West Pico Drill Site

The West Pico drill site on Pico Boulevard (between Oakhurst and Doheny) is not far from the homes that make up the Cheviot Hills Home Owners’ Association. The drill site has 57 oil wells.

It has been reported that twenty-four (24) major oil well projects have been executed at the West Pico drill site without applications to the Zoning Administrator for legally required project reviews and environmental clearance under CEQA. It also has been reported that there have been additional safety and health violations.

In 2019, a local Pico-Robertson area environmental group, Neighbors for a Safe Environment (NASE), forced the City to honor a 2001 settlement agreement that requires cyclical five-year reviews by the Zoning Administrator, which the City allegedly had violated for a decade.

In 2020-21, the Zoning Administrator finally held a review. The evidence of potential illegal oil well projects was presented to the Zoning Administrator. The oil company that operates the West Pico site admitted to this record of unapproved major projects and did so in writing.

Nevertheless, on June 2, 2021, the Zoning Administrator issued a ruling that declares oil well drilling at the West Pico site can stand unaltered, unviewed, and unremedied:

https://planning.lacity.org/pdiscaseinfo/document/NzQxNw0/1823a02c-5d95-4003-95c4-258347c32f18/pdd

Neighbors for a Safe Environment (NASE) has filed an appeal of the Zoning Administrator’s ruling. Read the appeal. The West Los Angeles Area Planning Commission will hear the appeal on Wednesday, August 18 at 4:30 p.m. The public can attend via Zoom or telephone. Here is the public notice for the hearing:

https://planning.lacity.org/dcpapi/meetings/document/69965

You are invited to please support the NASE appeal by signing an online petition.
Click here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-illegal-oil-drilling-in-the-city-of-los-angeles-2/

New addition: 2021 letter from NASE’s attorney Amy Minteer to the West Los Angeles Are Planning Commission requesting that they “reconsider” their August 18 ruling on NASE’s appeal and reopen the case. (reconsider letter)

Addition 9/7/21: Listen to Council Member Koretz’s Land Use Deputy Daniel Skolnick’s presentation of Mr. Koretz’s appeal to the West Los Angeles Area Planning Commission hearing on August 18, 2021. (clip)

Addition 9/9/21: Copy of NASE’s Appeal to City Council on the CEQA Exemption (NASEappeal)

Addition 1/3/2022: Violation notices for the December 11, 2021 oil spill at the West Pico Drill Site:

Cal GEM Beverly Hills PCEC Spill 2021-12-14

Cal GEM West Pico Drill site release field memo 12/13/21

LAFD CUPA inspection report on spill 12-15-21

Other Announcements

Brandon is a Cheviot Hills resident since 2011. His children attend the neighborhood schools, and he volunteers to make a difference in the neighborhood. Brandon is a trial attorney with a practice located in Century City.

Eugene was raised in the suburbs of Boston and moved to L.A. in 2004 to teach in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He attended graduate school at UCLA and Loyola Marymount and has lived in West L.A. for the better part of the past twenty years. He moved to Cheviot Hills in 2021 with his wife (Iris) when their daughter (Rei) was born. They love riding bikes to Cheviot Hills Park and taking walks with their Bernedoodle, Augi. They think Cheviot Hills is the best neighborhood in L.A. and look forward to getting to know more of their neighbors.

Andrew has lived in Cheviot Hills (on Dunleer Drive) for over thirteen years and has lived in West Los Angeles for more than two decades.  During this time, he has been actively involved in land use and environmental issues throughout the Los Angeles region as an environmental-land use attorney at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Andrew and his wife, Rebekah, are raising one son, who currently attends ASTEME Academy. He is actively involved in land use and filming issues in the neighborhood.

Steve has been a resident of Cheviot Hills since 2004 and is a current CHHOA Board member. He has been active in the community as past President and Board Chair of Friends of Overland (10 years), a volunteer coach and Board member for AYSO West LA Region 70 (15 years) and the Sister Stella Foundation (St. Paul the Apostle School) Board member (5 years). Steve also serves on the Board of Directors for various nonprofit organizations focused on community development and affordable housing in Los Angeles and California. Professionally, he is a Senior Vice President of the Community Development Financing Division for California Bank & Trust Century City. He resides in Cheviot Hills with wife, Danielle Prunier, and four children, Olivia, Ava, Steven and Gabriel.

Larry and his wife, Teri, along with their two daughters, have lived in Cheviot Hills since 1998.  Larry has been a member of the CHHOA board since 2013.  He is an attorney specializing in insurance related disputes and an avid baseball fan.

Greg has been a resident of Cheviot Hills since 1995 and a member of the Board of the Cheviot Hills Home Owners’ Association for over a decade. He has been involved in many CHHOA activities over the years and hopes to continue to address and represent the needs and concerns of the community.

Michael has lived in Cheviot Hills with his wife and two children since 2009 and has been on the Board since 2013. He is an attorney specializing in employment law while his wife is an IT Project Manager. His kids are both alumni of Overland Avenue Elementary and they spend countless hours at Palms Park and the Cheviot Hills Recreation Center. His primary interest in serving on the Board has been to address the safety of the neighborhood, as he has experienced firsthand the effects of being a victim of crime. He is a Neighborhood Watch block captain and can be regularly spotted walking their dog Gracie around the neighborhood. 

Mark has been on the Cheviot Hills HOA Board since his family moved to the neighborhood, and loves working with his neighbors to make sure Cheviot Hills remains the best neighborhood in Los Angeles. He is an attorney based in Century City with his wife and two sons and a golden retriever named Sunny. 

Margaret has been a resident of Cheviot Hills since 1995, and a resident of the Westside since 1987. She received her undergraduate degree from Stanford, and received a law degree from UCLA. Margaret is active in community organizations, and volunteers for a homeless outreach program and a program to read to disadvantaged elementary school children. She has two children who attended neighborhood schools, including the Lycée Français. She is an attorney with a practice based in Century City.

Renée came of age in a 400-unit apartment complex in New York City. Cheviot Hills has been her home since 1974. She and her husband Michael raised their three daughters in the neighborhood and have witnessed many local changes. Renée is a speech pathologist and audiologist whose early career focused on hard of hearing adults. Later she transitioned to wear multiple hats in the family business that distributed industrial food processing and packaging equipment. Michael and Renée sold their business and retired in 2013. In recent years she has served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster youth, a PPLA Guild member and treasurer of her congregation’s sisterhood.

Cindy is a native of Los Angeles. She has lived in Cheviot Hills since 1991 with her husband Michael. She has raised her two children in Cheviot Hills and was an active member of the Overland Elementary, Palms Middle School, Pali High and Marlborough School communities. She joined the CHHOA board in 2016 and has been secretary since 2017. She is a member of the LAPD WLA Community-Police Advisory Board. She volunteers her time at The People Concern and is a team member of the Los Angeles Safety and Preparedness Fair.

Marty has lived in Cheviot Hills for 48 years. He is a CPA and has been treasurer of the Cheviot Hills Homeowners for many years. His main areas of focus as part of the Cheviot Hills Board are crime, traffic, development, and rezoning as these issues currently present big challenges to the community.

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter.

Jim has lived in Cheviot Hills for over 20 years. He is a real estate attorney on the westside. He has two daughters. James loves the architectural features of the homes in Cheviot, the walkability of the neighborhood, its proximity to restaurants, shopping and cultural amenities, but most of all, the friendliness of our fellow Cheviot residents. His work on the board is devoted to addressing traffic issues, enhancing the landscaped medians in Cheviot, and working with cellular telephone companies to address issues related to cellular telephone installations in Cheviot.

Bob has been a resident of Cheviot Hills since 1994, and a resident of the Westside since 1984. He has been a member of the Cheviot Hills HOA Board of Directors since 2011, and currently serves as the Board’s president. He received his undergraduate degree from UCLA, and received a law degree from USC. Bob and his wife, Pam, have two children who attended local schools, including Overland Elementary School. He is an attorney with a practice based in Century City.

Marcie is a native of West Los Angeles. She has lived in Cheviot Hills since 1998 with her husband Jon where they raised their two children. Marcie has served one term on the CHHOA board.  During that term, she worked on redesigning and launching our updated CHHOA website, headed the 2024 membership drive and chaired the Centennial Celebration Committee.