Plans to build park atop shuttered Puente Hills Landfill in the works

INDUSTRY, Calif. (KABC) -- Plans are in the works to build a park on top of the shuttered Puente Hills Landfill, but there is still plenty of work to be done before residents can enjoy the space.

The foundation of the massive park will be 130 million tons of trash buried as much as 500 feet deep.

Half of the 1,300-acre Puente Hills Landfill -- once the largest landfill in the country -- is now slated to become a regional park the size of 600 football fields.

"In this portion of the county, we have many communities that are very park-poor. So to give the community over 1,300 acres of land in the center of Los Angeles in the urban core is really a gift to all residents," said Norma Edith Garcia with Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the decision last week, setting into motion a long term plan for the transformation.

The Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County is funding the project. The first $800,000 will be used for community outreach, environmental studies and design. Park plans could be drawn up within three to four years.

"The first phase is, we really want to engage the residents of Los Angeles County. We want to hear from them, we want to hear their vision. We want to hear the type of activities they want to see here," said Garcia.

But don't expect to see soccer or baseball fields there. Instead, think of open trails - because the landfill will continue to settle for years.

"It will take a awhile to settle, and because this landfill is so large, it's over 500-feet deep in some places, that it's going to settle over 100 feet in different areas. But that's going to take time," explained Chuck Boehmke, the head of solid waste management at the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County.

Because the landfill will likely continue to settle for more than 50 years, the full 600 acres wont be developed for several decades.