A vision for a state park at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory does not end at the site’s borders but extends to surrounding land in the hills south of Simi Valley. “The property that Boeing owns is one piece of a much larger park,” said Kevin O’Neill, chief of staff for Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita. “It has the potential to be upwards of 30,000 acres.”
Smyth introduced legislation last week that would create a joint powers authority to establish “Santa Susana State Park” reports the Ventura County Star.
The joint powers authority would include the state parks department, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, the counties of Ventura and Los Angeles and the cities of Simi Valley and Los Angeles.
“We thought it was important all the stakeholders had a place at the table so we can really make this a tremendous asset for the entire region,” Smyth said. The authority would be responsible for incorporating the 2,850-acre former rocket engine and nuclear site and neighboring parcels into one park.
Last year, Boeing agreed to give the state $750,000 a year for 30 years for the maintenance and operation of the open space. Boeing also agreed to pay for the cleanup of chemical and radiological contamination that occurred at the lab.
Read more here: ‘Santa Susana Park’ Authority proposed by Assemblyman Smyth