Gordon NicholsURP 461 June 10, 2009Senior Project Proposal

Redevelopment of Abandoned LandfillsInto Public Recreation Areas

When formulating my research topic selection I wanted to focus on the infrastructure of a city. Environmental protection was another important aspect to me when devising a topic. I started by listing the various facets of infrastructure and settled on an area of concern relevant to California’s future, waste management. Focusing on solid waste landfills I allowed the literature to identify several relevant issues concerning waste management such as composting sites and landfill closures. I decided to veer away from the more technical nature of composting and landfill management in order to not be overwhelmed. I chose the topic of landfill redevelopment, which incorporates many elements of planning. Below is a

Abstract

Insufficient amounts of former and abandoned landfills are being redeveloped for sustainable uses such as recreational areas.

More abandoned and capped landfills should be redeveloped into usable public recreational areas however landfills in general have a negative connotation attached which discourage redevelopment as well as significant remediation costs. The additional precautionary efforts that must be taken to ensure public safety and undisturbed waste deposit as well as the relative easy to develop on virgin green-fields rather than brown-fields and the additional cost associated with both are the three main reasons why more landfills are not being redeveloped into usable

Problem Statement

URP 461 Senior Project

Trail of Anaconda, Montana Smelter Superfund Site that surrounds a golf course designed by Jack NicklausImage courtesy of http://www.epa.gov/superfund March 2001

In a time of severe urban space and resource limitations many closed and capped landfills present superb new park sites for three reasons- cost, location and size (Harnik, P. pg. 83). From a more broad social justice standpoint landfills are human “messes” which places the onus on government and community to continue to utilize the land in a useful way rather than continually sprawling outward. Redeveloping wastelands such as landfills provides the opportunity to mitigate the negative impacts of human society on the environment. Capped landfills that are not redeveloped create even greater wastelands where adjacent development is not desirable simply because of its proximity to a landfill. Using the California’s Integrated Waste Management Board list of abandoned waste sites as well as the Southern California’s Association of Governor’s State of the Region report I have identified two sites in Southern California (The City of Brea and

Purpose Statement

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California Polytechnic University Pomona) that have the opportunity to possibly redevelop their former landfills into usable public space. I chose to focus on these two sites because of their relative close location as well as the ease of information access I would receive.

I chose this topic because as a planner one of my main goals is to protect our environment and work responsibly to mitigate negative human impact on the natural world. The redevelopment of landfills into public recreational areas combines many aspects of planning, which interest me including- design, redevelopment, environmental protection and social justice. I hope that my research will encourage my study sites and others like it to explore the benefits of redeveloping wastelands caused by human involvement as well as provide a guide to promote such projects. I also hope to bring to the forefront another way to develop in a sustainable way for cities with landfills. My final report is intended for city managers, developers, site managers, property owners, the planning community at large and others

My proposed topic of “Why more landfills are not redeveloped into usable recreational areas” draws upon the political and administrative knowledge elements of the Urban and Regional Planning curriculum. By examining variables that may determine whether or not a former landfill is redeveloped requires me to study the political decision making process of the various stakeholders. From an administrational perspective there are several procedural approaches to the challenge of redeveloping wastelands for public

Learning Expectations

URP 461 Senior ProjectPage 3 of 7

To fully understand the issue I had to familiarize myself with specific knowledge about solid waste infrastructure, the legality of environmental protection and the redevelopment process as a whole.

A responsible government is one that ensures the equal representation of all parties while ensuring the conservation of natural resources. The values related to my topic deal with the need for social justice, environmental equality and sustainable development. Because an overwhelming majority of landfills in major metropolitan areas are located in the most impoverished communities it is irresponsible to allow these sites to remain wastelands after their closures when they could become community assets such as parks. It is also irresponsible to continue to destroy virgin ecosystems for further human development while sites such as former landfills are waiting to be redeveloped into public goods.

URP 461 allowed me to use the skills I learned during my undergraduate career to formulate problems and identify relevant issues in planning. The interview and site investigation I will perform in URP 462 will show case my quantitative analysis and oral communication skills. My final report will consist of a well-written and thorough explanation of my findings with supportive graphic images that convey my results. In the final report I will also compile a list of

Preface ………………………………………………………………i

Section 1: Introduction ………………………………………………………………iiPurpose Statement ………………………………………………………………xOrganization of Report ………………………………………………………………x

Section 2: Literature Review ………………………………………………………………iiiForms and functions of landfill redevelopment………………………………….xPotential Sites ………………………………………………………………xExpanding Wastelands ………………………………………………………………xHypothesis & Theories ………………………………………………………………x

Section 3: Methodology ………………………………………………………………ivTopic Identification and Problem Definition ………………………………….xData Gathering ………………………………………………………………x

Interview and Surveys……………………………………..........x

Site study ……………………………………………xResearch and Analysis ……………………………………………………………....x

Section 4: Case Studies ……………………………………………………………....vSpadra & Brea Landfills ………………………………………………...............……

xBest Practices: Boston Islands ………..……………………………………………x

Section 5: Analysis and Evaluation ……………………………………………………..viHypothesis Findings ……………………………………………………..xAudit and Review ……………………………………………………..x

Section 6: Recommendations ……………………………………………………..vii

URP 462 Final Report Table of Contents

Staton Island Landfill Redevelopment 2020 Rendering Image courtesy of http:nymag.com Jan 2007

URP 461 Senior Project

“In a time of severe

urban space and

resource constraints,

closed landfills present

excellent new park

sites.” - Harnik

I began my research with the general topic of how to redevelop waste sites such as capped landfills into usable recreational area for the public. My research led me to identify the problem of the lack of abandoned or closed landfills not being redeveloped in any form. The question is posed why are more landfills not redeveloped?

“Trash Topography” by Pierre Belanger (2006) is the first articles I read, it addressed the concerns of Canada’s waste management and landfill capacity. In Toronto the Keele Valley Landfill, Canada’s largest municipal solid waste facility, was closed to much public fanfare and redeveloped into a large multi-acre recreational park and golf course. Peter Harnik’s article, “From Dumps to Destinations: The Conversion of Landfills to Parks,” was another article that gave examples of how former landfills and waste sites could be transformed into destinations for public use and in many cases returned to their former natural glory. Harnik detailed how landfills in large urban areas are prime sites for public open space. These two articles were the jumping off point for my research and data collection. As discussed in the purpose statement it is humanity’s responsibility to clean up and maintain the area in which we have

Literature Review

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chosen to be wastelands after that purpose has been served. This sentiment is shared by the Environmental Protection Agency in their guide, “Reuse and Clean Up Superfund Sites: Recreational Use of Land Above Hazardous Waste Containment Areas.” The EPA’s mission is to help communities with the redevelopment of waste sites and ensure the health of the public and the environment but the onus is on the community to decide which sites should be redeveloped and for what function. According to the EPA recreational sites such as parks and trails are the most common types of redevelopments for waste site because of the wide variety of restrictions on building on a landfill and the easy ability to use natural vegetation and coverings on capped waste sites.

“Compost Remedies a Landfills and Grows a National Park” by Robert Rynk is a good case study of the tumultuous journey and landfill site sometimes goes through in order to be restored to its natural form and purpose. The Boston Islands project which is detailed in Rynk’s article is a perfect example of how private organizations, community members and local government can converge to create a project that is cost effective for developers, beneficial for the environment and serves the public good. Using this case study and other like it I devised a research topic that would help to answer the problem question of why

URP 461 Senior ProjectPage 5 of 7

Clark describes how the last grove of California black walnut trees was cut down to make way for a golf course on the Spadra landfill rather than conserving them. To this date no golf course has yet been built in place of the destroyed black walnut grove.

The case study of Boston Islands will be used as a best practices example to compare and contrast similar project areas as they apply. The Rails To Trails organization and the EPA Superfund Reuse Guide have also laid out an organizational method for the redevelopment of waste areas that will be the basis

My research method will be a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods with a heavy emphasis on qualitative data. Over the break I will be contacting the site managers of the identified closed landfills in Brea and Cal Poly Pomona. My goal is to interview several knowledgeable officials in the city managers office, public works department, planning and redevelopment departments, facilities department, maintenance director and/or waste management company associated with each of the landfill sites. During the interviews I will ask a series of questions that deal with my problem statement ranging from: Why do you feel the landfill has not been redeveloped? What plans, if any, are there for the former landfill? What do you think should be done with the landfill? Have you ever been involved with this type of redevelopment before? And an open conversation portion for any further dialog. The interviews will be conducted either in person or via email or via phone conversation. My goal is to obtain a minimum of six usable interviews for qualitative analysis. From this I will try to identify as much quantitative data as possible from the interview questions and create a matrix of possible answers to the hypotheses.

Through interviews, document research and site analysis I will identify a number of variables such as landfill size, type of ownership (public or private), proximity of adjacent development, types of adjacent developments, elapse time from closure in years, funding resources, geographical features and community population. These variables may help to test my hypothesis and determine

Research Design and Schedule for URP 462

Canada’s largest municipal solid waste facility, Keele Valley

Landfill, redeveloped into a park and golf course

Date Task Deliverables

Break Contact various cities to set up interviews

Schedule of interviews

Week 1 Prepare interview questions Begin gathering research on landfill variables

Questions for interviews

Week 2-3 Conduct interview of participants Site visits, photography study and site mapping

Notes & transcripts of interviewsPhotos and site maps

Bibliography

Spring 2009

Instructor: Professor

Richard WilsonFAICP

Cal Poly Pomona University

Department of Urban and Regional Planning

Email:glnichols@csupomona.

edu

Week 4 Analyze interview transcripts Make up any additional interviews Create matrix of variable to derived quantitative data

Matrix of variables

Week 5-6 Prepare recommendation list Begin preparing final report

Draft recommendations

Week 7 Review recommendation with cities Determine conclusions and testing results

Draft 1 final report

Week 8 Revisions and editing of final report Draft 2 final report

Week 9-10 Prepare and finalize final report Final report

Belanger, Pierre (2006, May). Trash Topography. Alternatives are presented toOntario's practice of shifting garbage across the border to mass landfills in Michigan. Canadian Architect, 15-17.

Chang, P (2004, Dec). The State of the Region 2004. Retrieved May 20, 2009, fromSCAG | Southern California Association of Governments Web site: www.scag.ca.gov/publications/pdf/2004/SOTR04_Trans.pdf

Clark, C (2005, June 17). Wildlands of Cal Poly Pomona- In Memory.Retrieved June 1, 2009, from CSU Pomona Web site: http://www.csupomona.edu/~jcclark/wildlands/memory.html#spadra

Harnik, P., Taylor, M., & Welle, B. (2006). From Dumps to Destinations: TheConversion of Landfills to Parks. Places (Cambridge, Mass.), 18(1), 83-8. Retrieved 28 May 2009, from OmniFile Full Text Mega database.

Kavazanjian, E (2007). Sustainable Redevelopment Of Former And AbandonedLandfills. Retrieved May 28, 2009, from Sufalnet Endreport Web site: www.endreportsufalnet.net/static/files/Kavazanjian.pdf

Ozarowski, P. (2006). Landfill Redevelopment Creates Community Asset. BrownfieldNews.com, Retrieved may 19, 2009, from www.haleyaldrich.com/downloads/publications/WBC_Brownfields_News.pdf

Pierce, P.E., J (2006). Commercial Development Of Closed Landfills:.Retrieved May 19, 2009, from SCS- Secure- Integrated Real Estate, Site Renewal, Web site: http://www.scs-secure.com/Papers/6-02%20Commercial%20Development%20of%20Closed%20LF.pdf

Pool, B (1996, Jan). New Approach to Old Landfills Blooms at CalPoly Test Site. Retrieved June 1, 2009, from Los Angeles Times Web site: http://articles.latimes.com/1996-01-08/local/me-22289_1

Rynk, R. (2003). Compost Remediates A Landfill And Grows A National Park.

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Rynk, R. (2003). Compost Remediates A Landfill And Grows A National Park.BioCycle, 44(12), 34-8. Retrieved 28 May 2009, from OmniFile Full Text Mega database.

Spiegel, R. (2007). Green Scene. Design News, 62(14), 26. Retrieved 28 May 2009,from OmniFile Full Text Mega database.

(2001, March). Reusing Superfund Sites. Retrieved May 6 2009,from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site: www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/pdf/reusingsites.pdf

(2001 April). Spadra Landfill (Post Closure Activities). Retrieved June 1, 2009,from Los Angeles County Sanitation Distrcits Web site: http://www.lacsd.org/about/solid_waste_facilities/spadra/default.asp

(2001 Dec. 5). Closed, Illegal and Abandoned Disposal Sites Priority List. RetrievedMay 22, 2009, from California Integrated Waste Management Board Web site: www.ciwmb.ca.gov/leacentral/cia/Priority.pdf

(2003). Superfund Community Involvement. Retrieved May 12, 2009, from U.S.Environmental Protection Agency Web site: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/community/index.htm

(2003, Dec.). Draft 2004 Regional Transportation Plan Program Environment ImpactReport. Retrieved May 20, 2009, from SCAG | Southern California Association of Governments Web site: http://www.scag.ca.gov/RTPpeir2004/draft/2004/pdf/rtp_peir04.pdf

(2007). Trail-Building Toolbox. Retrieved May 28, 2009, from Rails to TrailsConservancy Web site: http://www.railstotrails.org/whatwedo/trailbuilding/index.html

(2007 Sept.). Proposed Plan for the Abandoned Landfill and Southern Sites Area at

Sierra Army Depot . Retrieved May 19, 2009, from EnviroStor: Department of Toxic Substance Control Web site: www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/view_document.asp?docurl=/regulators/deliverable_documents/1452878654/...20.07.pdf

(2007). CEQA: The California Environmental Quality Act. RetrievedMay 20, 2009, from California Environmental Resources Evaluation System Web site: http://ceres.ca.gov/ceqa/more/faq.html

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