The Los Angeles City Council will vote Wednesday on a controversial environmental pilot program that’s planned for Boyle Heights, Pacoima, and Wilmington. KPCC reports that Clean Up Green Up, which has already been approved by two city committees, targets low-income neighborhoods to help residents’ health conditions that are affected by industrial and freight traffic pollution.
The program aims to reduce pollution, provide funding sources for local businesses to use so they can make green upgrades to their facilities, and bring additional city enforcement to ensure businesses are following environmental standards already set in place.
Rubén Gonzales, Senior Advisor of Strategic Affairs with the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, told KPCC that the initiative makes promises without planning for them. In an on air interview, he complained that the Clean Up Green Up has not identified new funding sources for businesses to tap. He added that although he agrees with the goals of Clean Up Green Up, the program’s enforcement has not been detailed and that there is no way to measure if the program is working or not.
KPCC also interviewed Mercedes Ortiz, lead community organizer for Pacoima Beautiful, an environmental group that supports Clean Up Green Up.
