\u201cAs we went door to door, the stories we heard were incredible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Neighbors told him about enduring noise pollution, petroleum odors, and personal health issues \u2014 in particular, they said, a high rate of miscarriages<\/a> \u2014 due to chemicals released at the site.<\/p>\n \u201cThe site was a disaster,\u201d Parks said, \u201cand it was just a lousy neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, the site is owned by a local nonprofit, which, along with a wide coalition of volunteers and community organizations, is now turning the site green.<\/p>\n Neighborhood drilling is a phenomenon<\/a> not confined to South Los Angeles. Across the city, drill sites are mixed into the urban fabric<\/a>, next to houses, businesses and parks. Over 3,000 wells still operate<\/a> in the county today, while many more lie idle or plugged. Even those that are dismantled leave behind barren land.<\/p>\n About three years ago, the city banned<\/a> new oil wells and began to phase out existing ones. Oil wells, even dormant ones, are known to emit carcinogens<\/a> and greenhouse gases, posing a significant health risk to the communities near them.<\/p>\n But even when drill sites shut down and their wells are properly plugged, the question remains: What can be done with that land now, in a way that serves the communities around them?<\/p>\n The nonprofit Redeemer Community Partnership (RCP)\u2019s answer is not to stop at ending the drilling, and to take redevelopment into the neighborhood\u2019s own hands \u2013 instead of leaving it up to what Parks calls \u201cdrive-by\u201d private developers.<\/p>\n How a neighborhood beat a multi-billion-dollar oil company<\/p>\n Parks said the Jefferson drill site was always destructive to his community. On top of the stories others told him, he frequently saw the area strewn with trash, with prostitution thriving in the space around it and large oil trucks breaking up the surrounding sidewalks.<\/p>\n When the site\u2019s operator, Sentinel Peak Resources, sought to expand the site by drilling three new wells, RCP began advocating<\/a> for the city to more closely enforce environmental regulations there. Over several years, they staged protests, marches and went to City Hall to push their demands.<\/p>\n \u201cEventually, the city said yes,\u201d said Parks. \u201cThe oil company appealed; they lost their appeal. They went to court; we went to court with them. And in the midst of that court battle, the oil company said, \u2018You know, we would rather close than comply.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In 2018, Sentinel Peak Resources announced that it would close operations<\/a> at the Jefferson drill site. RCP then set its sights on acquiring the land and brought together residents to gauge what they would want out of a redevelopment project.<\/p>\n \u201cThey wanted to see a community park, affordable housing and a community center,\u201d Parks said. \u201cWe said, \u2018Wow, that\u2019s a really big vision, but we\u2019ll work on that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n RCP then needed to secure the financial resources needed to buy the property. With the help of state assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, they secured a $10 million state grant to buy the land and, separately, a $6 million grant from the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust (LANLT) to construct a park on the site.<\/p>\n Bz Zhang, a project manager at LANLT, said that even though the community organized to shut down the site and secure the funding to purchase it, it was \u201cnot obvious and not guaranteed\u201d that they would succeed in acquiring it. Still, they said the community visioning process built momentum and a sense of agency among residents over what would happen next.<\/p>\n At the end of 2023, LANLT successfully purchased the land and began putting that vision, now known as the Jefferson Park and Affordable Housing Project, into place.<\/p>\n What\u2019s happening now<\/p>\n Right now, the project is in its remediation phase. That means LANLT is working with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control to assess the site\u2019s soil horizon, gauge specific development constraints and determine if any soil needs to be removed.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce the soil is remediated, the park can break ground really quickly, because there\u2019s funding there for it,\u201d Parks said.<\/p>\n In the meantime, RCP and LANLT have partnered with Test Plot, a nonprofit that builds restoration gardens and supports local land stewardship, to plant a plot of native plants.<\/p>\n On Saturday, March 14, Test Plot and the Theodore Payne Foundation hosted the most recent in a series of community planting days at the site. There, local residents and members of community organizations gathered to make progress<\/a> on the garden.<\/p>\n The garden contains a mix of California native grasses and coastal sage scrubs that will be able to withstand the hard, compact soil, said Andre Grospe, a designer at Test Plot. An assortment of flowering plants, such as sunflowers and monkeyflowers, were also planted to add color.<\/p>\n Despite decades of prior drilling, initial soil tests have shown little contamination. Still, the plants are meant to loosen the soil, add nutrients and attract pollinators to the site, Grospe said.<\/p>\n As remediation finishes, another round of community workshops \u2014 supported in part by California\u2019s Measure A, which provides funding for affordable housing<\/a> \u2014 will take place to determine more specifics about the design of the park, housing and community center.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is all chosen by the community, because we want to make sure it\u2019s used to its maximum potential,\u201d said LANLT Program Director Mireya Valencia.<\/p>\n Once a design is finalized, Valencia said that LANLT will hire landscape architecture and construction firms to build the designs out. Since that\u2019s yet to come, Valencia said it\u2019s all the more valuable that Test Plot is able to do work on the ground right now.<\/p>\n \u201cPark development takes a long time,\u201d Valencia said. \u201cSo why not get the community out here reaping all the benefits that nature has to offer?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2CZAQQRXJNHHHH5LEXHVZWDYQQ.png\")
The Jefferson drill site in 2017. The site was first established in the 1960s and operated until 2018. (Photo courtesy of Keith Plocek) <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/X3ZYZJQNBZB25JHKAMM5OVDUPY.png\")
The Jefferson drill site in 2022, left, and in 2026, right, in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles. The site closed in 2018 after years of community advocacy and went unused until the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust purchased the land in 2023. (Photo courtesy of Keith Plocek, Test Plot) <\/p>\n![\"Community](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SSRRS6M55NAWDOAYZRJB3TKGWA.jpeg\")
Community volunteers led by Test Plot planted a restoration garden on the former drill site on March 14, 2026. The planting has been underway since February 2026 and is the first part of a broader landscaping plan by the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust. (Photo by Jadon Frank) <\/p>\n![\"Theodore](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/S7B74WFPVFHQJJADTPZIHS47ZE.jpeg\")
Theodore Payne Foundation California Climate Action Corps Fellows Zoe Alamillo, left, and Craig Short, right, prop up a fence during the community workday on March 14, 2026. (Photo by Jadon Frank) <\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/7NANV5FTUZFS5FCCNHFJAQRH6Y.jpeg\")
An overhead view of the garden on March 14, 2026, designed with five \u2018petals\u2019 in the shape of a flower. Each petal has its own plant community: two for California native grasses, two for coastal sage scrubs, and one for desert plants. As of the planting day in March, three of the five petals are planted. (Photo courtesy of Test Plot) <\/p>\n
![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/BJBCLHGB6FAGZH4VJRNBKZKMOM.jpeg\")
Richard Parks at work during the community workday on March 14, 2026. (Photo by Jadon Frank) <\/p>\n