facility featuring a state-of-the-art stadium and facilities for soccer, tennis, track and field, cycling, volleyball, baseball, softball, basketball and other sports. It is designated as an “Official U.S. Olympic Training Site.”

L OCAL PARK S ERVICE

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has developed widely-used municipal park space guidelines. While the 1983 NRPA standards were set at 10 acres of park space per 1,000 inhabitants, the NRPA has since determined that municipalities must decide upon their own set BURR CONSULTING 100 GATEWAY MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

of standards, taking into consideration the more general standards set by the NRPA. The 1996 NRPA guidelines for park acres per 1,000 people, park site size, and service area are as follows: Type of Facility Minimum Acres Ideal Site Size Radius of Area Per 1,000 People Served Mini Parks 0.25 acres 0.5 – 1.0 acre 0.25 miles Neighborhood Parks 1.00 acres 5.0 – 10.0 acres 0.25 – 0.5 miles Community Parks 5.00 acres 30 – 50 acres 0.5 – 3 miles

Table 5-1: Municipal Park Acres per 1,000 People, 2004

All of the cities maintain Total Park Space neighborhood and community parks, Park Per 1,000 Population except for the City of Vernon. The City Agency Acres1 Residents Density of Vernon has little land remaining that MSR Cities 5,821 3.2 8,573 is undeveloped and little private land set Artesia 66 3.9 10,484 aside for open space or landscaping. Bell 12 0.3 15,439 The Civic Center is the largest area and Bell Gardens 64 1.4 18,465 provides a park-like setting. The City Bellflower 47 0.6 12,564 has undertaken a program to plant trees Carson 121 1.3 5,027 and landscape public areas wherever Cerritos 206 3.8 6,248 there is sufficient space. Commerce 36 2.8 1,992 Total park space per capita for the Compton 118 1.2 9,516 MSR area cities population is 3.2 acres Cudahy 18 0.7 22,890 per 1,000 people. A comparison of park Downey 388 3.5 8,987 acres by city is displayed in Table 5-1. Hawaiian Gardens 23 1.5 16,247 Cities with less than one acre of total Huntington Park 50 0.8 21,262 park space (including school park space) La Habra Heights 11 1.8 996 per 1,000 people include the cities of La Mirada 313 6.3 6,337 Bell, Bellflower, Cudahy, Huntington Lakewood 152 1.8 8,716 Park, Paramount, and Maywood. Areas Long Beach 2,660 5.5 9,595 with high population density tend to Lynwood 98 1.3 15,003 have a more difficult time maintaining Maywood 8 0.3 24,768 park space at levels meeting guidelines. Norwalk 438 4.0 11,195 Paramount 46 0.8 12,064 Santa Fe Springs, La Mirada and Pico Rivera 112 1.7 7,947 Long Beach maintain the greatest Santa Fe Springs 234 13.4 2,003 amount of park space per capita, each Signal Hill 34 3.3 4,563 with over five acres per resident. Also, South Gate 166 1.6 13,860 the cities of Whittier, Norwalk, Artesia, Vernon 0 0.0 19 Cerritos, Downey, and Signal Hill all Whittier 400 4.6 5,906 have over three acres of park space per (1) Total Park Acres is the total of local, school and county park acres. resident.

All of the cities provide a recreation center or some sort of recreational facility, except the City of Vernon. The cities of Artesia, Compton, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, Norwalk, and Santa Fe Springs contract for use of school facilities. The City of La Habra Heights has a recreation center available to residents on a scheduled basis. The various recreational

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programs include youth and adult programs. Of the 26 cities, 13 cities operate a senior center. Additional recreational facilities include skate parks, municipal pools, fitness centers, sport fields, and playgrounds. The County operates parks within the boundaries of several cities and unincorporated areas in the MSR area.

For most of the cities, park maintenance services are provided directly. The cities of Bell, La Habra Heights, and Santa Fe Springs contract with private providers for park maintenance services.

Infrastructure Needs and Deficiencies Table 5-2: Park Facility Needs and Deficiencies Agency Facility Needs/Deficiencies Artesia The City plans to develop additional park acreage. There is an unmet demand for more parks and ballfields; Community Center Bell improvements are scheduled; Bell Sports Complex is being developed. Bell Gardens The City is building Ford Park Sports Complex. Park improvements are needed for Simms Park, Thomson Park, and Caruthers Park; Bellflower builing Hollywood Sports Park. Park improvements in various city parks; addition of playground equipment in Veteran's Park and Hemingway Park; gymnasium addition in Stevenson Park; pool addition in Carson Dominguez Park. Completion of the community center buillding reconstruction at Liberty Park; planned expansion of the Senior Center; acquire land for "ABC" neighborhood park; resurfacing of 13 athletic courts; replacement of playground equipment in various parks; installment Cerritos of securtiy cameras at Skate Park. The City's goal is to maintain a minimum standard of 2.5 acres of park space per 1,000 Commerce residents. Current facilities provide sufficient park acreage. The City is in Phase 2 of the Park Master Plan; the City has also budgeted for a Compton community center and senior citizens building as well as a youth center. Cudahy Recently developed a new park; no current needs. Improvement and reconstruction projects at Independence Park, Wilderness Park, and Golden Park; equipment replacement in Golden Park and Independence Park; Downey Community Center building and gynamsium need improvements. Hawaiian Gardens The C. Robert Lee Center and Clarksdale Park need improvements. Huntington Park Park improvements are needed at various parks. La Habra Heights Currently undergoing a kitchen re-model project at its park building. General park and irrigation improvements; play equipment installation and resurfacing at various city park locations; addition of picnic shelters; aquatics center improvements; La Mirada Frontier Park, Behringer Park and Creek Park improvements. Renovation of picnic shelters at Rynerson Park; Mae Boyar Park renovations; Biscailuz Lakewood Park needs play area renovation. Construction of rehabilitation projects at Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Silverado Park swimming pools; improvements to Senior Center, California Rec. Center, Wardlow Park, Long Beach MacArthur Park, and Stearns Park. Lynwood The City is looking to increase park acreage and promote recreational facilities. Maywood The City is looking to develop a cardio room within the weight room facility.

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Agency Facility Needs/Deficiencies Upgrades to Holifield Park; parking and lighting improvements to Norwalk and Gerdes Norwalk Park; improvements to Vista Verde Park. A variety of citywide improvements to parks, facilities and miscellaneous equipment; Paramount Paramount pool expansion and pool locker room expansion. Pico Rivera Rivera Park needs improvements. Park improvements needed for Heritage Park barn; Lakeview Park fence replacement Santa Fe Springs and other improvements. Development and construction of new neighborhood park; general improvements to Signal Hill Discovery Well, Hillbrook, and Reservoir park. Complete Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III of Cesar Chavez Park; renovate all baseball fields in South Gate Park and remove and replace asphalt in South Gate Park parking lot; South Gate new swimming pool at Sports Center. There is no space for parks. A program to add trees to public spaces is currently Vernon underway. Whittier Resurfacing and overlay in various locations citywide. The County of Los Angeles Department of Parks Recreation operates a variety of local parks in unincorporated communities and in the cities:

Victoria Park, Carson – This county owned park is located near California State University – Dominguez Hills. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, tennis courts, a swimming pool, a cricket field, and a soccer and football field. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, and playground areas.

Cerritos Park, Cerritos – This county owned park is located just south of Artesia in Cerritos, north of Lakewood and Hawaiian Gardens. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a soccer and football field. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, and playground areas. Contained within the park is a lake where fishing is allowed.

Roy Campanella Park, Compton – This county owned park is located on the western side of Compton. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, a swimming pool, and a soccer and football field. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, and playground areas.

East Rancho Dominguez, Compton – This county owned park is located on the eastern side of Compton. The park includes basketball and tennis courts. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, and playground areas.

Mona Park, Compton – This county owned park is located in central Compton. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, and a swimming pool. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, and playground areas.

La Mirada Park, La Mirada – This 100 acre county owned park is located in southern La Mirada. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, tennis courts, handball courts, a swimming pool, and a lake. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, and playground areas.

Amigo Park, Pico Rivera – This county owned park is located in eastern Pico Rivera near the City of Whittier. The park includes baseball diamonds, picnic and barbecue areas, and playground

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areas.

Gunn Avenue Park, Whittier – This county owned park is located in southern Whittier. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, and a soccer and football field. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, and playground areas.

Amelia Mayberry Park, Whittier – The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, a gymnasium, and a soccer and football field. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, playground areas, and a senior center.

Mcnees Park, Unincorporated – This county owned park is located in unincorporated county near the City of Whittier. The park includes picnic and barbecue areas.

Sorensen Park, Unincorporated – This park is located in unincorporated territory near the City of Whittier. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, and a soccer and football field. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, and playground areas.

Saybrook Park, Unincorporated – This park is located in the unincorporated community of East Los Angeles. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, and a soccer and football field. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, playground areas and tennis courts.

Mary M. Bethune Park, Unincorporated – This park is located in the unincorporated territory of Florence, west of the City of Huntington Park. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, gymnasium and a soccer and football field. The park also offers picnic and barbecue areas, playground areas, and swimming pool.

Athens Park, Unincorporated – This park is located in the unincorporated area of Willowbrook, north of Compton. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, gymnasium, and a soccer and football field. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, playground areas and tennis courts.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson Park, Unincorporated – This park is located in unincorporated territory of Willowbrook, north of the City of Compton. The park includes a fishing lake and picnic and barbeque areas.

George W. Carver Park, Unincorporated – This park is located in the unincorporated territory north of the City of Compton. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, gymnasium and a soccer and football field. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, playground areas and a swimming pool.

Enterprise Park, Unincorporated – This park is located in the unincorporated territory of Willowbrook, north of Compton. The park includes baseball diamonds, basketball courts, gymnasium and a soccer and football field. The park also offers a community center, picnic and barbecue areas, playground areas and swimming pool.

Col. Leon H. Washington Park, Unincorporated – This park is located in the unincorporated territory of Walnut Park, south of Huntington Park. The park includes outdoor basketball courts and a soccer and football field. The park also offers a community center, picnic

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and barbecue areas, playground areas and a swimming pool.

Policy Alternatives No policy alternatives have been identified regarding parks and recreation services.

L IBRARIES

Library services in the MSR area are provided by the cities of Cerritos, Commerce, Downey, Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs, Signal Hill and Whittier. La Habra Heights contracts with Orange County to use La Habra Library in La Habra, outside Los Angeles County. The other 17 cities in the MSR area contract with Los Angeles County for library services.

Library Resources47 Table 5-3: Library Resources

Library Annual Service Book Book Volumes Land Area Hours Per Service Provider Outlets Volumes Per Capita Land Area Per Branch 100 Residents Cerritos 2 210,101 3.96 8.62 4.31 6.34 Commerce 4 102,598 7.95 6.57 1.64 59.61 Downey 1 122,039 1.11 12.42 12.42 2.50 Long Beach 12 832,671 1.75 50.46 4.21 4.69 Santa Fe Springs 3 82,413 4.70 8.76 2.92 17.12 Signal Hill 1 24,876 2.51 2.23 2.23 22.84 Whittier 2 334,961 3.92 14.64 7.32 6.87 LA County 89 8,195,062 2.31 NA NA 1.88 Facilities Los Angeles County operates 24 library facilities in the MSR area while 25 library facilities are operated by direct providers. The city and County library facilities with needs and deficiencies include the following:

Commerce – RFID technology to replace bar codes and new online library system is needed.

Hawaiian Gardens – The City budgeted for upgrades to the computer facilities in the Hawaiian Gardens Library.

Huntington Park – The County plans a number of refurbishments to the library including new carpets, painting, lighting, and restroom improvements.

Long Beach – The City maintains plans for construction of the new MacArthur Park Branch.

Norwalk – The Alondra Library roof needs renovation.

47 California State Library, Library Development Services Bureau, 2004.

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Pico Rivera – The existing library facility needs expansion.

Santa Fe Springs – The City maintains plans to construct a new library facility.

Whittier – The City plans to upgrade to a Library Automation System with upgrades to hardware and software.

Service Demand Table 5-4: Library Service Circulation, FY 02-03 The cities of Cerritos and Total Circulation Commerce have the largest Service Provider Borrowers Circulation Per Capita circulation per capita. The City of Cerritos 37,316 983,373 18.54 Long Beach has almost two times Commerce 27,218 290,116 22.47 the amount of borrowers than the Downey 66,153 487,980 4.43 City of Downey, which has the Long Beach 129,562 1,721,269 3.61 second largest amount of Santa Fe Springs 27,000 146,717 8.37 borrowers. The City of Long Beach Signal Hill 6,461 38,211 3.86 also has the most library facilities in Whittier 509,181 645,747 7.55 the MSR area, behind the County. LA County 2,201,150 15,912,865 4.48 Long Beach and Signal Hill have the lowest circulation per capita.

Policy Alternatives No policy alternatives have been identified regarding library services.

T RANSPORTATION

Regional transportation providers include the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the Long Beach Transit Authority (LBTA), Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA) and Norwalk Transit. MTA public transit services include fixed route bus service and a light rail system that provide service throughout Los Angeles County. The LBTA provides fixed route bus service for several cities in the Gateway Area. The OCTA provides fixed route bus service for cities such as Lakewood and Hawaiian Gardens. The Norwalk Transit provides fixed route bus service and connector shuttle services for Artesia, Cerritos, La Mirada, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, and Whittier.

Transportation providers are regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.

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Table 5-5: Gateway Public Transit Services Transportation Service Area Provider Name Service Artesia Direct Artesia Express Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled Contract Norwalk Transit General public fixed route transit, connector shuttle services Bell Private Old Timers Foundation Para-transit service Bell Gardens Direct Town Trolley Bus General public fixed route transit Direct Dial-a-ride Dial-A-Ride service for general public Bellflower Private Dial-a-ride Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled Private The Bus General public fixed route transit MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit LBTA Long Beach Transit General public fixed route transit Carson Private Carson Circuit General public fixed route transit MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Direct North/South Shuttle Provides connection to Carson Citcuit and regional transit lines Direct Dial-a-ride Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled Cerritos Private Southland Transit Inc. Dial-A-Ride service for general public Direct Cerritos on Wheels (COW) General public fixed route transit Contract Norwalk Transit General public fixed route transit, connector shuttle services Direct Cerritos Dial-a-ride Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled Commerce Direct Commerce Municipal Bus Lines General public fixed route transit Compton Direct Compton Renaissance Transit General public fixed route transit MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Contract Gardena Minicipal Bus Lines General public fixed route transit Cudahy Direct Cudahy Area Rapid Transit (CART) General public fixed route transit Direct Dial-a-ride Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled Downey Direct Downey Link General public fixed route transit Direct Dial-a-ride Dial-A-Ride service for general public MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Hawaiian Gardens Direct City Dial-a-ride Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled LBTA Long Beach Transit General public fixed route transit MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit OCTA Orange County Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Huntington Park Direct Dial-a-ride Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit La Habra Heights JPA Dial-a-ride Dial-A-Ride service for general public

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Transportation Service Area Provider Name Service Lakewood LBTA Long Beach Transit General public fixed route transit MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit OCTA Orange County Transit Authority General public fixed route transit La Mirada Contract Norwalk Transit General public fixed route transit, connector shuttle services MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Contract Dial-a-ride Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled Long Beach Direct Long Beach Transit General public fixed route transit MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Direct Passport Free Shuttle in Downtown Area Lynwood Direct Dial-a-Taxi Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled Direct Lynwood Trolley Company General public fixed route transit MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Maywood Direct Dial-a-Ride Dial-A-Ride service for general public MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Norwalk Direct Norwalk Transit General public fixed route transit, connector shuttle services Paramount Direct Easy Rider Shuttle General public fixed route transit Direct Dial-a-Ride Dial-A-Ride service for general public MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Pico Rivera Private Southland Transit Inc. Dial-A-Ride service for general public Direct Dial-a-Ride Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled Contract Montebello Bus Line General public fixed route transit MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Santa Fe Springs Direct/Norwalk Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs Shuttle General public fixed route transit MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Signal Hill Direct Dial-a-Taxi Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled LBTA Long Beach Transit General public fixed route transit South Gate Direct Phone-a -Ride Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled Vernon MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit Whittier Private Southland Transit Inc. Dial-A-Ride service for general public Direct Norwalk Transit General public fixed route transit, connector shuttle services Direct Whittier Transit General public fixed route transit JPA Dial-a-Ride Dial-A-Ride service for elderly and disabled MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority General public fixed route transit B URR CONSULTING 108 GATEWAY MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

H OUSING

This section covers housing affordability, housing needs, and housing construction in the MSR area.

Affordability Table 5-6: Median Home Values Generally, housing prices in the MSR area tend to be lower than the countywide average. Data Quick Census The cities of La Habra Heights and Cerritos City 2004 2000 have the highest median housing prices in the LA County $ 395,000 $ 209,300 MSR area, as demonstrated in Figure 5-6. The 1 median price countywide for homes sold in La Habra Heights $ 464,300 2004 was $395,000. Within the MSR area, Cerritos $ 536,000 $ 281,000 homes in Cerritos, La Mirada, Downey and Vernon 1 $ 225,000 Lakewood sold for higher prices than Whittier $ 380,000 $ 211,700 countywide. The most affordable homes sold La Mirada $ 430,000 $ 210,700 in the MSR area in 2004 were located in Long Beach $ 370,000 $ 210,000 Compton, Hawaiian Gardens and Paramount. Downey $ 425,000 $ 209,700 In some cities (e.g., La Habra Heights), the Lakewood $ 420,000 $ 202,800 current median home value is unknown Signal Hill 1 $ 202,600 because there were too few homes sold in Artesia $ 360,000 $ 192,300 2004 to support statistics. However, the 2000 Carson $ 369,000 $ 183,200 Census (the most recent available) indicates Bellflower $ 365,000 $ 179,800 that homes in La Habra Heights generally 1 carry the highest value among the cities in the Bell Gardens $ 175,000 MSR area, and that homes in Cudahy and Santa Fe Springs $ 345,000 $ 169,400 Commerce tend to be more affordable. Bell $ 285,500 $ 167,100 Pico Rivera $ 331,000 $ 166,800 Housing Needs Huntington Park $ 285,000 $ 164,700 The Regional Housing Needs Assessment South Gate $ 312,000 $ 161,400 (RHNA) quantifies the need for housing Norwalk $ 335,000 $ 161,100 within each jurisdiction between 1998 and Maywood $ 270,000 $ 156,100 2005. RHNA is determined by SCAG based Commerce 1 $ 156,000 on growth forecasts, vacancy needs and Paramount $ 256,500 $ 154,300 replacement needs. Growth forecasts are 1 Cudahy $ 151,600 based on the most current Census data, general plan information, historical growth Lynwood $ 280,000 $ 146,700 patterns and projected job creation. The Hawaiian Gardens $ 250,000 $ 139,500 RHNA future housing needs project the needs Compton $ 233,000 $ 136,200 for families at different income levels. (1) Too few home sales to support statistics.

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Table 5-7: RHNA Housing Needs, 1998-2005 For the cities in the Income Level Gateway Area, SCAG projected a need for 11,671 Total Very Above new units to be Agency Needed % Built Low Low Moderate Moderate constructed between 1998 and 2005. Much of the Total Cities 11,671 62% 2,869 1,999 2,475 4,330 needed housing Artesia 145 19% 34 29 32 50 construction is allocated to Bell 582 20% 159 101 118 204 the cities of Long Beach, Lynwood, and Lakewood. Bell Gardens 426 27% 125 79 83 139 Bellflower 686 30% 178 132 157 219 As of May 2005, the Carson 623 NP 117 104 143 259 MSR area as whole has produced 62 percent of Cerritos 340 15% 54 41 71 174 housing needed by the end Commerce 110 165% 30 18 22 39 of 2005. Compton 655 29% 190 109 127 228 Cudahy 196 76% 60 36 37 64 The cities of Downey 482 84% 102 86 114 180 Commerce, Long Beach, Hawaiian La Mirada, Santa Fe Gardens 198 53% 53 35 41 70 Springs, and Signal Hill Huntington have already constructed housing in excess of the Park 541 21% 159 95 104 183 RHNA housing needs.48 La Habra The cities of Cudahy and Heights 202 32% 30 21 34 118 Downey are within 20 La Mirada 371 194% 60 57 86 168 percent of meeting their Lakewood 866 17% 150 131 207 378 housing needs. The other Long Beach 1,463 202% 411 251 296 506 19 cities need additional Lynwood 979 16% 277 175 191 335 housing constructed to Maywood 239 14% 67 45 46 80 meet the RHNA objectives. Norwalk 445 43% 100 83 109 153 Paramount 144 48% 38 25 30 52 Housing element law, Pico Rivera 552 40% 122 93 126 212 enacted in 1969, mandates Santa Fe that local governments Springs 94 155% 26 18 20 29 adequately plan to meet Signal Hill 260 232% 55 45 56 105 the existing and projected South Gate 763 25% 206 136 155 266 housing needs of all Vernon 0NA0 0 0 0 economic segments of the Whittier community. The law 309 26% 66 54 70 119 acknowledges that, in order for the private market to adequately address housing needs and demand, local governments must adopt land use plans and regulatory systems, which provide opportunities for, and do not unduly constrain, housing development. As a result, housing policy in the State rests

48 Source for actual housing unit construction is U.S. Census Bureau Building Permit database.

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largely upon the effective implementation of local general plans and, in particular, local housing elements. Housing element law also requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) review local housing elements for compliance with State law and to report its written findings to the local government.

Municipalities are required to update the housing element of their respective general plans every five years.49 Of the 26 cities in the MSR area, 76 percent are in compliance. As of July 29, 2005, the cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Cudahy, Lynwood, and Whittier were not in compliance.50 Bell Gardens and Commerce have drafted new housing elements which are anticipated to be adopted shortly.

49 California Government Code §65588.

50 HCD Housing Element Compliance Report, July 29, 2005.

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CHAPTER 6: MSR CONCLUSIONS

This chapter sets forth recommended findings with respect to the nine service-related evaluation categories based upon this review of municipal services for the Gateway area.

I NFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS OR DEFICIENCIES

This determination refers to the adequacy of existing and planned public facilities in accommodating future growth and the efficient delivery of public services. The adequacy of public facilities depend on supply factors—location, regulatory and environmental constraints on the facility, capacity, condition, and other quality indicators—and demand factors—current and future customer base size, customer characteristics affecting service demand, proximity to related service providers like hospitals, and complexities such as terrain and elevation. In addition, the analysis considered infrastructure duplication among neighboring providers.

Police Service Among the 12 police service providers in the MSR area, the Signal Hill Station and South Gate were described as in need of replacement. South Gate and Signal Hill have not identified financing for facility replacement. Bell, Huntington Park, Maywood, Whittier, and the Sheriff’s Industry, Carson, East Los Angeles, and Norwalk stations were described as in need of expansion; however, funding has been identified only for the Sheriff’s Industry station. Bell Gardens and Bell described their dispatch technology as outdated, and indicated that infrastructure needs include upgrades in dispatch technology. The Sheriff’s Industry police station also indicated that the dispatch center is in poor condition and needs to be upgraded. Long Beach reported infrastructure needs at its East Patrol Substation and Police Academy.

Fire and Paramedic Service Among the existing 82 fire stations in the MSR area, sixteen were described as deficient and/or in need of replacement or major repairs. The deficient stations include 10 facilities in Long Beach and one fire station each in Vernon, La Habra Heights, Compton, Downey, Santa Fe Springs, and Hawaiian Gardens. One station in Long Beach is funded for improvements and the construction of a new facility in La Habra Heights is also being funded. Other stations requiring miscellaneous repairs include the City of Downey’s headquarters and the City of Santa Fe Springs fire stations.

Water According to a detailed MSR study of water providers in the MSR area prepared by Dudek and Associates (“Water MSR”), water supply is adequate to meet expected future demand. Although no infrastructure needs or deficiencies were identified that would affect the ability of the agencies to provide service, there are infrastructure needs, according to the Water MSR.

Wastewater Many cities in the MSR area perform ongoing sewer maintenance and replacement of older system components. The cities of Artesia, La Mirada and Whittier have experienced recent sewage BURR CONSULTING 112 GATEWAY MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

overflows as a result of rainwater inflow during heavy rainfall, which is a sign of needed system improvements. The cities of Bell Gardens and South Gate need to perform assessments of their sewer systems to develop system repair and maintenance plans. 51

Portions of Compton, Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, South Gate and the Walnut Park, East Rancho Dominguez and Willowbrook unincorporated areas, and almost all of La Habra Heights are on septic systems, which are subject to failure and potential groundwater contamination if not properly maintained.

Solid Waste The MSR area, like the County as a whole, is rapidly exhausting landfill capacity. The primary landfill where solid waste is disposed will be closing in 2013, and other major landfills will close by 2030. Beginning in 2010, waste generated in the MSR area will begin to be exported by rail to remote landfills outside the County.

Stormwater The jurisdictions in the MSR area are under new requirements—the Clean Water Act and related Regional Water Quality Control Board regulations—to install, inspect and maintain catch basins in their storm drains to prevent trash from flowing into Long Beach and the Pacific Ocean.

The jurisdictions are also responsible for monitoring commercial and industrial discharges into the stormwater system, and identifying illicit wastewater connections into the stormwater system. The agencies face significant challenges in financing the infrastructure and staffing levels to meet the regulatory requirements.

Streets All of the cities face ongoing needs for resurfacing, slurry-sealing, traffic signals, and street widening in high-traffic areas. The cities address these needs through capital improvement programs, and have access to special funds to finance ongoing needs. Most cities in the area face challenges to road improvements due to the concentration of heavy truck traffic along major freeways and arterial streets, resulting in heightened congestion and street damage.

Parks Six cities—Bell, Bellflower, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Paramount, and Maywood—maintain less than one acre of total park space (including school park space) per 1,000 residents. Very little park acreage is accessible in areas surrounding Bell, Cudahy, Huntington Park, and Maywood. However, residents in Bellflower and Paramount have close access to park land in neighboring Long Beach and Downey, where larger amounts of park space exist. Bell, Cudahy and Maywood are located along the Los Angeles River and are making efforts to increase open space through involvement in Los Angeles River watershed conservation and restoration efforts.

51 The primary provider of wastewater trunk lines, treatment and disposal services is the County Sanitation Districts. The County Sanitation Districts span multiple MSR areas, and are being reviewed in a separate MSR report focused on all County Sanitation District operations.

113 BURR CONSULTING MSR CONCLUSIONS

Libraries Long Beach and Santa Fe Springs are in need of new library facilities and Pico Rivera library needs expansion, which are budgeted in their capital improvement plans. Norwalk, Hawaiian Gardens, Commerce, and Huntington Park libraries are scheduled for miscellaneous repairs and upgrades. Whittier has budgeted for automated system upgrades.

Housing Municipalities are required to update the housing element of their respective general plans every five years to plan to meet the existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community. As of July 29, 2005, the cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Cudahy, Lynwood, and Whittier were not in compliance with this requirement.

G ROWTH AND P OPULATION P ROJECTIONS

Over the next 20 years, the MSR area population is projected to grow at about 0.5 percent annually, slower than the County’s predicted growth rate of 0.9 percent a year. The MSR area population is currently 2,228,000, and is expected to reach 2,505,000 by the year 2025.

The most rapid growth in the residential population is anticipated in Santa Fe Springs and South Gate. The pace of growth in South Gate is expected to slow in the long-term.

The daytime population (job base) is projected to grow most quickly in Bell, Signal Hill, Maywood, Cudahy, and Vernon.

Most of the cities identified residential growth areas and opportunities as primarily involving infill development, redevelopment and recycling to higher density. Specific residential growth areas include Carson’s Cambria Pines and Monterrey Pines neighborhoods, Cerritos mixed density growth near the Cerritos industrial park, Hawaiian Gardens growth on underutilized property in the southwest, Huntington Park growth in underutilized areas within the central business district and senior housing projects, Lakewood growth through recycling of land use to increased density in eastern areas, Long Beach growth along older commercial corridors and near downtown and the West Gateway area, Maywood growth in the Town Center along Slauson Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard, Norwalk growth in the San Antonio Village area, Santa Fe Springs growth at former oil fields including the 651 unit Townlot Housing Project, Signal Hill growth on vacant land and former oil fields, and Whittier growth in Uptown and along Whittier Boulevard.

Non-residential growth areas include the Dominguez Technology Center in Carson, the Cerritos Industrial Park, commercial expansion in Compton’s central business district, Downey Landing commercial mixed-use development, commercial expansion along the Santa Ana Freeway in La Mirada, Long Beach shoreline entertainment development and retail developments in Alamitos Bay, Plaza Mexico commercial and entertainment development in Lynwood, industrial development in Maywood’s West Side, industrial development in Norwalk along Firestone Boulevard, commercial and industrial development at the former Northrup Gruman site in Pico Rivera, former oil field development in Santa Fe Springs and Signal Hill, brownfields development in Vernon and commercial and entertainment development in Uptown Whittier.

Most of the jurisdictions cited a shortage of vacant, developable land as a significant growth BURR CONSULTING 114 GATEWAY MUNICIPAL SERVICE REVIEW

constraint. Proliferation of industrial traffic and other activities limits residential development in thirteen of the cities. Also, contaminated soils in Bell Gardens, Carson and Signal Hill limit the cities’ development opportunities. Community preferences in seventeen cities were also cited as growth constraints. Historic preservation efforts limit development in Long Beach, Signal Hill and Whittier. Infrastructure deficiencies were cited as barriers to further development in the cities of Bell Gardens, Compton, Maywood, and Signal Hill. In La Habra Heights, Whittier and Signal Hill, topography and related concerns about fire, flood hazard, and natural resource conservation in hillside areas were cited as additional growth constraints. The area’s growth is constrained by environmentally degraded watersheds and related regulatory constraints imposed on stormwater and wastewater services.

Police Service Serious crime tends to vary over the course of the business cycle, rising along with unemployment. Crime and calls for police service in the MSR area have declined in recent years, although have begun to increase slightly since 1999. Over the same time period of decline in crimes, paradoxically, the resident population was increasing. Future demand for police service is unknown, but is expected to grow during times of relatively high unemployment. Cities experiencing recent increases in crimes include Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, South Gate, Bellflower, Whittier, and La Mirada.

Fire and Paramedic Service calls for fire and paramedic providers have been increasing, and are expected to continue growing as a result of population growth and the aging of the population. Demand growth will be affected by the availability of alternative services like primary care and telephone-based service, and demand management practices, such as better fire prevention training, fire code improvements, and building rehabilitation.

Water In addition to residential population growth, water demand is affected by economic growth among commercial and agricultural water users, temperature, rainfall, household size, conservation efforts, and pricing.

Wastewater Wastewater service demand is affected by growth in the residential and visitor populations as well as rainfall. Demand is expected to grow over the next several years along with the population. Increased water use efficiency through technological enhancements and public awareness efforts can mitigate the effects of increased population on wastewater demand.

Solid Waste The amount of solid waste disposed has declined over the last decade. Assembly Bill 939 mandates that cities must have 50 percent less trash going to landfills in the year 2000 than it was estimated to be sending in 1990, although not all of the cities in the MSR area have achieved this goal. Solid waste demand is expected to decline at a more rapid rate in the coming years.

115 BURR CONSULTING MSR CONCLUSIONS

Stormwater The demand for stormwater facilities is projected to increase due to population growth and growth in the proportion of the surface paved. New regulatory requirements to eliminate trash and other toxins from stormwater flows will create a substantial increase in service demand. Rainfall is unpredictable, and has a significant effect on stormwater demand.

Street Maintenance The use of streets is expected to increase along with the projected residential population and will also be affected significantly by the daytime population and vehicle ownership levels. Street maintenance demands will also be affected by heightened through traffic due to increasing international trade and goods movement through the region. Improvements along congested freeways may partially mitigate the effects of population and trade growth on street congestion and street maintenance levels in the MSR area.

Parks The use of parks is expected to increase along with the projected residential population.

Libraries The use of libraries is expected to increase along with the projected residential population.

Transportation The use of public transportation services is expected to increase due to population growth and growth in the senior population receiving Dial-a-Ride services.

F INANCING C ONSTRAINTS AND O PPORTUNITIES

Under this determination, a community’s public service needs are weighed against the resources available to fund the services. The municipal service review identified the financing constraints and opportunities that have an impact on the delivery of services.

Most cities rely on general fund resources to finance police, fire, parks, and library service. Many cities rely on general fund resources to supplement funding for street, stormwater and transit services. The median city in the MSR area generates $418 in general fund revenue per capita. The cities of Cudahy and Maywood generate the least general fund revenues with less than $250 per capita. In nine cities—Bell, Bellflower, Compton, Huntington Park, Lynwood, Norwalk, Paramount, Pico Rivera, and South Gate—general fund revenues are relatively modest with $300- 400 per capita. General fund revenues are most ample in Signal Hill, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, and Vernon, where per capita revenues exceed $650.

The most significant general fund revenue streams are sales and use tax, utility users’ tax, vehicle license fees, and property tax. The median Gateway city relies less on property tax and more on sales tax and vehicle license fees than does the median city in the County and the state. Fourteen of the 26 cities impose a utility users’ tax. Two cities—Bell Gardens and Hawaiian Gardens—rely on

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wagering fees and taxes as their primary revenue stream.

Financing constraints will affect the ability to finance not only service costs but also infrastructure needs like fire station construction, parks, street improvements, and libraries. Municipal service providers are constrained in their capacity to finance services by the inability to increase property taxes, requirements for voter approval for new or increased taxes, and requirements of voter approval for parcel taxes and assessments used to finance services.

In FY 2002-03, $4.9 billion statewide was shifted from local agencies to local schools due to the State Education Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) created in the 1990s. As a result, city property tax shares are an average of 25 percent lower.

Cities rely heavily on a portion of the State-collected vehicle license fees (VLF) and property taxes paid by the State in lieu of VLF. For cities annexing new territory, the amount of property tax paid in lieu of VLF does not credit the agency for the value of development in place at the time of annexation.

Financing opportunities that do not require voter approval include imposition of or increases in fees to more fully recover the costs of providing services, including false alarm fees, development impact fees, land dedications for fire station sites and fire infrastructure construction, and other fees to recover the actual cost of services provided. Agencies may also finance many types of facility improvements through bond instruments that do not require voter approval.

Financing opportunities that require voter approval include special taxes such as parcel taxes, increases in general taxes such as utility taxes, sales and use taxes, business license taxes, and transient occupancy taxes. Agencies may finance facilities with voter-approved (general obligation) bonded indebtedness. Communities may elect to form business improvement districts to finance supplemental services, or Mello-Roos districts to finance development-related infrastructure extension.

Additional financing opportunities involve the issuance of parking and moving citations. The cities ranged from issuing a low of 30 citations per 1,000 people to a high of 634 citations per 1,000 people. Cities with relatively inactive citation programs may wish to consider collaborating with another service provider, such as the traffic enforcement that Calabasas conducts on behalf of its neighboring cities.

Stormwater infrastructure financing opportunities include bonded indebtedness. For example, the City of Los Angeles voters approved a ballot measure to use this approach to finance stormwater system improvements in November 2004.

Contingency reserves and unreserved fund balances are one indicator of the financial health of a local agency. Contingency reserves in the median city in the MSR area would cover 41 percent of annual general fund expenditures. Vernon had no contingency reserves, indeed a negative general fund balance; the City plans to eliminate its deficit through a parcel tax designated for street improvements. Pico Rivera and the City of Commerce maintained contingency reserves covering only three percent of annual general fund expenditures. Reserve ratios in the remainder of the cities meet Government Finance Officers Association recommendations. Reserves were most abundant in the cities of Cerritos, La Mirada and Lakewood.

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The median city in the Gateway area had long-term debt of $871 per capita. Debt loads are highest in Signal Hill, Hawaiian Gardens, Cerritos, Commerce, Huntington Park, and Santa Fe Springs with more than $2,000 per capita. Redevelopment bond constituted most of the debt in these cities. Other cities with moderately high debt loads include two cities—La Mirada and Paramount—with relatively high redevelopment debt and two cities—Bell and Long Beach—with sizable debt from general obligation bonds.

C OST AVOIDANCE O PPORTUNITIES

This determination relates to identifying service duplication issues, inefficiencies related to overlapping boundaries, and cost reduction opportunities related to economies of scale. The municipal service reviews shall identify cost avoidance opportunities by assessing duplicative services, duplicative costs, and other inefficiencies.

Law enforcement agencies indicated that regional collaboration efforts have reduced costs and provided the agencies access to services they could not otherwise afford. The agencies identified a number of opportunities for additional regional collaboration that could potentially lead to cost savings.

Fire service providers indicated that regional sharing of dispatch facilities and expansion of regional mutual aid agreements could reduce costs.

There may also be opportunities to reduce stormwater-related water quality regulatory costs through regional collaboration by reaping economies of scale.

Several solid waste providers in the MSR area have joined a regional JPA to save on regulatory compliance costs.

O PPORTUNITIES FOR R ATE R ESTRUCTURING

Municipal service reviews describe the existing rate structure and compare it with those of neighboring service providers, where relevant. Service reviews identify strategies for rate restructuring, which would further the LAFCO mission of ensuring efficiency in providing public services. Further, the service review will assess conditions that may impact future rates. The service review may identify opportunities for rate reductions through annexations or other reorganizations.

Wastewater rates charged by the County Sanitation Districts are likely to increase in the long- term to finance new regulatory requirements.

Solid waste disposal rates at the Puente Hills Landfill—the primary landfill destination for trash originating in the MSR area—are expected to increase due to the gradual phase-in of more expensive rail shipment of waste to remote landfills in Riverside and Imperial counties.

The City of Long Beach is engaged in a citywide fee study to ensure full cost recovery of the services it provides, has increased fees and is addressing cost recovery.

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O PPORTUNITIES FOR S HARED FACILITIES

Under this determination, LAFCO may consider how sphere of influence changes could create better opportunities for agencies to share facilities and eliminate costly duplications of service. The service review identified facilities used by local government agencies providing municipal services to the MSR area as well as contract service providers. The service review evaluated whether efficiencies can be achieved by accommodating the facility needs of adjacent agencies, and assessed the compatibility between the facility needs of neighboring service providers. Options for planning future shared facilities and services were also considered.

Police Law enforcement agencies already engage in extensive sharing of resources and facilities. The City of Long Beach offers Signal Hill the use of its records and CAD storage. Future opportunities include regionalized dispatch, SWAT, and holding facilities.

Fire Opportunities for shared facilities identified by the agencies include expanded dispatch collaboration for those cities not participating in the Joint Powers Communication Center in Downey. The Compton Fire Department mentioned the possibility of sharing station space with an Arson Investigation unit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. La Habra Heights mentioned the possibility of sharing its facilities with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

G OVERNMENT STRUCTURE OPTIONS

Although the objective of the service review is to update spheres of influence, LAFCO may determine that another type of policy change under its jurisdiction is warranted. LAFCO is empowered to initiate certain reorganizations such as district consolidation, dissolution, mergers and subsidiary district (Government Code §56375(a)). The Legislature has also encouraged the Commission to recommend governmental reorganizations to particular agencies in the county, using the spheres of influence as the basis for those recommendations (Government Code §56425 (g)).

No policy alternatives were proposed by the affected agencies. The service review identified one government structure option.

Special District Formation Special district formation for stormwater financing purposes is a remote, long-term option and is being studied by the County Department of Public Works along with a variety of other options.

119 BURR CONSULTING MSR CONCLUSIONS

E VALUATION OF M ANAGEMENT E FFICIENCIES

Where there are other potential service providers, the municipal service review shall consider the effectiveness of an agency’s internal organization to provide efficient, quality public services. Efficiently managed agencies contain costs and deliver adequate services.

Best management practices are exemplified by the City of Long Beach. The City is developing performance-based budgeting, which will explicitly connect measurable workload indicators to department budgets on an annual basis.

Fourteen of the 26 cities conduct workload monitoring and performance evaluation, and were able to provide recent examples of these efforts. These cities include Artesia, Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Cudahy, La Mirada, Lakewood, Long Beach, Paramount, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, Signal Hill, South Gate, and Whittier. Three agencies—Downey, Hawaiian Gardens and Norwalk— indicated that they conduct workload monitoring and performance evaluation, however were unable to provide recent examples of one or both of these practices.

Five of the cities—Carson, Commerce, Compton, Lynwood, and Maywood—indicated that they neither conduct performance evaluations nor workload monitoring. Cerritos and La Habra Heights conduct performance evaluations but do not monitor workload or productivity. Vernon indicated it conducts performance evaluations but did not provide any recent examples. Huntington Park monitors workload and productivity but does not conduct performance evaluations.

L OCAL A CCOUNTABILITY AND G OVERNANCE

This determination encompasses multiple policy-making goals. In evaluating spheres of influence and other potential reorganizations, LAFCO will consider which agency best meets the needs and desires of affected residents. In considering local governance issues, LAFCO will solicit and give great weight to the policy proposals initiated by the affected agency. In determining which agency is best poised to serve unincorporated territory, LAFCO shall also give weight to each agency’s accountability to affected residents.

The service review documented the local agencies’ form of governance, accountability to constituents and contract service recipients. The service review documented the agency’s cooperation with LAFCO’s requests for information as an indicator of its public accountability.

The service review assessed the agencies’ decision-making and operational and management processes, and found that, with few exceptions, the cities, the CFPD, and the independent districts:

(1) include an accessible and accountable elected or appointed decision making body and agency staff;

(2) encourage and value public participation; and

(3) disclose budgets, programs, and plans.

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The cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Cudahy, Lynwood, and Whittier were not in compliance with the requirement to update the general plan housing element every five years.

The cities of Carson and Compton had not yet completed their FY 03-04 financial statements (CAFR) at the time this report was completed. Also, Compton failed to provide sufficient information to assess its stormwater and wastewater services.

The cities of Bell and Cudahy are the only cities in the MSR area that do not post City Council meeting agendas and minutes on their websites.

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CHAPTER 7: SOI UPDATES

This chapter sets forth recommended findings with respect to the four agency-specific determinations related to updating the spheres of influence for the local agencies in the Gateway MSR area.

C ITY O F A RTESIA

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Artesia.

The City is completely surrounded by incorporated areas leaving no annexation or SOI expansion possibilities unless areas were detached from one of the surrounding cities. The sphere is bounded by the City of Norwalk to the north, and the City of Cerritos surrounds the remaining perimeter.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area The City of Artesia is primarily a residential community with 69 percent of parceled land used for residential purposes. 21 percent of the land is for commercial use and there are 15 acres of vacant land, of which 11.5 acres are zoned for residential use. Planned land uses in the area include residential and commercial developments.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is growing at a modest rate, similar to other cities in the Gateway area. Therefore, the need for fire, police, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to experience minimal growth.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive community services and some public works services from the City and receive other services from a variety of local agencies.

With regard to public services provided to the City, the present capacity of public facilities is limited for wastewater.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate, with the exception of police, wastewater and solid waste. Police detectives are not solving serious crimes at the rates achieved by most other jurisdictions. Also, the City may be challenged to provide adequate wastewater services due to the high density of sewer lines compared with surrounding cities and

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needed infrastructure improvements. The agency’s ability to provide adequate solid waste service may also face challenges due to a large amount of waste per capita compared with neighboring cities and unmet landfill diversion rates.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest Although the City of Artesia is a relatively new city, the area maintains a long and rich history and a high degree of community identity. Economic communities of interest include the Central Business District near the Artesia and Pioneer Boulevard intersection, commercial corridors along both Pioneer and Artesia Boulevard, and a concentration of industrial activity between the Artesia Freeway and Artesia Boulevard.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing coterminous SOI for the City of Artesia at this time.

C ITY O F B ELL

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Bell.

The City is completely surrounded by incorporated areas leaving no annexation or SOI expansion possibilities unless areas were detached from one of the surrounding cities. The sphere is bounded by Huntington Park to the west, Vernon and Maywood to the west and south, Commerce and Bell Gardens to the east, and Cudahy is located to the south.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area The City of Bell is a primarily multi-family residential area. 53 percent of parceled property is designated for residential use and 34 percent is designated for industrial use. Planned land uses in the area include residential, commercial and mixed use developments.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is growing at a modest rate, as are other cities in the Gateway area. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow slightly in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive police and community services from the City, while other services are provided by a variety of local agencies.

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With regard to public services provided to the City, the present capacity of public facilities is limited for police.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate, with the exception of police, park and housing services. The agency faces challenges to providing adequate police services due to facility expansion needs, low crime clearance rates and a high rate of incidents per capita. Also, the adequacy of park facilities is limited due to the low amount of park acres per capita. The City also faces challenges to providing adequate housing services. The City has not updated the housing element of its General Plan and has not yet met a large portion of its housing needs.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Bell has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity.

Economic communities within the City include the industrial area located east of the Long Beach Freeway.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing coterminous SOI for the City of Bell at this time.

C ITY O F B ELL G ARDENS

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Bell Gardens.

The City is completely surrounded by incorporated areas leaving no annexation or SOI expansion possibilities unless areas were detached from one of the surrounding cities. The sphere is bounded by the cities of Cudahy and Bell to the west, Commerce to the north, Downey to the east and South Gate to the south.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area The City of Bell Gardens is primarily a dense residential area. 65 percent of parceled land use is residential, 14 percent industrial, and 10 percent commercial use. Planned land uses in the area include infill residential development and commercial redevelopment efforts in the City Center.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is densely populated and built out, leaving little room for growth. Similarly, little increase in the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected in the future.

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Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive police, public works and community services directly from the City, while other services are provided by a variety of local agencies.

With regard to public services provided to the City, the present capacity of public facilities appears adequate.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate with the exception of policing services. The ability of the agency to provide adequate policing services without additional resources is questionable since the City has a high number of service calls per capita and detectives are not solving serious crimes at the rates achieved by the median jurisdiction in the area.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Bell Gardens has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity.

Economic communities within the City include the Bicycle Casino and industrial areas located to the southern and eastern city boundaries.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing coterminous SOI for the City of Bell Gardens at this time.

C ITY O F B ELLFLOWER

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Bellflower.

The City is completely surrounded by incorporated areas leaving no annexation or SOI expansion possibilities unless areas were detached from one of the surrounding cities. The sphere is bounded by the cities of Downey to the north, Norwalk and Cerritos to the east, Lakewood to the south, and Long Beach and Paramount to the west.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area The City of Bellflower is primarily a low density residential area. 70 percent of developable property is residential use and 22 percent commercial use. Planned land uses in the area include infill residential development and commercial redevelopment efforts along heavily traveled corridors.

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Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area Since the City is primarily built out, there is little room for growth in the City. Therefore, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to experience minimal growth in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive public works and community services from the City, while other services are provided by a variety of local agencies.

With regard to public services provided to the City, the present capacity of facilities serving the area is adequate.

Municipal services provided by the City are generally adequate. The adequacy of park facilities is limited due to the low amount of park acres per capita.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Bellflower has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. Communities of interest include the Bellflower Civic Center.

Economic communities within the City include the Kaiser Hospital and Bellflower Medical Center.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing coterminous SOI for the City of Bellflower at this time.

C ITY O F C ARSON

LAFCO has previously adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Carson, which extends beyond the city’s northeastern boundary. The SOI includes the city and unincorporated territory to the northeast. To the north, Carson’s SOI is bordered by the City of Compton and the unincorporated community of West Compton which is within Compton’s SOI. The unincorporated SOI area to the northeast is bounded by the City of Compton and unincorporated land within the City of Compton’s SOI to the north and by unincorporated territory within the City of Long Beach SOI to the east along the Alameda corridor. The City of Los Angeles borders the SOI to the south. The unincorporated community of West Carson, within the City of Los Angeles SOI, borders the City of Carson’s SOI to the southwest. The City of Los Angeles and a small unincorporated territory within the City of Los Angeles SOI borders the SOI to the west.

The City of Carson recommended that its SOI be expanded to include all of the unincorporated territory to the northeast bounded by the cities of Long Beach, Compton and Carson. The City reported that two mobile home park homeowner associations have recently expressed interest in

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annexation to the City.52 One of the parks lies within Carson’s existing SOI, and the other—Del Amo Mobile Home Park—lies within Compton’s SOI. At the LAFCO workshop on October 18, 2005, residents of both parks voiced support for removing the SOI area from Compton, adding the SOI area to Carson, and ultimately annexation to Carson. Del Amo Mobile Home Park residents do not identify with Compton due to the physical barrier of Highway 91. Del Amo residents expressed concerns over lack of public transit services to the community as well as public safety and street maintenance service levels. Carson has a rent control ordinance covering mobile home park residents;53 whereas, no such ordinance applies to territory within Compton or unincorporated areas.54

The mobile home park owner and the City of Compton oppose reassigning this SOI area from Compton to Carson. The recommended SOI expansion area includes unincorporated land currently in the SOIs of the cities of Compton and Los Angeles.

Carson has proposed expansion into an industrial SOI area east of the Alameda Corridor. The area, currently in the City of Compton’s SOI, is recommended for the City of Long Beach SOI later in this chapter. Long Beach already provides fire and paramedic services to the affected area through mutual aid. The Alameda Corridor would form a logical boundary between the Carson and Long Beach SOIs.

In the Rosewood community north of Carson, the area bounded by Alondra Boulevard, Figueroa Street, Redondo Beach Boulevard, and the City of Compton’s western boundary is recommended for inclusion in Carson’s SOI. This area—which includes both industrial and residential uses—is recommended for removal from the joint Compton-Los Angeles SOI area. Rosewood residents opposed a prior annexation attempt by Compton, and have expressed recent interest in removal from Compton’s SOI for the purpose of future annexation by Carson.55

Expansion of the City’s SOI is recommended, as shown in Appendix B on Map 5, as are related SOI reductions for the cities of Compton and Los Angeles. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area The City of Carson contains a mixture of residential and industrial land use. Industrial lands make up 54 percent of areas with designated land use, while residential areas make up 28 percent. A large portion of land in the City (10 percent) is vacant. Planned land uses in the area include commercial, residential, industrial and mixed-use development projects.

52 City of Carson, Report to Mayor and City Council, October 4, 2005, page 2.

53 City of Carson, Mobilehome Space Rent Control Ordinance, Municipal Code §4700 et seq.

54 Dreier, Peter. Rent Deregulation in California and Massachusetts: Politics, Policy, and Impacts - Part II, Occidental College International and Public Affairs Center conference paper, May 14, 1997.

55 Correspondence from residents Marilyn May and Evelyn Thibeaux to LAFCO staff, November 2005. Marilyn May letter includes signatures from more than 50 residents. Thibeaux letter states that members of the Olive Circle Home Owners Association also support the SOI change.

127 BURR CONSULTING SOI UPDATES

The unincorporated portion of the existing SOI area consists primarily of industrial use, closely related to activities along the Alameda corridor. There is one mobile home park located in the City’s existing SOI area.

The unincorporated territories north of the City of Carson SOI area and within the City of Compton’s existing SOI consist of industrial land use, single family homes, a mobile home park and the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum.

The remainder of the recommended SOI expansion area consists entirely of industrial land use.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is growing at a moderate rate compared with other cities in the area. The City’s development plans will further increase the demand for services in the area. Similarly, the need for police, fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow moderately in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive public works and community services from the City, while other services are provided by a variety of local agencies. Unincorporated areas receive police, fire and emergency medical and public works services from the County.

With regard to public services provided to the City and existing sphere area, the present capacity of police and fire facilities is strained by lack of space. Due to new developments and future growth in the service area, the facilities will require expansion or replacement.

A large portion of unmet housing needs in the area may signify challenges to providing adequate housing services.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Carson has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. Communities of interest include the California State University of Dominguez Hills campus and the recent residential developments, such as Cambria Pines, Monterrey Pines and Dominguez Hills Village. Additional communities of interest include the mobile home park residents within the current SOI and residents of the Del Amo Mobile Home Park and Rosewood (west Compton) within the recommended SOI expansion area (in the City of Compton’s existing SOI).

Economic communities include the Home Depot Sports Center, heavy industrial areas along the Alameda corridor, and regional commercial centers along the San Diego Freeway.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO expand the City of Carson’s SOI to include unincorporated territory northeast of the City and south of Compton, and west of the Alameda Corridor as well as territory north of the City. In the past, residents of the Del Amo Mobile Home Estates in the City of Compton SOI unincorporated area have requested that the City of Carson annex the territory. However, the area’s location within the City of Compton’s SOI precluded annexation. Neither of

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the neighboring cities has succeeded in annexing the affected unincorporated areas within their SOIs. For the most part, Compton has not included the affected SOI areas in planning efforts, as reflected by its current General Plan, although the City intends to do so in the next update to the General Plan.56 Compton currently faces service adequacy, facility capacity and financial constraints. Although the City of Carson is also in need of facility upgrades, the City of Carson is in a better financial position than Compton to provide sufficient infrastructure and service levels to any additional territory.57

C ITY O F C ERRITOS

LAFCO has previously adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Cerritos that includes a small unincorporated area along the northwestern city limits. The City is completely surrounded by incorporated areas leaving no SOI expansion possibilities unless areas were detached from one of the surrounding cities.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area The majority of developed land in the City of Cerritos is low-density residential. 52 percent of developable property is residential use and 18 percent industrial use. Planned land uses in the area include infill industrial and office development as well as residential and commercial developments.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is primarily built out and the City, as well as the unincorporated island area in the City, expects minimal growth in the future. Similarly, little growth in the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive community services from the City, while other services are provided by a variety of local agencies. The unincorporated area within the City’s SOI receives public works, police and fire and emergency medical services from the County.

With regard to public services provided to the City and existing sphere area, the present capacity of public facilities appears adequate.

56 Only the portion east of Avalon Boulevard and north of Alondra Boulevard is included in Compton’s planning area (City of Compton General Plan, Compton Land Use Policy Map).

57 Government Code §56653 requires local agencies applying for annexation of territory to prepare a service plan detailing service extension, infrastructure and financing plans; hence, it is the responsibility of an annexing agency to prepare annexation-related fiscal and service analysis.

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A large portion of unmet housing needs in the area may signify challenges to providing adequate housing services.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Cerritos has a long and rich history with the overall community consisting of mainly residential areas. Communities of interest include the Town Center and Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

Economic communities within the City include the Los Cerritos Center mall, the Cerritos Town Center, South Street Cerritos, and the Cerritos Auto Square. Most commercial areas are located along the San Gabriel Freeway

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Cerritos at this time.

C ITY O F C OMMERCE

LAFCO has previously adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Commerce. The City is surrounded on all sides by incorporated territory, except to the north where the City is bounded by the unincorporated territory of East Los Angeles, which is within the City of Los Angeles SOI.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area The majority of land in the City is designated for industrial land use. 73 percent of parceled property is industrial use and nine percent mixed commercial and industrial use. Residential land makes up only nine percent of the City's land. The City is predominantly built out with few vacant parcels available for development. Planned land uses in the area include commercial and industrial developments.

Land use in the adjacent unincorporated area to the north is primarily residential with some neighborhood commercial.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is built out, as is the unincorporated area in the vicinity of the City. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow little in the future.

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Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive community and public works services directly from the City, while other services are provided by a variety of local agencies.

The present capacity of public facilities is adequate.

The municipal services provided in this area are adequate, except that the agency is not in compliance with solid waste diversion rates and solid waste disposed per capita is relatively high compared with neighboring communities.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Commerce has a long and rich history as one of Southern California’s major industrial centers. Communities of interest include the unincorporated community of East Los Angeles, located within the SOI to the north.

The entire City of Commerce is an economic community of interest to the Gateway area, as it serves as one of the area’s major centers of employment.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Commerce at this time.

C ITY O F C OMPTON

LAFCO has previously adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Compton that includes the unincorporated areas to the east known as East Compton, and additional unincorporated territory south of the City boundary.

To the west and northwest of the City, a joint SOI exists with the City of Los Angeles. Land in the joint SOI is part of the unincorporated communities of Willowbrook and West Compton. Also within the joint SOI is an unincorporated island lying just north of Rosecrans Avenue between North Central Avenue to the west and South Northwind Avenue to the east. The joint SOI area can be viewed in Appendix B, Map 6. The island and the remainder of the joint SOI area east of Avalon Blvd. lies within the City’s planning area, but the planning area excludes the portion of the joint SOI area west of Avalon Blvd.58

Other unincorporated areas within the City’s SOI include four residential island areas in the eastern portion of the City, which lie within the City’s planning area. In addition, there is an unincorporated area south of the City within the SOI; this area lies outside the City’s planning area and includes industrial use, a mobile home park and a museum.

58 City of Compton General Plan—Vision 2010, Adopted 1991, Figure LU-2 on page 21. The City is currently in the process of updating the 1991 General Plan to include all areas within the existing SOI, according to correspondence from the City Manager to the LAFCO Executive Officer dated October 6, 2005.

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The City’s SOI is bounded to the southwest by the City of Carson. To the south, the SOI is bordered by unincorporated territory within the City of Carson SOI. The cities of Long Beach and Paramount border the City’s SOI to the east, while the City of Lynwood borders to the northeast and City of Los Angeles borders to the northwest.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated it is not proposing or anticipating proposing any changes to its SOI. The City wishes to retain its existing SOI.

The City faces high demand for public safety services, particularly police and EMS incidents. The City currently faces financial constraints including relatively low general fund revenues and a relatively high debt load. Compton’s general fund revenues per capita are 25 percent lower than in the median city in the County and its long-term debt per capita is nearly double the median among Gateway cities. The City reported to LAFCO that it expects general fund revenue to increase significantly due to pending developments on underutilized commercial and industrial properties; however, such revenues have yet to materialize.

It is recommended that the unincorporated area to the south (east of Edison Way) be removed from the City’s SOI, with related SOI expansions for the cities of Carson and Long Beach. It is recommended that LAFCO remove the southwestern SOI area shared with the City of Los Angeles from the City of Compton’s SOI. Rosewood residents opposed a prior annexation attempt by Compton, and have expressed recent interest in removal from Compton’s SOI for the purpose of future annexation by Carson.59

The report also recommended that LAFCO remove the SOI area located south of the City’s boundary and place the portion west of the Alameda Corridor within the City of Carson’s SOI and the portion east of the Alameda Corridor within the City of Long Beach’s SOI. This recommended SOI reduction area is not included in the City’s planning area. Since the SOI was adopted in 1973, the City has not succeeded in annexing the territory, and Compton’s financial condition and current infrastructure needs pose challenges to its ability to serve additional territory. Residents in the southern SOI reduction area at Del Amo Mobile Home Park do not identify with Compton due to the physical barrier of Highway 91. Del Amo residents expressed concerns over lack of public transit services to the community as well as public safety and street maintenance service levels.

Recommended SOI reduction areas are depicted in Appendix B, Map 7.

Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area The City of Compton is primarily a low-density residential community. 57 percent of parceled property is designated for residential use and 21 percent industrial use. The City is predominantly built out with few vacant parcels available for development. Planned land uses in the area include residential and commercial developments.

59 Correspondence from residents Marilyn May and Evelyn Thibeaux to LAFCO staff, November 2005. Marilyn May letter includes signatures from more than 50 residents. Thibeaux letter states that members of the Olive Circle Home Owners Association also support the SOI change.

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The southwestern portion of the joint SOI area is designated by the County for industrial and residential land use. The unincorporated island in the joint SOI area consists of medium-density residential land use.

Land use within unincorporated islands in East Compton is primarily low density residential, with some commercial land use designated along East Compton Avenue, South Atlantic Avenue and East Alondra Boulevard. Land use within the southeastern unincorporated area is low density residential use.

Unincorporated territory within the City’s southern SOI area includes industrial, residential and institutional uses. Residential use includes a mobile home park community. The institutional use is the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum. The unincorporated area to the southeast of the City is designated for industrial land use.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is an older, built out community and the City is experiencing little growth, as are the unincorporated areas in the vicinity of the City. However, the City reported that it anticipates growth from various pending development and redevelopment projects on previously underutilized commercial and industrial properties. Therefore, the need for police, fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to increase modestly in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive community, public works and fire and emergency medical services directly from the City, while other services are provided by a variety of local agencies. The unincorporated territory within the City’s SOI receives public works, police, and fire and emergency medical services from the County.

With regard to public services provided to the City, the present capacity of public facilities is limited for fire and stormwater services. Growth in some areas is constrained by the capacity of aging water mains and wastewater collection infrastructure.

Service adequacy challenges include fire and emergency medical, solid waste and stormwater services. The City has the largest number of fire and emergency medical incidents per capita in the MSR area, but maintains a lower than average staffing level. The City is under a compliance order by the California Integrated Waste Management Board to enhance recycling programs and increase solid waste diversion from landfills. The ability of the agency to provide adequate stormwater services is unknown because the agency did not report performance indicators in the most recent annual report by the RWQCB. Stormwater service challenges include a relatively large number of discharge permits, needed infrastructure and the 100-year flood plain that covers most of the City.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Compton has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity.

Economic communities within the City include industrial areas along Alameda Street and Belle Vernon Acres along Alameda Street to the north, as well as the Crystal Park Casino Hotel along the

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Gardena Freeway just west of the Long Beach Freeway.

Communities of interest within the City’s existing SOI include the East Rancho Dominguez, Rosewood and Willowbrook neighborhoods. The City reported that property owners in the East Rancho Dominguez and Rosewood areas opposed past annexation attempts. The Rosewood and Willowbrook neighborhoods lie within the recommended SOI reduction areas. The Del Amo Mobile Home Park forms a residential community of interest in East Rancho Dominguez.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO remove two areas from the City’s SOI—an SOI area west of the City that is shared with the City of Los Angeles and an SOI area south of the City. Residents within the latter area have expressed interest in annexation to the City of Carson. The City of Compton’s financial condition and current infrastructure needs pose challenges to its ability to adequately serve additional territory outside its boundaries.

C ITY O F C UDAHY

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Cudahy.

The City is completely surrounded by incorporated areas leaving no annexation or SOI expansion possibilities unless areas were detached from one of the surrounding cities. The sphere is bounded by the cities of Bell to the north, Bell Gardens to the east, South Gate to the south and southwest, and Huntington Park to the west.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area The City of Cudahy is a primarily high density residential area with 69 percent of parceled land occupied by residential uses. Industrial use covers 14 percent of the City’s land. Planned land uses in the area include residential and commercial developments as well as a new Civic Center.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is growing at a moderate rate. Although residential population is expected to experience relatively little growth due to lack of developable residential land, employment growth in the City is expected to grow at a faster rate than the area as a whole. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow moderately in the future.

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Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive community and public works services from the City, police services from the City of Maywood, and rely on a variety of local agencies for other services.

With regard to public services provided to the City, the present capacity of public facilities appears adequate.

The adequacy of police services provided to the City is questionable due to low sworn staff levels compared with neighboring cities in spite of comparable incidents per capita. The City may need to increase the level of police staffing in order to provide adequate policing services. Also, the City’s ability to provide adequate stormwater services is uncertain due to a large amount of discharge permits to monitor, high number of inlets to maintain, flood risks, and lack of funding for stormwater purposes.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Cudahy is a newer city, although it maintains a high degree of community identity. Communities of interest include a Civic Center and commercial areas along Atlantic Avenue.

Economic communities within the City include an industrial area, which is located in the southern part of the City, and the commercial areas along Atlantic Avenue.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Cudahy at this time.

C ITY O F D OWNEY

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Downey.

The City is completely surrounded by incorporated areas leaving no annexation or SOI expansion possibilities unless areas were detached from one of the surrounding cities. The sphere is bounded by eight incorporated cities: South Gate, Bell Gardens and Commerce are along the northwestern boundary, Pico Rivera is to the northeast, Santa Fe Springs and Norwalk are along the eastern boundary, and Paramount and Bellflower are to the south.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area The City of Downey is a primarily low density residential area. 61 percent of parceled property is designated for residential use and 10 percent is designated for commercial use. The City's major commercial areas are along Firestone Boulevard. Manufacturing lies in the southeast along 135 BURR CONSULTING SOI UPDATES

Woodruff Avenue. Planned land uses in the area include residential, commercial, and mixed developments. The Downey Landing development is a 160 acre former NASA site planned for mixed use commercial and open space.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is growing, although at a lower rate than the MSR area as a whole. The need for police, fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow slightly in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive most services directly from the City. Wastewater services are provided by County Sanitation Districts.

With regard to public services provided to the City, the capacity of fire facilities and stormwater facilities is limited.

The agency faces challenges to providing adequate stormwater services due to infrastructure needs, large number of inlets to maintain, existing flood risks, and lack of funding for stormwater purposes.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Downey has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. The City has an urban environment with communities of interest that include the Downtown Civic Center and city-owned theater.

Economic communities within the City include Downtown and the Firestone corridor, areas where the City’s core retail and commercial businesses are located. There is also the Stonewood Center and the Crossroads shopping area near the intersection of Paramount Boulevard and Florence Avenue. The Downey Landing development is also a potential economic community of interest in the City.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Downey at this time.

C ITY O F H AWAIIAN G ARDENS

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Hawaiian Gardens.

The City is completely surrounded by incorporated areas leaving no annexation or SOI expansion possibilities unless areas were detached from one of the surrounding cities. The sphere is bounded by the City of Lakewood to the north and the City of Long Beach to the south. Orange County lies along its eastern border.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not

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propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Hawaiian Gardens, present land uses are 64 percent for residential use and 15 percent is allocated to commercial uses. A substantial amount of land use (13 percent) is for public facilities and institutional use. Planned land uses in the area include residential and commercial developments.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is growing at a modest rate in comparison to the area as a whole. Due to the fact that the City covers very little land area and is mostly built out, little room for growth exists. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to experience minimal growth in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive community and public works services from the City directly, while other services are provided by a variety of local agencies.

With regard to public services provided to the City, the present capacity of public facilities is limited for fire.

The municipal services provided in this area appear to be adequate.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Hawaiian Gardens has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity.

Economic communities within the City include the Hawaiian Gardens Casino, located northeast of Pioneer Boulevard and Carson Street. Also, major commercial areas are concentrated along Carson Street and Norwalk Boulevard. Industrial activity within the City is located in the Centralita Business Park, southwest of Centralita Road and Norwalk Boulevard.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Hawaiian Gardens at this time.

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C ITY O F H UNTINGTON PARK

LAFCO has adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Huntington Park that includes the unincorporated area south of the city. The area consists of the unincorporated community of Walnut Park, located east of the Harbor Freeway between the City of Huntington Park and the City of South Gate. The City’s SOI is bordered to the north by the City of Vernon, to the east by the cities of Maywood, Bell, and Cudahy, to the south by the City of South Gate, and to the west by the unincorporated community of Florence-Graham which is within the City of Los Angeles SOI.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Huntington Park, present land uses include 55 percent for residential purposes and 18 percent is for commercial and industrial use. Commercial uses occupy 13 percent. Less than two percent of territory is vacant, 22 acres. Planned land uses in the area include residential, commercial and mixed-use developments.

Land use within the unincorporated SOI area includes primarily low and medium density residential. Industrial land use is designated along the Alameda corridor.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is growing at a modest rate as is the unincorporated area in the vicinity of the City. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow slightly in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive police, public works and community services from the City and other services from a variety of local agencies.

With regard to public services provided to the City and the existing sphere area, the present capacity of police, park, and library facilities is limited.

The municipal services provided in this area appear to be adequate, with the exception of stormwater, parks and library services. The City may face challenges to providing adequate stormwater services due to a large number of discharge permits, infrastructure needs and lack of sufficient funding for stormwater purposes. The adequacy of the City’s park services is challenged by the low amount of park space per capita in comparison to neighboring cities. Also, library services provided within the City by the County face challenges due to low book volumes per capita and needed facility improvements.

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Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Huntington Park has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. Communities of interest include the Huntington Park Business District along Pacific Avenue. This area is the historic center of the City and consists of a range of office, retail and entertainment activities.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Huntington Park at this time.

C ITY O F L A H ABRA H EIGHTS

LAFCO has previously adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of La Habra Heights that includes a small unincorporated area along the City’s southeastern boundary with Orange County. SOI expansion potential exists in an unincorporated area between the City and Orange County. The area is located in the southwest along the Orange County border and lies mostly between Hacienda Boulevard to the west and Agave Avenue to the east. Along the northern and eastern SOI boundary, there is also SOI expansion potential since the area is all unincorporated territory and is not currently within any other city’s SOI.

The City has proposed to expand its SOI to include the unincorporated territory to the southwest along the Orange County border.

Expansion of the City’s SOI to extend south completely to the Orange County border is recommended, because the area is not contiguous to any other cities in Los Angeles County. The recommended SOI expansion area is depicted on Map 8 in Appendix B. La Habra Heights is the only city in Los Angeles County contiguous to the SOI area. Although the street network is more integrated with neighboring La Habra in Orange County, the area is accessible from La Habra Heights along Hacienda Boulevard. The City is the most affluent within the MSR area and faces few financing and service challenges. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of La Habra Heights, present land uses include primarily residential and open space as well as resource extraction at a number of oil fields. The City has no industrial or commercial land use and limits institutional land uses to those serving La Habra Heights. Planned land uses in the area include residential developments and open space preservation. The City anticipates up to 200 housing units could be added on currently vacant parcels. Areas currently used for resource extraction may eventually become available for additional development.

County land use designation in the unincorporated territory between the City and Orange County is low-density residential.

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Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is growing modestly, as is the unincorporated area in the vicinity of the City. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow modestly in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive fire services from the City, while other services are provided by a variety of local agencies. The City also serves the small unincorporated area currently within its SOI. The small strip of land to the southwest between the City of Whittier and the unincorporated area north of Orange County is provided wastewater services by Orange County. The unincorporated area outside the City’s SOI between the City and Orange County is served by the County.

With regard to public services provided to the City and its existing sphere area, the present capacity of public facilities is limited for police services, although the County maintains plans for expansion of the station serving the area, and wastewater services. Although property is served by Los Angeles and Orange County sanitation districts, a majority of the property in the city relies on septic systems.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate with the exception of police and housing services. Adequacy of police services is limited due to relatively long response times and low crime clearance rates. The City is also lacking an updated housing element for its general plan, and a large portion of the City’s housing needs have not been met.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of La Habra Heights has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. The City has a rural environment with large amounts of open space and natural areas. Communities of interest include the Civic Center located near the intersection of Hacienda Boulevard and Eseverri Lane. Additional communities of interest include natural areas within the Puente Hills.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO expand the existing SOI for the City of La Habra Heights to include the unincorporated area between the City and Orange County at this time. La Habra Heights is the only city in Los Angeles County contiguous to the SOI area.

C ITY O F L A M IRADA

LAFCO has adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of La Mirada that includes a portion of the unincorporated community of South Whittier located east of Valley View Avenue and a portion of the East La Mirada unincorporated community northeast of the City. The portion of East La Mirada located east of Santa Gertrudes Avenue was adopted as a joint SOI between the City of La Mirada and the City of Whittier. The joint SOI area is depicted on Map 10, Appendix B. The

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City’s SOI is bounded by unincorporated land within the City of Whittier SOI to the north. The City of Santa Fe Springs and unincorporated territory within the City’s SOI borders La Mirada’s SOI to the west. The City of Cerritos is located southwest of the City’s SOI, and Orange County is located to the south and east.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI. The cities of La Mirada and Whittier have recommended that the joint SOI area remain in both cities’ SOIs.60

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of La Mirada, present land uses include 59 percent of parceled land use for residential and 17 percent for industrial use. Little vacant land is available for development. Planned land uses in the area include residential developments to the east and commercial developments along the Santa Ana Freeway and Imperial Highway.

Land use in the unincorporated SOI areas is mostly low density residential with some school and other public facilities. A small area south of the City of Whittier is designated commercial. Little development is planned in the unincorporated area. The City has a pending redevelopment project that would add 44 single-family residential units and commercial expansion of 670 square feet.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is growing modestly. Similarly, the need for police, fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow modestly in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive services from a variety of local agencies. The City is the direct provider of public works and community services. Police services are provided by the County Sheriff, fire and emergency medical is provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Protection District, library services are provided by Los Angeles County, wastewater and flood control services are provided by the County, and solid waste removal is conducted by a private hauler. The unincorporated area within the City’s SOI is served by the County.

With regard to public services provided to the City and existing sphere area, the services provided and present capacity of public facilities is adequate, with the exception of wastewater. A number of recent sewage overflows have occurred in the City as a result of rainwater inflow into the sewage collection system.

60 Letter from City of La Mirada City Manager Andrea M. Travis and City of Whittier City Manager Stephen W. Helvey to LAFCO Executive Officer Larry Calemine, November 7, 2005.

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Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of La Mirada has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. The City has a suburban environment. Communities of interest include the Civic Center, where the city hall, resource center, activity center, and La Mirada Theater are located. Other communities of interest include the inhabitants of two SOI areas to the north of Imperial Highway. Both areas are primarily residential, with some schools and public facilities.

Economic communities within the City include commercial nodes along the Imperial Highway at the intersections of La Mirada Boulevard and San Gertrudes Avenue. The City’s industrial area is located south of the Santa Ana Freeway.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of La Mirada at this time.

C ITY O F L AKEWOOD

LAFCO has previously adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Lakewood. The SOI is bounded primarily by four incorporated cities: Long Beach to the west and south, Hawaiian Gardens to the southeast, and Bellflower and Cerritos to the north. The City of Cypress in Orange County also borders the City’s SOI to the east. A small unincorporated territory borders the SOI between Lakewood and Orange County. SOI expansion potential exists in this area.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Lakewood, present parceled land uses include 71 percent of land use for residential, nine percent for commercial and nine percent for industrial uses. Only 2.3 percent of land is vacant and 10 percent occupies agriculture, parks, and golf course land. Planned land uses in the area include residential, commercial and industrial developments.

Land use in the adjacent unincorporated area is entirely low-density residential.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is experiencing minor growth, and projections show relatively low future growth rates. Therefore, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is likely to experience little change in the future.

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Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive water, community and some public works services directly from the City, while other services are obtained through a variety of local agencies. The unincorporated area within the City’s SOI is served by the County.

With regard to public services provided to the City, the present capacity of public facilities is adequate.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Lakewood has a relatively short history, but maintains a high degree of community identity. The City has a suburban environment. Communities of interest include the Civic Center located on Clark Avenue just north of Del Amo Boulevard and the Lakewood Center Mall directly west of the Civic Center.

Economic communities within the City include the Lakewood Center Mall, and the Lakewood Regional Medical Center. The City’s major manufacturing base is located in the southwest corner of the City.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Lakewood at this time.

C ITY O F L ONG B EACH

LAFCO has previously adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) in 1984 for the City of Long Beach that includes two unincorporated areas. One unincorporated area within the City’s SOI is a 642-acre industrial area located in the Rancho Dominguez area west of the Long Beach Freeway. Also, an unincorporated island with residential development exists in the northeast. The City’s SOI is surrounded by the SOIs of seven cities: Los Angeles and Carson to the west, Compton to the northwest, and Paramount, Bellflower, Lakewood, and Hawaiian Gardens to the north. Coastal area borders the City to the south. The City of Signal Hill is located in the center of Long Beach. The City of Carson’s SOI borders the area to the west and south

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI. The City wishes to retain its existing SOI.61

The City of Carson has recommended that the 642-acre industrial SOI area be removed from the Long Beach SOI and placed within the Carson SOI. Over 20 years have elapsed since this SOI area was designated for Long Beach. Long Beach attempted to annex the area in 1973, but the

61 City of Long Beach City Council Resolution No. RES-05-0135, November 15, 2005.

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industrial community opposed annexation to any city at that time. The SOI area is not included in the City’s planning area in its General Plan.

The City wishes to retain its existing SOI, and is interested in annexing areas within the SOI. Long Beach is in the process of updating the General Plan to address the industrial SOI area of interest to Carson. Police facilities in Long Beach are closer to the affected area than are Carson police facilities. Long Beach reports that it provides fire and emergency medical services to the affected area through mutual aid. Long Beach has identified preservation and maintenance of industrial areas as a key issue. Through a series of community meetings, residents in adjacent neighborhoods have expressed support for retaining jobs in the industrial park area while recognizing the need to monitor and control negative environmental impacts associated with industrial activities.62 Other territory west of Long Beach and east of the Alameda Corridor lies within the City of Long Beach SOI.

An industrial area east of the Alameda Corridor, west of Susanna Road, north of Victoria Road and south of the Gardena Freeway is recommended to be added to the City of Long Beach SOI to promote a logical western boundary—Alameda Corridor—for the City of Long Beach. This affected area is currently within the City of Compton’s SOI

Expansion of the City’s SOI is recommended at this time. The recommended SOI expansion area is depicted on Map 9, Appendix B. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Long Beach boundaries, present land uses include 48 percent of land use for residential, 18 percent for transportation and utilities, and nine percent for commercial use. Industrial use occupies six percent of the City and public facilities and institutional use covers seven percent of land. Planned land uses in the area include residential, commercial and industrial developments.

The unincorporated territory within the City’s SOI to the northwest is a developed industrial area; it is designated for industrial land use by the County, but is not yet included in the City’s General Plan.63 The unincorporated island to the northeast is entirely designated for and occupied by low-density residential land use, with the exception of the Woodruff Community Hospital. The island area is included in the City’s General Plan.

The recommended SOI expansion area is a developed industrial area that currently lies within the City of Compton’s SOI.

62 Ibid.

63 Land Use Element of the Long Beach General Plan, issued July 1989 and last revised April 1997. The City is currently in the process of updating the 1997 General Plan planning area to include all areas within the existing SOI, according to City planning staff.

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Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is growing modestly, as is much of the Gateway area. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow slightly in the future.

The affected industrial area is developed. It already requires and receives municipal services.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive most services directly from the City and rely on the County for flood control and wastewater services. Unincorporated areas within the City’s SOI and recommended SOI expansion area are provided services by the County.

The City reported that it is prepared to provide all municipal services to its existing SOI area upon annexation, and already provides fire and paramedic services through mutual aid to the area. The City anticipates that it can provide public safety services at or above existing service levels in the Rancho Dominguez SOI area.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate. The sewer collection system in the City’s boundaries appears adequate, although it has a modest sewer overflow rate and scattered septic systems in some areas. The affected SOI area lies within the County Sanitation District serving Carson (CSD No. 8) rather than the District serving Long Beach (CSD No. 3). Also, the City’s libraries maintain a low level of book volumes per capita compared with other jurisdictions. However, the City plans for new libraries in North Long Beach which would serve the SOI expansion area, and the industrial area is not expected to have significant demand for municipal library services.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Long Beach has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. The City has a highly urban environment. Communities of interest include Downtown Long Beach and a variety of neighborhoods, including North Long Beach, Wrigley, Rose Park, Alamitos Beach and Alamitos Heights, Los Altos, Bixby Knolls, Belmont Shore and Belmont Heights, and Naples Island, each with their own unique traits.

The City also contains a number of economic communities, including the City’s Downtown area and neighboring beachfront. The area provides a variety of entertainment and shopping opportunities for residents and tourists. The Port of Long Beach and the Long Beach Airport are important centers of international trade and commerce. The Memorial Medical Center and the Long Beach Freeway Business Park are additional major centers of business activity.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO expand the SOI for the City of Long Beach to include the industrial area north of Victoria Street and east of the Alameda Corridor to the northwest of the City.

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C ITY O F L YNWOOD

LAFCO has previously adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Lynwood that includes the unincorporated area northwest of the City between the City of Los Angeles and the City of Lynwood. The City’s SOI is bounded by SOIs from other cities on all sides, except for a small strip along 103rd Street between the City of Los Angeles and the Alameda corridor. The City of South Gate SOI borders to the north and east, the City of Paramount’s SOI borders to the southeast, the City of Compton’s SOI bounds the SOI to the south, and the City of Los Angeles SOI is adjacent to the western SOI boundary.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Lynwood, present land uses include 65 percent of land use for residential, 16 percent for commercial use and 11 percent for industrial purposes. Only 1.6 percent of land is vacant and six percent is occupied by schools, government and institutional use. Planned land uses in the area include residential and commercial developments.

The County has designated the unincorporated area within the City’s SOI for open space land use.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is growing at a minimal rate. Therefore, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to experience little grow in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive most public works, water and transit services directly from the City, and other services are provided by the County and a variety of local agencies. The unincorporated area within the City’s SOI is served by the County.

With regard to public services provided to the existing sphere area, the present capacity of public facilities appears adequate.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate, except for solid waste and housing. The City is under a compliance order by the California Integrated Waste Management Board to enhance recycling programs and increase solid waste diversion from landfills. The City has not updated the housing element of its general plan, and a large portion of the City’s housing need is unmet.

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Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Lynwood has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. The City has a suburban and historic environment. Communities of interest include the 36 acre Plaza Mexico, a commercial development with a Mexico theme. The area contains ethnic restaurants and entertainment along with a variety of other retail and entertainment activities.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Lynwood at this time.

C ITY O F M AYWOOD

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Maywood.

The City is completely surrounded by incorporated areas leaving no annexation or SOI expansion possibilities unless areas were detached from one of the surrounding cities. The sphere is bounded by the cities of Vernon to the north, Bell to the east and south and Huntington Park to the west.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Maywood, present land uses include 74 percent of land use for residential, 10 percent for industrial and eight percent for commercial use. Land designated as the Town Center makes up five percent of the City. Only 1.7 percent of land is vacant. Planned land uses in the area include residential, industrial, commercial and mixed use developments.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City is primarily built out, and population is experiencing minimal growth. Therefore, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to experience little growth in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive police, community and public works services directly from the City, and rely on a variety of local agencies for most other services.

With regard to public services provided to the existing sphere area, the present capacity of public facilities appears adequate.

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For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate, except that park space per capita is low and the City has not updated the housing element of its general plan.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Maywood has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. The City has a residential small-town environment. Communities of interest include the commercial areas along Slauson Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard within the Town Center area.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Maywood at this time.

C ITY O F N ORWALK

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Norwalk.

The City is completely surrounded by incorporated areas, with the exception of a small unincorporated area within the City of Cerritos SOI to the southwest. No annexation or SOI expansion possibilities exist unless areas are detached from one of the surrounding cities or the unincorporated area within Cerritos is removed from the City’s SOI. The sphere is bounded by the cities of Santa Fe Springs to the northwest, Cerritos and Artesia to the south, Bellflower to the west and Downey to the northwest.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Norwalk, present land uses include 70 percent of land use for residential and eight percent for commercial use. Open space, schools, public facilities, and institutional land use covers 16 percent of the City. Although almost seven percent of land is vacant, lot sizes of these areas are too small for most types of development. Planned land uses in the area include residential, commercial, light industrial and mixed use developments.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is growing at a modest rate. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow modestly in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive most community and public works services directly from the City and rely on a variety of local agencies for other services.

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With regard to public services provided to the City, the present capacity of public facilities is limited for stormwater.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate, except for stormwater. The agency faces challenges in providing adequate stormwater services due to risks of flooding, infrastructure needs and a lack of funding for stormwater purposes.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest Although the City of Norwalk is a young city, the area itself has a long and rich history with a high degree of community identity. The City has a primarily suburban environment. Communities of interest include the City Center along the Imperial Highway. Economic communities of interest are located along Firestone Boulevard where most of the City’s regional commercial and light industrial activities are located.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Norwalk at this time.

C ITY O F PARAMOUNT

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Paramount.

The City is completely surrounded by incorporated areas, with the exception of a small unincorporated area within the City of South Gate SOI to the north and some unincorporated territory within the City of Compton’s SOI west of the Long Beach Freeway. No annexation or SOI expansion possibilities exist unless areas are detached from one of the surrounding cities or the unincorporated area within Compton or South Gate SOIs are removed. The sphere is bounded by the cities of Downey to the northeast, Bellflower to the east, Long Beach to the south, and Compton and Lynwood to the west.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Paramount, present land uses include 53 percent of land use for residential, 23 percent for industrial and five percent for commercial use. Public facilities and institutional land use occupies 15 percent of the City’s land. Planned land uses in the area include residential and commercial developments as well as open space conservation.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is experiencing modest growth. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow in the

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future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive most community services directly and other services from the County and a variety of other local agencies.

With regard to public services provided to the existing sphere area, the present capacity of public facilities appears adequate.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate, except that park space per capita is lower than in other jurisdictions. Also, the City may face challenges in providing adequate stormwater services due to a large number of inlets to maintain and flooding risks.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Paramount is a younger city, although maintains a high degree of community identity. Economic communities of interest include the Central Business District, where most retail and office activity is located. Industrial activity is mostly concentrated between Paramount and Garfield Avenue.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Paramount at this time.

C ITY O F P ICO R IVERA

LAFCO has adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Pico Rivera that includes a portion of the unincorporated community of West Whittier-Los Nietos. The City’s SOI is bounded by the City of Montebello to the northwest, the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area to the north, the City of Industry and City of Whittier SOI to the northeast, the City of Santa Fe Springs to the southeast, the City of Downey to the southwest, and a small portion of the City of Commerce to the west. The unincorporated SOI area is bounded by the City of Pico Rivera to the west, the City of Santa Fe Springs SOI to the south, and the San Gabriel River Freeway to the east. Unincorporated areas currently not within any City’s SOI border the City to the north and northeast. The unincorporated area to the north is the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area and the area northeast is industrial property which lies southwest of the City of Industry, between the San Gabriel River Freeway and the City of Pico Rivera.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Pico Rivera, present land uses include 37 percent of land use for residential and 13

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for industrial use. Over 40 percent of the City’s land is occupied by schools, open space, government facilities, streets, right-of-ways, and flood control facilities. Planned land uses in the area include residential and commercial developments.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is growing at a modest rate. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow slightly in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive some public works and community services directly from the City and receive most other services from a variety of local agencies.

With regard to public services provided to the existing sphere area, the present capacity of public facilities is limited for stormwater.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate, except for stormwater and library services. The agency faces challenges to provide adequate stormwater services including high inlet density, areas of flood risk, infrastructure needs, and lack of funding for stormwater purposes. The City’s library facilities provide a lower book volume per capita than most other neighboring jurisdictions.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Pico Rivera is a newer city, although the area has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. The City has a suburban and historic environment. Communities of interest include the Northrup Plant industrial site, a focus area of City development plans. Retail and other business activity is scattered throughout the City.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Pico Rivera at this time.

C ITY O F S ANTA F E S PRINGS

LAFCO has adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Santa Fe Springs that includes unincorporated areas to the northwest and to the east of the city. City’s SOI is completely surrounded by SOIs from other cities including Whittier to the northeast, La Mirada to the east, Cerritos to the south, and Norwalk, Downey, and Pico Rivera to the west. The unincorporated SOI area to the northwest is part of the unincorporated community of West Whittier-Los Nietos and is bounded by the City of Whittier SOI to the north along Washington Boulevard and the City of Pico Rivera to the west. The unincorporated SOI area to the east consists of the portion of the unincorporated community of South Whittier located west of Valley View Avenue and southwest of Telegraph Road, and two smaller portions of South Whittier west of Carmenita Road.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not

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propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Santa Fe Springs, present land uses include 75 percent of land use for industrial, 10 percent for residential and nine percent for commercial use. A large portion of the City’s land is made up of active and inactive oil fields that may be developed in the future as the sites are properly restored for other uses. Planned land uses in the area include residential, commercial and industrial developments.

Land use in the unincorporated territory within the City’s SOI is designated by the County as primarily low-density residential with some open space and public institutional land use.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is growing at a modest rate. However, as old oil fields within the City are available for new development, potential for increased population growth exists. Therefore, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services can be expected to grow in the future as the City’s oil fields are transitioned to other uses.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive community, public works and fire and emergency medical services directly from the City, police services from the City of Whittier, and other services from a variety of local agencies. The unincorporated areas within the City’s SOI are provided services by the County.

With regard to public services provided to the existing sphere area, the present capacity of public facilities is limited for police and fire.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate. However, the agency may face challenges in providing adequate stormwater services due to a large number of stormwater dischargers to monitor and a high density of inlets to maintain within the City.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Santa Fe Springs is a relatively new city, although it maintains a high degree of community identity as one of Southern California’s major centers of industrial activity. The City has a primarily industrial environment. Communities of interest include the residential areas located to the City’s western edge and the Civic Center located in the northwest along Telegraph Road.

The City of Santa Fe Springs serves as one of the major employment centers of the Gateway area. The City itself is an economic community of interest. Commercial areas within the City include the Carmenita Plaza and Santa Fe Springs Mall at Carmenita Avenue and Telegraph Road in the east. Also, the Santa Fe Springs Marketplace at Norwalk Avenue and Washington Boulevard is another major commercial center within the City.

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Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Santa Fe Springs at this time.

C ITY O F S IGNAL H ILL

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Signal Hill.

The City is completely surrounded by the City of Long Beach, leaving no annexation or SOI expansion possibilities unless areas were detached from the City of Long Beach.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Signal Hill, present land uses include 40 percent of land use for industrial and 36 for residential use. Additionally, 21 percent of land is for commercial use. Planned land uses in the area include residential and commercial developments.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is growing as residential developments continue on former oil fields. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive police, community, and some public works services directly from the City, and receive other services from a variety of local agencies.

With regard to public services provided to the existing sphere area, the present capacity of public facilities is limited for stormwater and police.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate. However, the agency may face challenges to providing adequate stormwater services due to a large number of stormwater dischargers, required facility upgrades and a lack of funding for stormwater purposes.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Signal Hill has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. The City maintains both a suburban and small town historic environment. Communities of interest include the Civic Center neighborhood which consists of City facilities, a historic residential area and

153 BURR CONSULTING SOI UPDATES

commercial areas. Additionally, the City’s Hilltop neighborhood is a low density residential area with scenic views of the surrounding area.

Economic communities within the City include the City’s Town Center, located near the intersection of Cherry Avenue and Willow Street. The Signal Hill Auto Center and Universal Care medical center are additional communities of interest within the City.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Signal Hill at this time.

C ITY O F S OUTH G ATE

LAFCO has adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of South Gate that includes unincorporated territory in the southeast. The City’s SOI is bounded on the west by unincorporated territory within the City of Los Angeles SOI, which runs along Alameda Street. The City of Huntington Park and its unincorporated SOI area border to the north. The City of Cudahy and City of Bell Gardens border the SOI to the northeast and the City of Downey lies to the east. The City of Lynwood and City of Paramount are to the south. The unincorporated territory within the City’s SOI is bounded by the Long Beach Freeway and the City of Lynwood to the west and the City of Paramount to the south.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of South Gate, present land uses include 52 percent of parceled land use for residential and 17 percent for industrial use. A large amount of land (14 percent) is occupied with mixed use, while commercial use makes up eight percent of the City’s land. The City is primarily built out, leaving little vacant land. Planned land uses in the area include mixed commercial/residential and mixed commercial/industrial developments.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is growing at a modest rate, as is the unincorporated area in the vicinity of the City. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to grow slightly in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive community, public works and police services directly from the City, and receive other services from a variety of local agencies. The unincorporated area within the City’s SOI receives services from the County.

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With regard to public services provided to the existing sphere area, the present capacity of public facilities is limited for police.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate, except for police and solid waste. The City has a lower staff level than neighboring jurisdictions despite higher incidents per capita and also has a low crime clearance rate. Solid waste services face challenges including a relatively large amount of solid waste disposed per capita and failure to meet the required diversion rate.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of South Gate has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. The City has a suburban and historic environment. Communities of interest include the Civic Center, home to the City’s police and administrative facilities as well as the South Gate Art and History Association.

Economic communities within the City include the commercial and business activity centers of the El Paseo shopping center, the Tweedy Mile Business District, and commercial corridors along Long Beach Boulevard, State Street and Firestone Boulevard.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of South Gate at this time.

C ITY O F V ERNON

LAFCO has adopted a coterminous sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Vernon.

The City is completely surrounded by incorporated cities, leaving no annexation or SOI expansion possibilities unless areas were detached from the surrounding cities. The City’s SOI is bounded by the City of Los Angeles to the west and north, the cities of Commerce and Bell to the east, and the cities of Maywood and Huntington Park to the south.

In its response to the LAFCO Request for Information, the City indicated that it does not propose or anticipate proposing any changes to its SOI.

Expansion of the City’s SOI is not recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Vernon, present land uses include primarily industrial land use. 86 percent of parceled land is designated for industrial use and eight percent is designated for public facility use. Only three percent of land is vacant. Planned land uses in the area include industrial and related commercial developments.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s residential population is less than 100, and most of the City’s growth will result from

155 BURR CONSULTING SOI UPDATES

an increase in employment in the area as industrial and commercial development occurs. Similarly, the need for fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, and parks services is expected to grow in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive fire and emergency medical, police, community, and public works services directly from the City and receive other services from a variety of local agencies.

With regard to public services provided to the existing sphere area, the present capacity of public facilities appears adequate.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate, except for police. The police detectives are not solving serious crimes at the rates achieved by most other jurisdictions.

Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Vernon has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. The City is primarily an industrial environment and serves as one of the region’s major industrial employment centers.

Economic communities within the City include the Hobart Yard rail head. The facility is one of two major rail facilities in the Los Angeles Basin and is one of the nation’s largest rail cargo terminals. The rail head serves as a primary transfer point for international imports and exports shipped through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Vernon at this time.

C ITY O F W HITTIER

LAFCO has adopted a sphere of influence (SOI) for the City of Whittier that includes unincorporated islands in the north portion of the city and unincorporated territory to the north, northwest, southwest, and southeast of the City. The area is bounded by the San Gabriel River Freeway and Pico Rivera SOI to the west, Workman Mill Road to the northwest, unincorporated territory within the Puente Hills area to the north, the City of La Habra Heights and Orange County to the east, the City of La Mirada and its unincorporated SOI area to the south, and the City of Santa Fe Springs and its unincorporated SOI area to the southwest. LAFCO has adopted a joint SOI with the City of La Mirada to the City’s southeast border. The area consists of a portion of the unincorporated community of East La Mirada located east of Santa Gertrudes Avenue.

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Whittier includes only a portion of the joint SOI area in its General Plan; whereas, La Mirada includes the entire area in its General Plan. The affected area is primarily residential. Both cities have recommended that the joint SOI area remain in both cities’ SOIs.64

No change to the City’s SOI is recommended at this time. Pursuant to Government Code section 56425, the following determinations are recommended to update the existing SOI.

Present and Planned Land Uses in the Area In the City of Whittier, present land uses include over 60 percent of parceled land use for residential and 13 for commercial use. Additionally, 8.4 percent of land is parks and open space. Planned land uses in the area include commercial and mixed use developments.

Land use within the northern SOI area is primarily open space. Residential land use is designated for a small area north of the City. The western unincorporated SOI area is designated primarily low- density residential with some open space and public institutional use. The southern unincorporated SOI area is designated primarily low-density residential. Within the City’s joint SOI area, land use is primarily low density residential with some general commercial use located along the northern boundary of the joint SOI area.

Present and Probable Need for Public Facilities and Services in the Area The City’s population is growing at a moderate rate, as is the unincorporated area in the vicinity of the City. Similarly, the need for police, fire, water, wastewater, stormwater, street maintenance, parks, and library services is expected to experience moderate growth in the future.

Present Capacity of Public Facilities and Adequacy of Public Service that the Agency Provides or is Authorized to Provide The properties within the City receive police, community and public works services directly from the City and receive other services from a variety of local agencies. Unincorporated areas within the City’s SOI are served by the County.

With regard to public services provided to the existing sphere area, the present capacity of public facilities is limited for police.

For the most part, the municipal services provided in this area are adequate, except for wastewater and solid waste. The sewer system experiences a relatively high overflow rate. Sewer overflows due to rainwater inflow may indicate needed system improvements. The volume of solid waste disposed per capita is relatively large compared with other jurisdictions and the City has not met required diversion rates.

64 Letter from City of La Mirada City Manager Andrea M. Travis and City of Whittier City Manager Stephen W. Helvey to LAFCO Executive Officer Larry Calemine, November 7, 2005.

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Existence of Any Social or Economic Communities of Interest The City of Whittier has a long and rich history, with a high degree of community identity. The City has a unique and historic environment. Communities of interest include Uptown Whittier, the City’s historic center, and natural areas along hillsides to the north.

Economic communities within the City include the City’s historic Uptown, offering a variety of entertainment, shopping and dining experiences within walking distance from the Whittier College campus. Most retail and business activity in the City is on Whittier Boulevard. The Quad at Whittier is the City’s major retail center, located at the corner of Painter Avenue and Whittier Boulevard.

Recommendation It is recommended that LAFCO retain the existing SOI for the City of Whittier at this time.

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CREDITS

This report benefited greatly from the guidance of the LAFCO Executive Officer Larry Calemine. County Counsel provided legal analysis and review. LAFCO staff prepared all maps in this report, and provided questionnaire administration and database support. The County of Los Angeles CAO’s Urban Research Division assisted with parcel-based map verification and preparation of the geographic basis for demographic estimates.

Beverly Burr served as coordinating author. Burr Consulting research analysts Rorie Overby, Cecelia Griego, and Nelson Chen were contributing authors.

Cover Photo Credits Top Left: Port of Long Beach, Wes Wang © 2005 Top Right: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, Courtesy of the City of Cerritos and the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts Bottom Left: Gateway Residences, Courtesy of Gateway Cities COG Bottom Right: Alameda Corridor, Courtesy of Gateway Cities COG

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REFERENCES

B OOKS, R EPORTS AND A RTICLES California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles. Trash Total Maximum Daily Loads for the Los Angeles River Watershed. September 19, 2001. California State Library, Library Development Services Bureau. California Library Statistics 2004: Fiscal Year 2002-03 from Public, Academic, Special, and County Law Libraries. Sacramento: California State Library, 2004. Commission on Fire Accreditation International. Fire and Emergency Service Self-Assessment Manual, sixth edition. Fairfax, Virginia: Commission on Fire Accreditation International, 2000. Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century. Growth within Bounds: Planning California Governance for the 21st Century. Sacramento: Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century, January 2000. Dallman, Suzanne and Thomas Piechota. Stom Water: Asset Not Liability. Los Angeles: Los Angeles & San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council, 1999. www.lasgrwc.org/publications/Stormwater.pdf GeoSyntec Consultants, Inc. Landfill Facility Compliance Study Task 8 Report—Summary of Findings and Comprehensive Recommendations. Report to the Integrated Waste Management Board, August 2004. http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Publications/Facilities/52004005.pdf Kelling, George L., Tony Pate, Duane Dieckman, and Charles E. Brown. Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment. Washington: Police Foundation, 1975. LSA Associates, Inc. Sanitation Districts Municipal Service Review. Report to the Local Agency Formation Commission for Los Angeles County. March 2005. Little Hoover Commission. Special Districts: Relics of the Past or Resources for the Future? Sacramento: Little Hoover Commission, May 2000. Marowitz, Leonard. Why Did the Crime Rate Decrease Through 1999? (And Why Might it Decrease or Increase in 2000 and Beyond?). Sacramento: California Attorney General Criminal Justice Statistics Series, December 2000. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The Regional Urban Water Management Plan for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, December 2000. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Report on Metropolitan’s Water Supplies: A Blueprint for Water Reliability, March 25, 2003. Miller, Chaz. Garbage by the Numbers. National Solid Wastes Management Association Research Bulletin 02-02, July 2002. Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc. Rio Hondo Watershed Management Plan. Public Review Draft. Report to the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, August 1, 2004. National Fire Protection Association. NFPA 1710: Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire

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Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments. Quincy, Massachusetts: NFPA, 2001. Pitt, Leonard and Dale Pitt. Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. Radulescu, Dan and Xavier Swamikannu. Review and Analysis of Budget Data Submitted by the Permittees for Fiscal Years 2000-2003, Los Angeles County Municipal Storm Water Permit. Report to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region, January 2003. Sherman, Lawrence W. and Barry D. Glick. The Quality of Police Arrest Statistics. Washington: Police Foundation, August 1984. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States 2003, Uniform Crime Reports. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, October 2004. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Cleaner Water Through Conservation. Publication EPA 841-B- 95-002, April 1995. http://www.epa.gov/water/you/intro.html Walker, Samuel and Charles M. Katz. The Police in America: An Introduction with PowerWeb. McGraw- Hill, 2002.

D ATA S OURCES Agency-specific data: responses to LAFCo Requests for Information, budgets, Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, Capital Improvement Plans, General Plans, official statements, and miscellaneous plans Crime statistics and clearance rates: California Attorney General, Criminal Justice Statistics Center Demographic data: U.S. Bureau of the Census Home Prices: DataQuick’s California Home Sale Activity by City, 2004 Housing Construction: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permit database Library Data: California State Library Statistics Long-Term Debt: California State Controller; MuniStatements; Moody’s; Standard and Poors; Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports Maps: LAFCO archives; Los Angeles County Public Works Department; Thomas Brothers Population Projections: Southern California Association of Governments, Regional Transportation Plan, 2004 Property Ownership: Los Angeles County Assessor Revenue: California State Controller; Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports Solid Waste Data: California Integrated Waste Management Board Stormwater Data: California Regional Water Quality Control Board Wastewater Data: California Regional Water Quality Control Board; U.S. Environmental Protection

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Agency; California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services

I NTERVIEWS AND C ORRESPONDENCE Debbie Aguirre, Planner, L.A. County Fire Department Lieutenant Ault, Industry Station, Los Angeles County Sheriff Captain Baker, East Los Angeles Station, Los Angeles County Sheriff Captain Becerra, Pico Rivera Station, Los Angeles County Sheriff Chief Sol Benudiz, Vernon Police Department Hector Bordas, Senior Civil Engineer, LA County Department of Public Works David Bruns, Financial Planning Head, County Sanitation Districts Toni Callaway, California Water Quality Control Board Los Angeles Region, Non-Chapter 15 Division John J. DiMario, Assistant City Manager, City of La Mirada Maged Elrabaa, Senior Civil Engineer, L.A. County Department of Public Works City Services Captain Evans, Cerritos Station, Los Angeles County Sheriff Suzanne Frick, Director of Planning and Building, City of Long Beach Chief Jack Garner, POST Management Counseling Services Bureau Battalion Chief Tom Glonchak, L.A. County Fire Department Captain Hamilton, Compton Station, Los Angeles County Sheriff Stephen W. Helvey, City Manager, City of Whittier Barbara Herrera, Planning Division Chief, L.A. County Fire Department Joel Hockman, Director of Public Safety, City of Bellflower Barbara Kilroy, City Manager, City of Compton Tom Leary, Stormwater Management Division Officer, City of Long Beach Acting Bureau Chief Robert LeFever, Division VI, Los Angeles County Fire Protection District Sheri Repp Loadsman, Planning Manager, City of Carson Mayor Greg Nordbak, City of Whittier Assistant Chief Angel Montoya, Division IV, Los Angeles County Fire Protection District Primitivo Nuñez, Local Assistance Section, California Integrated Waste Management Board Captain Rogers, Carson Station, Los Angeles County Sheriff

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James Ruth, City of La Habra Heights, Acting City Manager Deputy Jason Skeen, Los Angeles County Sheriff Contract Law Enforcement Bureau Xavier Swamikannu, MS4 Stormwater Program Chief, Regional Water Quality Control Board Andrea M. Travis, City Manager, City of La Mirada Captain Webb, Norwalk Station, Los Angeles County Sheriff

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