A city (or county) is not an accident but the result of coherent visions and aims

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and ultimately worse air quality in the long term. In addition to macro level air quality considerations, local air quality can 
be improved through policies to reduce tobacco smoke, which have had significant benefits to protect public health. 
Land 
use
 policies such as smoke free zones, land use zoning measures to reduce density of tobacco outlets, and reduction of retail 
advertising have also been beneficial to protect the most vulnerable in the community. Additionally, local jurisdictions have 
restricted smoke exposure in shared public places such as parks and multi-unit housing. Smoking may also increase the risk of 
wildfires and resulting poor air quality in rural communities. 
Access to clean drinking water free from contamination is important for health. Environmental stewardship and water 
management is directly impacted by 
land use
 decisions. Again, exposures in rural and urban areas may vary based on local 
factors and local water agencies can serve as a resource. 
Compatibility
Los Angeles Clean Up Green Up
Communities can address toxic hot spots in a variety of ways.  Clean Up Green Up emerged from grass root work where residents 
in Boyle Heights, Wilmington, and Pacoima/Sun Valley came together to address overconcentration and high exposure to 
pollution. Residents and community groups worked to pass an ordinance to address environmental pollution, change zoning, 
and look for new opportunities.
The program focuses on addressing over concentration of certain polluting uses such as factories, oil operations, and 
warehouses.   The ordinance states: “The purpose of the CUGU District is to reduce cumulative health impacts resulting from 
land uses including, but not limited to, concentrated industrial land use, on-road vehicle travel, and heavily freight-dominated 
transportation corridors, which are incompatible with the sensitive uses to which they are in close proximity, such as homes, 
schools and other sensitive uses.”  The community is working to address the issue of compatibility and find wins for health and 
the environment.  
https://www.preventioninstitute.org/blog/las-promising-clean-green-ordinance 
Ordinance available here
: https://planning.lacity.org
At the general plan level, discussions about environmental justice involve a central 
land use
 concept: compatibility. The primary 
purpose of planning, and the source of government authority to engage in planning, is to protect the public health, safety, and 
welfare. Incompatible land uses may create health, safety, and welfare issues for the community. 
Traditional, rigid separation of land uses resulted in disconnected islands of activity and contributed to sprawl. Development 
patterns characterized by single use result in the automobile being the only viable transportation option, which results in high 
environmental, economic, health, and social costs. 
Encouraging mixed-use development, proximity to transit corridors, and access to employment, education, commercial centers, 
services, and recreation should be considered alongside specific uses that will always be incompatible with residential and school uses. 

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Residential and school uses are impacted by incompatible land uses that have environmental effects, such as noise, air 
emissions (including dust), and exposure to hazardous materials. The compatibility problem also operates in reverse. 
Incompatible uses adjacent to residential units, schools, or environmentally sensitive areas may also suffer negative 
consequences in the form of higher mitigation costs or the curtailment of economic activities. Specific examples of land use 
incompatibility include:
• Residential, childcare, and school uses in proximity to industrial facilities and other uses that, even with the best available 
technology, will contain or produce pollution that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical or chemical 
characteristics, poses a significant hazard to human health and safety.
• Residential, childcare, and school uses adjacent to intensive agricultural uses.
• Residential, childcare, and school uses adjacent to major thoroughfares, such as highways without appropriate mitigation 
(
see mitigation strategies in air quality section
)
• Residential or commercial uses in proximity to resource utilization activities, such as mining or oil and gas wells.
It is important to note that while school siting decisions are not controlled by the general plan, planners can work with local 
school districts to help inform long range planning considerations for schools.
Industrial Facilities and Large Scale Agricultural Lands
Facilities that emit, handle, store, or dispose of hazardous materials are regulated by a variety of agencies. These agencies 
include local 
Certified Unified Program Agencies
. However, cities and counties, as the local land use authority, are primarily 
responsible for the location and distribution of potentially hazardous industrial facilities through their general plans and 
zoning ordinances. 
Cities and counties may pursue several strategies within their general plans to address over-concentration which occurs when 
two or more industrial facilities or uses, which do not individually exceed acceptable regulatory standards for public health and 
safety but pose a potential health hazard due to their cumulative effects, are located in the same area.
Strategies may include incorporating policies for the following areas:
• Buffer zones between industry and residential land uses. 
Buffer zones are a broad approach to land use compatibility. Buffer zone policies may be approached in one of two ways. The 
general plan land use diagram may designate transitional land uses between industrial and agricultural and residential areas. 
Transitional uses may include open space, light industry, office uses, business parks, or heavy commercial uses. The land use 
policies for these buffer areas should prohibit school uses. Appropriate distances for buffer areas will vary depending on local 
circumstances. Factors such as the intensity of nearby residential uses, prevailing winds, geographic features, and the types of 
facilities and uses allowed in industrial areas should be considered.
  Buffer zones may be implemented at the project level. One weakness of general buffer zone policies is the difficulty of making 
a priori decisions about how much distance is needed to minimize potential health and safety hazards to residential and 
school uses. A stronger approach may be buffer policies aimed at individual siting decisions. 

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