Board approves 2025 OurCounty framework with new actions on resilience, equity; allocates $134 million for stormwater projects
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the 2025 update to the OurCounty Sustainability Plan, a comprehensive roadmap aimed at bolstering climate resilience, environmental justice and equitable growth amid federal rollbacks on protections and as world leaders convene at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath, who authored the motion, described the adoption as a defiant response to recent challenges, including January wildfires and policy shifts under the Trump administration. “This makes it clear that our sustainability work is not optional — it is essential,” Horvath said in a statement. “Los Angeles County is showing what climate leadership looks like in action.”
First launched in 2019, OurCounty has steered countywide initiatives to enhance community well-being, protect natural resources and fortify the economy. The updated version retains 12 overarching goals while adding 57 new actions targeting housing stability, pollution reduction in disadvantaged areas and infrastructure upgrades.
Since the plan’s inception, the county has completed or is on pace to meet more than 80 percent of its priority objectives. Key achievements include phasing out oil and gas drilling in unincorporated areas, shifting hundreds of thousands of residents to 100 percent renewable energy via the Clean Power Alliance, and investing over $1 billion in stormwater capture through the Safe, Clean Water Program.
Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Officer Rita Kampalath hailed the revision as a “brave path” for local governance, particularly as national environmental safeguards weaken.
The board’s directive tasks the Chief Sustainability Office with overseeing implementation, issuing annual progress reports and refreshing the plan every five years. It also broadens the County Sustainability Council to incorporate departments handling economic opportunity, youth development and homeless services.
In the same session, supervisors greenlit $134.2 million for stormwater projects under the Safe, Clean Water Program, bringing total investments to more than $1.6 billion across 136 infrastructure initiatives. Funds will support regional water capture, community engagement and technical aid, with an emphasis on underserved neighborhoods.
The 2025 OurCounty framework organizes ambitions around 12 cross-cutting goals, each paired with measurable targets for 2045: reduce toxicity-weighted emissions in disadvantaged communities by 80 percent; achieve 20 percent tree canopy cover in unincorporated areas; ensure 45 cities or unincorporated communities reach a Walk Score of 70 or higher; create 560,000 green jobs countywide; conserve 45 percent of total land area; attain carbon neutrality; shift at least 50 percent of trips to walking, biking, micromobility or transit; cut per capita waste generation by 35 percent; and lower food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent.
